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Saturday, July 28, 2007

Tour Owner Wants Cycling Chief to Resign Send a link to a friend

[July 28, 2007] COGNAC, France (AP) -- The owner of the Tour de France called for cycling chief Pat McQuaid to step down Saturday after a long-running feud that escalated at this race and threatens to divide cycling.

Patrice Clerc, boss of the Amaury Sports Organization (ASO) that owns the 104-year-old race, said a new way must be found to restore cycling's credibility following a succession of doping scandals at the Tour.

"The piloting of cycling's reconstruction can not be given to the UCI," Clerc said. "We will have to do it with all those who reject the current system in order to find our values again: riders, teams, sponsors, federations ... will all need to unite."

McQuaid was not invited to the race by organizers, but showed for Saturday's 19th stage time trial with an invitation from a French television station.

Asked for his reaction by The Associated Press, McQuaid said he "would never do anything to hurt the Tour de France" and that it was "scandalous" for Clerc's ASO to suggest that.

The feud between the two has been building since October 2005, when Clerc accused the UCI of not doing enough to combat doping.

"We will take the initiative in this debate," Clerc said. "We will communicate the results of our work on October 25, when we will announce the 2008 Tour route."

The feud got worse at this year's Tour because of more doping cases, forcing the ASO to kick out Alexandre Vinokourov, his Astana team, and Italian rider Cristian Moreni, which caused the withdrawal of Cofidis.

Clerc blames the UCI for not implementing a stronger doping program, and for allowing Michael Rasmussen to start the race even though he lied before the Tour and missed doping tests.

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On Wednesday, Rasmussen was taken out of the race, which he had led since July 15, by his Rabobank team for lying about his whereabouts when he missed a doping check last month.

"In any society, public or private, those responsible would have no choice but to resign," Clerc said. "The UCI, by the way its acted, at minimum has lacked clarity, transparency, professionalism, competence and in every case has shown a complete lack of conscience.

"We don't want this system. We need to be independent of people who are either incompetent or have the desire to spoil (the race), to hurt the Tour de France."

McQuaid vowed to stay on as the head of the International Cycling Union.

"Cycling does not belong to the Tour de France, it belongs to the cycling family," he said. "Are we to blame because there are guys getting caught (cheating). We couldn't break the rules in relation to Michael Rasmussen to stop him coming into the race.

"It's no use making rules as you go along as they've done here this week. The sport needs a structure under a government and not everybody doing their own thing."

[Associated Press; By JEROME PUGMIRE]

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