Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Monday 22 October 2012

UCI: accept USADA report – 'Armstrong has no place in cycling'



Pat McQuaid, president of UCI announces at press conference in Geneva:
'Lance Armstrong banned for life and stripped of his seven tour victories by UCI. Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling.'

The Tour de France organisers must be breathing a sigh of relief as details of the 100th Tour are due to be announced on Wednesday. The Tour de France organisers are now seeking the return of the prize money from Armstrong for the seven Tour victories. Christian Prudhomme, the director of le Tour, has reiterated that he wants there now to be no winner of the Tour between 1999 and 2005.   

UCI Management meeting on Friday to decide about prize money and address other aspects of the USADA report. 

Armstrong may well now find that The Sunday Times (libel action) and the insurance company who had to pay out for his Tour victories will now start legal actions against him. Plus possibility of trial for perjury in US leading to possible jail sentence. Armstrong could fall further.  

Following the UCI announcement, Oakley sunglasses have cut ties with Armstrong – sponsorship ends immediately. 

Although McQuaid rejects complicity by UCI, although he wasn't president then, what happens now to the court case against Paul Kimmage? 

Answer:
Will legal action continue against journalist Paul Kimmage? "The case against Kimmage is nothing to do with Usada and Armstrong," says McQuaid. "It's about a journalist who accused me and my predecessor of being corrupt. It's a straight defamation case." 

Will UCI now be returning all donations made by Armstrong? McQuaid says UCI will still accept donations from current riders – so this dreadful conflict of interest will continue. 

One positive result of McQuaid UCI press conference today is that it has helped to boost the Paul Kimmage defense fund to $64,551.54 from 2108 donors.* 

Update on total (18.00 BST): $65,257.54 from 2139 donors.

No comments: