Cycling president questions USADA delay in Lance Armstrong case

The Lance Armstrong doping case remains in limbo, causing the president of cycling’s governing body to wonder why his organization hasn’t received the case for final review from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

It was the USADA that banned the seven-time Tour de France winner from competition for life and stripped him of his victories for his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

But International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid said during a news conference Saturday in Valkenburg, Netherlands, that he’s still waiting for the case file.

“UCI assumes that USADA have the file, the full file, as they’ve already made a decision based on it and therefore it’s difficult to understand why it hasn’t arrived yet,” said McQuaid, who has previously announced that his organization will uphold the ban as long as there’s no serious reason to appeal it.

Armstrong gave up his legal fight last month when a U.S. District Court refused to grant an injunction against the USADA’s actions. The cycling champion then waived his final appeal, which was to take the case to arbitration.

The USADA, after a lengthy investigation that split the cycling world, said Armstrong used banned performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and blood boosters, dating to 1996. The cancer survivor has vehemently denied all charges and points to his clean drug-testing record.

McQuaid admitted that the case against cycling’s greatest champion has damaged the sport, but said that the UCI has remained at the forefront in trying to eliminate cheating.

“It’s obvious any anti-doping case, whether it’s a big case or a small case, is not good for cycling,” McQuaid said. “The UCI has nothing to be apologetic about. UCI has always been the international federation that does the most in the fight against doping.”

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