By Duncan Mackay

Lance Armstrong with yellow jersey zip downMay 23 - An indpendent panel is to be set-up to examine widespread claims that the International Cycling Union (UCI) was involved in a doping cover-up which allowed Lance Armstrong to use banned performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, President Pat McQuaid announced today.


A meeting is due to be held during the SportAccord International Convention in St Petersburg next week between the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to discuss the framework of the proposed panel and who should sit on it. 

"I would be very sure that the audit will show that there's nothing untoward ever been done with Armstrong," McQuaid told Associated Press after the UCI published a report it commissioned to consult cycling stakeholders and fans after the Armstrong affair.

Among the most serious allegations - made by former Armstrong team-mates Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis - that the UCI face are that they colluded over suspicious test results at the 1999 Tour de France and 2001 Tour of Switzerland, suspicions fuelled by a $125,000 (£83,000/€97,000) donation Armstrong made to the world governing body afterwards.  

McQuaid also promised that the UCI will send the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) the laboratory results it requested of samples given by Armstrong during his career.

A previous panel investigating the Armstrong case had been scrapped in January amid concerns over its independence.

The latest panel is expected include two officials experienced in anti-doping science and sports law.

Pat McQuaid with Tyler HamiltonPat McQuaid claims he is "very sure" the UCI will be cleared of allegations made by, among others, Tyler Hamilton (right) that he was involved in a cover-up to protect Lance Armstrong

"The UCI and WADA are talking about names of who might do that [work]," said McQuaid.

"Experts in this field who therefore know what they are looking for, and what they are looking at and understand all the files they will be reading.

"The UCI will maintain that any decisions we took at the time were taken within the rules at the time, with all the knowledge we had at the time.

"I think it's important that an audit can show that."

The members of the panel are expected to be announced following the UCI's Management Board meeting in Bergen on June 12 and 13, although a report would not be published for several months after that.

"After that, we will discuss what further measures we need to take in relation to looking at the past and dealing with the past," said McQuaid. 

The setting-up of the panel followed the publication of findings by professional services network Deloitte which identified six "critically-important recommendations" and a further five "high priority" ones, including restoring cycling's credibility, improving relations with WADA and strengthening the anti-doping culture in the sport.

The Deloitte report said 72 per cent of respondents believed cycling's anti-doping measures had strengthened in the last five years, although the public perception of the UCI's performance in the fight against doping was less positive, with the same percentage rating the performance either "poor" or "very poor". 

"We need to do a much better job in communicating our anti-doping programme and reassuring people that we are doing everything possible to ensure a clean sport and to protect clean riders and that the peloton today is completely different from 10-15 years ago," admitted McQuaid. 

"That independent audit into the UCI should clarify a lot of the issues which are still, in people's minds, doubtful.

"If we can get that message out of that independent audit, that would be a good thing.