CYCLING NEWS:JOURNALIST PAUL Kimmage yesterday lodged a criminal complaint against International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid and honorary president Hein Verbruggen in the Swiss court in Vevey.
The UCI is already under the spotlight over claims that it didn’t do enough to prevent the widescale doping by Lance Armstrong and his former teams during the Texan’s successful 1999-2005 Tour reign.
Last week it endorsed the US Anti-Doping Agency’s (Usada) sanctions against Armstrong and also accepted calls to undergo an independent review of its handling of anti-doping matters.
At the same time Vebruggen and McQuaid put on hold a defamation case they had started against Kimmage.
However, Kimmage yesterday launched his own proceedings.
A statement released by Kimmage’s lawyers: “Paul Kimmage complains, among other things, that he was dragged through the mud, that he was called a liar in public and accused in public of committing offences against the honour after he had obtained the publication of an interview by Floyd Landis in which the latter denounced the conduct of the highest officials of the International Cycling Union.”
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Kimmage said: “When I heard that they had suspended the case against me, I was very relieved. There was an absolutely huge temptation for me to say ‘thank God for that, and now I’m getting on with my life’. ”
However, he said his frustration with how various anti-doping whistleblowers had previously been treated, plus the sum of over $85,000 which had been pledged by cycling fans to his defence fund, prompted a different action.
“I felt that because of the good will that is being extended to me by so many cycling fans, there was an obligation to take this suit and to counter-sue McQuaid and Verbruggen,” he explained.
Kimmage and his lawyer, Cédric Aguet, have lodged a 28-page document to the public prosecutor in Vevey in Switzerland, comprising a total of 55 exhibits he will be basing his case upon.
He believes the documents are compelling. “Cédric has done some great work. I spoke to him today and he thinks we have got a very, very strong case.
“He fully expects that the prosecutor is going to take it and investigate it.”
McQuaid and Verbruggen have both denied any wrongdoing.
Kimmeage believes both officials need to leave cycling for it to get a necessary fresh start.
“This is an absolutely pivotal moment for the sport,” he said yesterday.
FIXTURES: Saturday: Cycling Ireland agm, Clonmel Park Hotel, starts 11am. Sunday: FBD/Neenan Travel Talent Team 2020 camp, Green Isle hotel. Starts 9.30 am. National indoor BMX Championships, Cherry Orchard industrial estate, starts noon.
