UCI President insists he is ready to work together on Truth and Reconciliation Commission
UCI President Pat McQuaid at the UCI headquarters in Aigle (Image credit: AFP)
UCI President Pat McQuaid has written to the 101 members of the International Olympic Committee calling for their support and understanding after the UCI's war of words with the World Anti-Doping Agency. The letter comes after plans for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the culling of the Independent Commission that was supposed to investigate the UCI’s role in the Lance Armstrong and US Postal Service team doping affair.
The contents of the letter were published by the Insidethegames website.
On Wednesday WADA said it was "dismayed by the press release issued by UCI, both in terms of its content and its deceit," claiming that the UCI "has again chosen to ignore its responsibility to the sport of cycling in completing such an inquiry and has determined to apparently deflect responsibility for the doping problem in its sport to others."
The UCI hit back by revealing an email exchange between McQuaid and WADA president John Farey.
"I am very saddened that it has come to this, but I cannot allow the latest blatant and aggressive misrepresentations contained in WADA’s most recent press release to go unchallenged," McQuaid said in a press release. "Mr. Fahey is saying one thing in public and quite the opposite in correspondence with me, as the attached communications show."
McQuaid is now courting support from the influential IOC members, many of whom are heads of other international sports federations.
After explaining the spat with WADA, McQuaid claimed he is ready to sit down with WADA and establish the details of the Truth and Reconciliation process.
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"The UCI is committed to establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine the culture of doping in cycling in the past, as well as the allegations contained in the USADA reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service (USPS) team, and to clean the air so that our sport can move forward," McQuaid's letter to IOC members reads.
"In order to do this, I very much hope that WADA will now desist from continuing the current undignified war of words via the media and sit down with us in a spirit of cooperation and partnership to work out the details of the Truth and Reconciliation process. In return, the UCI will gladly do the same."
"We would welcome any support you can offer in underlining to WADA the importance of working in partnership and cooperation with the UCI to establish this Truth and Reconciliation Commission."
McQuaid is currently in the USA for the UCI World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Louisville. He is expected to come under further fire about his role as President of the UCI after Lance Armstrong described his as "Pathetic" and "in constant CYA (Cover Your Ass) mode" in an interview with Cyclingnews.
