Former Armstrong team-mate says McQuaid must go

LONDON (AFP) –

International Cycling Union (UCI) President Pat McQuaid is seen in silhouette during a press conference announcing the decision about the fate of US cyclist Lance Armstrong on October 22, in Geneva. Scott Mercier has called for McQuaid to resign as head of world cycling’s governing body for failing to do more to uncover the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

Scott Mercier has called for UCI president Pat McQuaid to resign as head of world cycling’s governing body for failing to do more to uncover the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

Mercier, now 41, was a member of Armstrong’s US Postal team but retired from cycling in 1997 due to his reluctance to dope.

“When Pat McQuaid says that he has no responsibility, it’s quite simply not true,” Mercier told Sky Sports News on Tuesday.

“I think that the directors have to be accountable. The UCI has to get rid of Pat McQuaid.

“In any other business, in the same circumstances, the president would resign or be sacked. The sport can’t change, at least at a professional level, as long as he remains in his position.”

Mercier, who quit the sport aged 28 when US Postal asked him to dope, was interviewed by the United States Anti-doping Agency (USADA) during their inquiry into the tactics used by Armstrong and his former team.

On Monday, Armstrong’s life ban from cycling was upheld by the UCI and he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

McQuaid, who was not at the UCI helm during Armstrong’s run of Tour wins, has dismissed calls that he should step down from his position.