Tuesday, June 20, 2006
He wrote an eight-page letter to the president of the IOC.
LONDON (AP) -- Lance Armstrong wants Dick Pound out as head of the World Anti-Doping Agency over his handling of doping allegations against the seven-time Tour de France champion.
"Dick Pound has always been quick to admonish others and to call for officials accused of misconduct to be sanctioned and removed from involvement in the Olympic movement," Armstrong said in a letter to the IOC.
"In my view, it is essential that the IOC executive committee and the IOC president recognize this is a critical situation that requires decisive action."
The eight-page letter, dated June 9 and published on Armstrong's Web site, was addressed to IOC president Jacques Rogge and the IOC executive board.
Armstrong acted after a Dutch investigator cleared him of allegations -- published in the French sports daily L'Equipe last year -- that he used banned substances during his first tour win in 1999.
Wants Pound out
Armstrong, who has consistently denied using performance-enhancing drugs, asked the IOC to force Pound to step down as chairman of WADA. The IOC executive board begins a three-day meeting Wednesday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
"The IOC has received the letter, and it is very likely it will be discussed during the executive board meetings," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Monday.
Pound was critical of the Dutch report, saying it was prepared by a lawyer with no expertise in doping control. WADA said the report was "so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on the farcical."
In his letter, Armstrong said Pound's ongoing criticisms of the case were "reprehensible and indefensible."
"If the individuals responsible do not accept responsibility and yield their positions voluntarily, those individuals must be suspended or expelled from the Olympic movement," Armstrong said.
Hasn't seen letter
Pound, reached Monday by The Associated Press in Lausanne, said he hasn't seen a copy of Armstrong's letter.
"I have no idea what he has in mind, it's somewhat surprising," Pound said. "The real story is he should be complaining to what happened in L'Equipe ... not picking on me."
Pound said the issue "doesn't even seem to be an IOC thing. ... This is a matter to be resolved between the UCI [cycling's governing body] and WADA."
On June 2, Pound said WADA "completely rejected" a report written by Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman for the UCI that cleared Armstrong. The cycling union appointed Vrijman in October to investigate the handling of urine samples from the 1999 Tour by a French anti-doping lab. His report released May 31 exonerated Armstrong "completely" of any doping infractions.
L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's samples tested positive for EPO. There was no reliable test for EPO in 1999, but urine samples were preserved and analyzed later when improved testing technology was developed.
In a new WADA statement issued Monday in Montreal, the drug agency reiterated its criticisms of Vrijman's report, citing a "lack of professionalism" and a "distinct lack of impartiality in conducting a full review of all the facts."
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