Unhappy with end of Independent Commission, believes McQuaid needs to show transparency

Days after Cycling Ireland agreed to nominate Pat McQuaid for what could be his third term as UCI president, Cycling Australia chief Klaus Mueller has said that he believes there are unanswered questions from the Lance Armstrong case.



The UCI, McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen were accused of having been too close to the now-retired pro. Verbruggen was also accused of helping Armstrong avoid positive tests, something he denies.



The governing body also received criticism over its handling of the Armstrong investigation, including its contesting of USADA’s jurisdiction, as well as its scrapping of the Independent Commission that it first claimed would ultimately clear it.



Mueller spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald and said that while Cycling Australia has not yet considered its position on McQuaid, that it would be in contact with the 63 year old to see what he will do to reassure the public.



“My private position is that I am concerned there hasn't been an inquiry held, that it's [been] simply put on the backburner,” said Mueller. “The members and public are entitled to know whether the UCI - as it has been alleged by some - has been complicit or turned a blind eye to doping.”



He suggested that the Independent Commission was a chance to address the issues raised, but that opportunity has now been lost.



“An independent inquiry was originally set up which has now been disbanded, and I would have thought that until there is an independent inquiry to investigate that issue, the public is not going to be able to have confidence that the present administration of the UCI were not implicated,” he said. “That's not to suggest that they were, that's not the position I am taking but it was such a major scandal for so long people are entitled to have some suspicion.”



He added that while former UCI anti-doping chief and others have suggested that the UCI’s efforts have picked up in recent years, he was ‘not sure this necessarily answers all the questions.’



McQuaid’s backing by Cycling Ireland has met with very mixed reactions. He will go up for elections at the UCI congress in September. Thus far other challengers have not emerged, but there is still time for them to do so.



Several individuals are rumoured to be considering running.



For Mueller, he believes that McQuaid and the UCI need to prove that they acted properly. “The most important issue is to make sure that there is confidence that the UCI administration was not complicit in misdeeds of the past and if there is an independent finding that they were complicit, that those people be removed from the organisation.”