LeMond believes the UCI needs to take itself out of the drug testing process
By Brian Canty
Three-time Tour de France winner, Greg LeMond has leapt to the defence of Irish journalist Paul Kimmage who is set to appear before a Swiss court in December arising from a case taken against him by the UCI president Pat McQuaid and its former president Hein Verbruggen.
They are taking Kimmage to court on December 12th in the town of Vevey, outside Geneva, for what they believe were defamatory remarks by the former Sunday Times journalist.
But LeMond, who is in Ireland this week to raise awareness around the condition Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which he suffers from, believes the UCI should be disbanded and believes no matter what happens in the courtroom, Kimmage does not need vindication.
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“I’d like to say I’d like to see the UCI disbanded only because I’m so angry about what they’re doing with Kimmage,” he told stickybottle.
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“It is like, crazy. That’s what gets me pissed off and that’s where I lose hope when I see that happening. And I will lose all hope if the UCI doesn’t change. I will say, ‘screw this sport’”, blasted the American.
The former world champion said the management of drug testing needed to change.
“I would love to see UCI president Pat McQuaid voluntarily say, ‘let’s separate the drug testing, let’s work and make the sport bullet-proof as much as we can and let’s remove ourselves from this task (of testing)’. And then they’re credible and they can do what they do best and run races and promote the sport.”
“But they shouldn’t be in the field of drug testing because that should be done by WADA, USADA and independent bodies and then you can get away from the fighting. Then they (UCI) don’t have to defend themselves or worry about somebody calling them corrupt because there won’t be a need for that.”
On the mounting funds that Kimmage’s defence is accumulating on cycling website nyvelocity - now standing at over €60,000 - LeMond said: “There’s a lot of money there for his defence. Either he could go there and spend money and (see what happens). With law and lawsuits; there’s no truth a lot of the time. It’s an agreement; it’s a settlement.”
“So ultimately truth doesn’t always prevail. So sometimes you must decide - is it better using that money to force the public to change the direction and attitude of the UCI?”
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