Australian Firm To Sue Uci
Australian clothing firm SKINS are threatening to sue the world cycling governing body UCI for up to £1.25m – claiming that the organisation did not do enough to stop doping in the sport.
SKINS have been involved in professional cycling since 2008 and currently sponsor Cycling Australia, USA Cycling, Rabobank, Europcar and Telekom teams, as well as BikeNZ in New Zealand. According to media reports, the brand’s lawyers contacted the UCI on Friday outlining its decision to sue the governing body.
A statement from the company said that SKINS had begun its association with the sport ‘under the illusion that professional cycling had been fundamentally reformed to contain doping and to minimise the risks of scandals with which the brand of any sponsor could be associated…It has now been proven that these legitimate expectations (of cycling being clean) have been betrayed on the grounds you are aware of.’
SKINS claimed that the damage that the recent Lance Armstrong controversy had on the sport was part of their decision. Armstrong was stripped of his titles by the UCI and banned for life following the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s allegations that the cyclist had used performance enhancing drugs throughout his career.
SKINS chairperson Jaimie Fuller added: ‘The Lance Armstrong affair has damaged world cycling to the point where its reputation is possibly irreparable. As a commercial partner, there are clearly implications to our brand image (and) our reputation and credibility has potentially been significantly damaged.’
