Cycling:Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins believes there is a lot of anger within cycling towards Lance Armstrong.
The UCI this week ratified sanctions recommended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, who concluded Armstrong and the United States Postal Service team ran “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”.
Armstrong was banned for life and all his results from August 1, 1998 removed, including his seven Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005. At the launch of next year’s Tour de France route in Paris today reigning champion Wiggins hit out at the 41-year-old Texan over the scandal that has rocked the sport.
“I think there is a lot of anger from most people within the sport, it is a sport I love and have always loved. It is a shame that cycling is being dragged through this again really, not a shame that he has been caught; when you get older you start to realise Father Christmas doesn’t exist and it is the same with Lance.
“But it is a shame that us riders here now, we are the one picking the pieces up and having to convince people.” Fellow Briton Mark Cavendish has urged Armstrong to admit to doping for the good of the sport, but while Wiggins agrees with his compatriot, he does not feel an admission will be forthcoming.
When asked whether he thought Armstrong admitting to the charge would help the situation Wiggins said: “I think so, definitely. But he is a stubborn man and I don’t think he is ever going to confess, he has too much to lose.”
Cavendish wants Armstrong to follow in the steps of his Great Britain team-mate David Millar and his former HTC director Rolf Aldag who have admitted to doping.
“It’s not fair on me having to answer these questions. If you’ve done something, confess. That anyone can damage the sport I love right now, it’s frustrating.
“I’ve worked with David Millar. This guy’s remorseful. He’s repented. The team I grew up with, HTC, one of the directors (Aldag) — these guys care about the sport. They ruin their reputation to move the sport on, but other people care more about themselves.”
And Cavendish believes this is an issue with society rather than cycling. It’s not just in cycling; it’s every walk of life. There’s cheats in entertainment, journalists cheat, every single sport has cheats,” he added.
“If you put the effort into catching them and you have a structure that does things properly, you’re going to catch a cheat. It doesn’t happen in other sports not because they are clean but because it’s not got the structure cycling has. In my eyes, cycling is the cleanest sport.”