What could be the final judgement on Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France record could be passed in the next few minutes, with the UCI due to indicate whether or not it will accept USADA’s sanctions imposed on the Texan.
The UCI was sent the reasoned decision by USADA on October 10th and, under the rules in place, had until October 31st to declare whether it would accept the report or appeal it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It announced last week that it would make a ruling considerably earlier than that, and is poised to release its decision very soon.
The UCI has three options; it can fully accept USADA’s sanction of a lifetime ban and the stripping of Armstrong’s results since 1998; it can appeal the entire sanction, or it can dispute certain elements of the case before CAS.
WADA also has the power of appeal but is thought unlikely to do so, given its prior backing in relation to USADA’s work on the case.
Today’s decision is far more wide reaching than cycling alone. The eyes of the world are on the UCI, with mainstream carrying the story due to the significance of the news.
The UCI had previously indicated that it would only appeal if there were real areas of concern in USADA’s findings, but it has also had an at-times tense relationship with the American agency.
As a result, it is difficult to predict the outcome. However the general feeling appears to be that USADA has a strong case, and that the UCI risks losing credibility if it is seen to oppose the bulk of evidence which has been gathered.