McQuaid and Verbruggen had been suing Kimmage, a former cyclist and author of the brilliant Rough Ride, until the Lance Armstrong scandal exploded.

After the American had been banned for life and stripped of the seven consecutive Tour de France titles he had won between 1999 and 2005 they announced they had suspended action against Kimmage pending the outcome of an independent investigation.

But the Irishman responded by filing his own action, alleging slander/defamation, denigration and "strong suspicions of fraud".

He has now filed his evidence to the court in Vevey, close to the UCI's headquarters and where McQuaid lives.

The document includes 55 pieces of evidence. 

"This is for everyone who stands up for the truth and anyone who exposed the doping problem in the sport and were treated appallingly by McQuaid and Verbruggen over the last 20 years," Kimmage told Cyclingnews.

"It's justice for the kids who came into the sport and thought they had a chance of achieving their dreams but ended up in coffins; justice for all the kids who wanted to achieve their dreams without doping and were forced out of the sport because they didn't have a shot and justice for those that were left with a choice, cheat or be cheated."


Kimmage is planning to use some of the money raised by American website NYVelocity.com to bankroll the case.

The fund had originally been set up when Kimmage was facing the legal action from McQuaid and Verbruggen, who claimed that "their reputation has been seriously damaged" by Kimmage, following articles published in The Sunday Times and French newspaper L'Équipe.

It has so far raised $91,765 (£57,726/€72,205).

"If I'm being honest, when I heard last week that they were going to suspend their action against me it came as a huge relief," Kimmage told Cyclingnews. 

"A big part of me wanted to say move on with your life and forget about it, move on with your life and pick up the pieces.

"For the last two months I've not been able to think about anything else, it's just dominated every thought I've had.

"But there was part of me that said look you've got an obligation and duty to all of those people who have put their hands in their pocket and tried to help me when I was at my most vulnerable.

"I've an obligation to carry out what they've asked me to do, which is take the fight to the UCI and to hold them to account for the mess they've made of the sport for the last 20 years and ultimately that was the overriding feeling I had. I also have an obligation to all of the people dumped on by Verbruggen and McQuaid over the years for standing up and telling the truth.

"Hopefully they won't be able to sleep because in that sense they'll get a sense of what my life has been for the last two months.

"So if it's cost them one night they'd identify with it."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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