Rogge Backs Olympic Cycling

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge has re-affirmed his support for cycling’s inclusion in the Olympic Games following calls for the sport to be dropped amid the current doping controversy.

UCI President Pat McQuaid described the ongoing doping saga as the ‘biggest crisis cycling has ever faced’ when he announced on Monday that Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his Tour de France titles and will be banned for life. 

McQuaid’s statement came after the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s report last month which alleged Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. The report also exposed the widespread culture of doping in cycling. 

The crisis had led some to call for cycling to be removed as an Olympic event however Rogge, who has described the USADA report as ‘shocking’, defended cycling’s Olympic status saying: ‘It would be unfair to penalise the huge majority of clean athletes by banning UCI from the Olympic Games…we believe there are a number of ways by which cheaters can be kicked out of the sport.’

The IOC has yet to strip Armstrong of his road time-trial bronze medal that the cyclist won during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.