Report: Armstrong will not take part in truth commission

According to a report in The Telegraph, Lance Armstrong will not provide evidence to the three-member independent commission that was unveiled Wednesday by the UCI.

The report says that Armstrong has requested what would equal amnesty from the lifetime ban handed down to him following his public acknowledgement that he doped and used performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career. However, the independent panel, which will operate away from the UCI in a separate location and with no interference from the governing body, does not have the power to grant such a request.

Armstrong, meanwhile, told VeloNews in an e-mail that he has not been contacted by the UCI regarding his testimony.

“If you’re asking me if I passed on a TRC/IC then the answer is ‘no,’” Armstrong wrote. “As I have stated all along, I will participate fully and completely. I have not been contacted by anyone. This was all news to me.”

Brian Cookson had files and computers seized within hours of being elected UCI president in October, with the idea that an independent panel would review the data as it delves into the UCI’s sometimes-dark history involving doping, alleged bribes and cover-ups, and other activities. The group is poised to begin studying the information at an office in Lausanne, Switzerland; the UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.

“This Commission will investigate the problems cycling has faced in recent years, especially the allegations that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past — allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport,” Cookson said in a UCI announcement. “Their work will also be focused on understanding what went so wrong in our sport and they will make recommendations for change so that as far as possible those mistakes are not repeated.”