WADA chief rebukes McQuaid’s attempt to assume Armstrong jurisdiction
Howman supports USADA's authority in Armstrong case, says UCI has misinterpreted the World Anti-Doping Code
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has spoken out on the Lance Armstrong case, rebuking UCI chief Pat McQuaid’s recently publicized efforts to assume jurisdiction in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s investigation of the seven-time Tour de France champion.
In a statement released on its Play True Magazine website Tuesday, WADA confirmed that its director general David Howman had sent McQuaid a letter, dated August 7, supporting USADA’s standing in the case against the Texan and five others, and “urged the UCI to reconsider its position and provide ‘all support to USADA in the conduct of this case, including all documents required by them.'”
USADA has accused Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and four others associated with the U.S. Postal Service team of a far-reaching doping conspiracy dating from 1999 to 2010.
In the statement, WADA claimed the the UCI had “misinterpreted its own rules in light of the (WADA) Code.”
“As clarified in the WADA letter, Article 15.3 states that the Anti-Doping Organization (ADO) ‘which discovered the violation’ must have results management authority, and not the ADO which discovered the first shred of evidence which then led to the discovery of violations,” read the statement.
The WADA statement also claimed that Howman’s letter “pointed out that there is no provision within the Code that allows the UCI to interfere with the USADA case based on the UCI’s own rules.”
When asked by VeloNews about the letter during a press conference at the conclusion of Olympic track cycling events, McQuaid said, “I prefer not to talk about the U.S. Anti-Doping agency. I’m here to talk about the Olympic Games.”