Only more 'dirty work' will clean up doping: Tygart

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) –

Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), waits to speak at the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) in Berlin on January 30, 2013. Tygart on Wednesday appealed to German lawmakers to help keep up the ‘dirty work’ needed to remove drugs cheats like Lance Armstrong from sport.

US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart on Wednesday appealed to German lawmakers to help keep up the ‘dirty work’ needed to remove drugs cheats like Lance Armstrong from sport.

USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and slapped him with a lifetime ban in October after releasing a damning report which detailed the American’s sophisticated doping programme.

Having been invited to speak back in October 2012, Tygart told the Bundestag’s sports committee that funds must be kept available to maintain the work already being done to remove drugs cheats from cycling and other sports.

“We have to be willing to do the dirty and unpleasant work needed to protect clean athletes and make more progress,” said Tygart in the German capital in a 20-minute address.

With representatives from Germany’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) having travelled from Bonn, west Germany, to hear Tygart speak, the American said the different national anti-doping agencies must work closer together.

“Borders must not stop us, because they don’t stop dopers. I look forward to an even better exchange with NADA. Our clean athletes deserve a clean sport,” the 41-year-old added.

“It’s not just to protect the athletes of today, but also of tomorrow.

“We must protect the clean athletes so they remain committed to the cause.”