Those that believe there’s a vast doping conspiracy will see another plot twist in the Friday afternoon USADA v LA courtroom drama yesterday. The UCI filed to take the case over, LA’s team missed a deadline, and the Judge refused to grant an extension.
There’s much at stake, besides Lance’s legacy, and the UCI is defending him with words right out of Robert Luskin’s mouth. The USADA responds with
That’s like the fox guarding the henhouse
and in the NY Daily News report see what we’ve all heard about for years, that Lance paid the UCI 150K for “doping programs.” Also from the AP, this quote from the 07 report on doping in baseball by Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell
By our count, of the 21 podium finishers at the Tour de France during the period from 1999-2005, only a single rider other than Mr. Armstrong was not implicated in doping by a subsequent investigation. Yet, only a single one of these riders had a positive test with the UCI.
In other words, the UCI is enmeshed in doping, possibly complicit, and whatever you think of Lance and doping, they should not take over the case. The sport is ineffective at policing itself.
For more coverage see the NYT’s recap from Juliet Macur and legal analysis from Laszlo and Associates.
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