McQuaid was adamant just days ago that the case against Kimmage was about protecting his good name and that of his family
The UCI and its current and former presidents Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen have abandoned their plans to sue Paul Kimmage for libel.
The court date was scheduled for next month in Switzerland and centred on Kimmage calling the UCI and McQuaid corrupt. Just three days ago McQuaid was very strong in his insistence that he could not let such a serious allegation go without challenging it in the courts.
He told Pat Kenny on RTE Radio 1: “This is nothing to do with Paul Kimmage writer of ‘Rough Ride’. This is nothing to do with Paul Kimmage anti doping advocate. This is nothing to do with the Paul Kimmage that I knew very well as a cyclist. This is to do with a journalist who went over the line and who called me corrupt. And I will no accept that on my behalf nor on my family’s behalf, who are living in Ireland.”
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The action was widely seen as a PR disaster for the UCI, especially coming so soon after the damning report from USADA into Lance Armstrong and some of his former US Postal Service/Discovery team mates.
After a meeting of the management committee of the UCI in Geneva today, the organisation released a statement saying it planned to put in place an independent commission to investigate various allegations against the UCI relating to the Armstrong affair.
The statement also announced that the legal action against Kimmage would not go ahead.
It said the legal action against the author and journalist was “suspended” pending the findings of the new independent commission into the UCI’s handling of Armstrong during his racing days.
However, the UCI saying the action has been suspended rather than abandoned will largely be seen as a facing saving exercise, with the prospect of the case against Kimmage ever going ahead now highly unlikely.
The decision to halt the action comes on the same day it emerged that a fund set up to pay for Kimmage’s defence had passed $80,000 and more than 2,000 had contributed.
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Kimmage had said he planned to “fill a jumbo jet” with witnesses that would speak in his defence.
Full Statement Released This Afternoon by the UCI
Description: The Management Committee of the International Cycling Union (UCI), meeting in Geneva today, decided a number of critical measures in the wake of the USADA ‘Reasoned Decision’ on Lance Armstrong. The Committee acknowledged that decisive action was needed in response to the report.
With respect to Lance Armstrong and the implications of the USADA sanctions which it endorsed on Monday 22 October, the Management Committee decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events. The Committee decided to apply this ruling from now on to any competitive sporting results disqualified due to doping for the period from 1998 to 2005, without prejudice to the statute of limitation. The Committee also called on Armstrong and all other affected riders to return the prize money they had received.
The UCI Management Committee acknowledged that a cloud of suspicion would remain hanging over this dark period – but while this might appear harsh for those who rode clean, they would understand there was little honour to be gained in reallocating places.
Second, while the Management Committee expressed confidence that enormous strides had been made in the fight against doping since 2005, in order to ensure that UCI and cycling could move forward with the confidence of all parties, the governing body also decided to establish a fully independent external Commission to look into the various allegations made about UCI relating to the Armstrong affair.
The Committee agreed that part of the independent Commission’s remit would be to find ways to ensure that persons caught for doping were no longer able to take part in the sport, including as part of an entourage.
In the week of 5 November 2012, therefore, the Management Committee will announce which independent sports body will nominate the members of the Commission and, with the UCI Management Committee, agree appropriate terms of reference.
Following this, individual members of the independent Commission will be appointed as soon as possible with a view to their report and recommendations being published no later than 1 June 2013.
Finally, while continuing strongly to maintain the merits of UCI’s case, the Committee decided to seek to suspend the UCI legal action against journalist Paul Kimmage, pending the findings of the independent Commission. UCI President Pat McQuaid and Honorary President Hein Verbruggen who are individual parties to the case will similarly seek to put their cases on hold.
UCI President Pat McQuaid said: “As I said on Monday, UCI is determined to turn around this painful episode in the history of our sport. We will take whatever actions are deemed necessary by the independent Commission and we will put cycling back on track.”
“Today, cycling is a completely different sport from what it was in the period 1998-2005. Riders are now subject to the most innovative and effective anti-doping procedures and regulations in sport. Nevertheless, we have listened to the world’s reaction to the Lance Armstrong affair and have taken these additional decisive steps in response to the grave concerns raised.”
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