“I have never seen such an abuse of power in cycling's history,” the former champion wrote in an emotional letter.
Pat McQuaid
Image by Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi / AP
If former pro cyclist Greg LeMond has his way, UCI president Pat McQuaid will be the first powerful figure in cycling to fall with Lance Armstrong.
LeMond posted a long plea on his Facebook account on Thursday imploring McQuaid to step down after the conclusions of the US Anti-Doping Agency's damning report on Armstrong's doping (and many of his teammates) were accepted by the world's cycling ruling organization.
The UCI has been the target of criticism since the report came out for its apparent past willingness to ignore evidence against Armstrong. LeMond first began speaking out against doping in the sport publicly in 2001 when he questioned Armstrong's association with physician Michele Ferrari. In 2006, McQuaid threatened to sue him for defamation for comments he made about corruption in the UCI.
LeMond, in the letter, asked for help defending Paul Kimmage, a cyclist-turned-journalist who was hit with a defamation lawsuit by the UCI last month for reporting Floyd Landis's claims that the UCI was complicit covering up Armstrong's doping.
See the full letter below.
