Cycling chief Pat McQuaid on Monday called for team bosses to be punished along with riders amid the furore of the failed drugs test of Tour de France winner Floyd Landis.
The 30-year-old American — who has been sacked by his Phonak team — tested positive for excessive levels of testosterone after a stunning victory in the 17th stage of last month’s Tour.
And McQuaid believes that the only way to stamp out doping in the sport is for team bosses to take an equal share of the blame. ”It’s not just a question of image, but of credibility,” said the International Cycling Federation’s (UCI) president.
”Of some 300 tests carried out during the Tour there was only one positive test. The problem is that it was the winner. We’re considering carrying out an audit of top-level cycling. Currently the riders are the only ones penalised. We have to see in what way the managers can also be,” said McQuaid.
”The answers are often in the hands of the sporting directors. They are the ones who can make the right choices.”
Meanwhile, Landis, who risks being stripped of his Tour title, hit back on Monday at world cycling authorities, accusing them of ambushing him with the premature release of doping tests.
The American again denied taking testosterone and slammed UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency officials.
Landis told NBC television that it was ”a mistake on my part” to respond quickly with various defences, including the suggestion the substance might have resulted from drinking alcohol.
”The problem here, though, from the beginning was the fact that the people doing the testing did not follow their own rules and protocols and made this public before I had a chance to figure out what was going on,” he said.
”I was forced in the press to make comments before I could get educated on this. Had they followed their own protocols, this never would have happened in the first place.” — Sapa-AFP