Sunday Times suggests that the Texan did not reveal enough to merit a reduction
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Lance Armstrong liked to control the media(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lance Armstrong in 2009(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Hein Verbruggen and Lance Armstrong(Image credit: AFP Photo)
A downcast Lance Armstrong(Image credit: AFP)
Stefano Garzelli, Lance Armstrong and Ivan Basso on the 2005 stage to Ax-3 Domaines(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lance Armstrong menaced by a specter of his past doping(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lance Armstrong's hopes of having his lifetime ban reduced by the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) appear to have been extinguished according to a report by David Walsh in the The Sunday Times.
Having been stripped of his seven Tour de France victories following the 2012 USADA reasoned decision, Armstrong has repeatedly argued that his life-time ban is too harsh a penalty considering former teammates were only handed six-month bans.
Armstrong claimed that he would be “the first through the door” when the Cycling Independent Reform Commission began to interview former dopers. He revealed he spoke to the CIRC investigators twice during 2014 and told the BBC that he had been “totally honest”, adding, "At this point of my life, I'm not out to protect anybody. I'm out to protect seven people, and they all have the last name Armstrong."
However, the Sunday Times reports that this was not enough for the Commission to even recommend that his ban be reduced. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) would have the last word on any ban and has always claimed Armstrong gave up on any chance of a reduced ban by failing to cooperate during their investigation.
"Despite Mr Armstrong publicly claiming he wants to help, privately since June 2012, he has repeatedly rejected the opportunity to do so and has shut the door on his chance," USADA said last year.
"Much of the information we understand that Mr Armstrong could have provided is of little, if any, value now, as it has already been uncovered through other avenues or soon will be."
CIRC report
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The Sunday Times claimed that the Cycling Independent Reform Commission presented its report to the UCI in Switzerland on Friday.
It expected to study the document closely and redact certain names and details that could spark legal action against the sport’s governing body.
UCI President Brian Cookson has said he wants to publish as much of the report as possible but warned during the recent track World Championships that the report could contain “a lot of uncomfortable things”.
“When you open a can of worms you find a lot of worms,” Cookson said.
