Former Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) President Hein Verbruggen countered allegations in the UCI’s recent commission report "by unveiling his own website and threatening legal action," according to Andrew Hood of VELO NEWS. Released in March, "the 227-page report X-rayed the EPO era, much of which coincided with Verbruggen’s stint at the helm of the UCI" from '91-05. The Cycling Independent Reform Commission "drew many conclusions, among them that the UCI colluded with the now-banned Lance Armstrong to cover up a doping positive from the 1999 Tour de France, a charge that Verbruggen denied, and delivered a whitewash of the so-called UCI-backed Vrijman Report that looked into doping allegations against Armstrong." Verbruggen said, "I vehemently disagree with most of its contents, as well as its conclusions. The report is outrageously biased, misleading and frequently wrong." Verbruggen unveiled his own website -- verbruggen.ch -- "which outlines his version of events during his tenure as well as his interaction with CIRC investigators" (VELO NEWS, 6/18). CYCLING NEWS reported at the bottom of a series of "bullet-point conclusions at the end of the article, Verbruggen continues to question the relationship" between the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency. He believes that CIRC followed UCI President Brian Cookson’s example "by putting the sole blame for the conflict between the two organisations on the UCI." Verbruggen also questioned Cookson’s belief that WADA should be involved in any anti-doping investigation, and said that it "automatically results in WADA being shielded against scrutiny of its own wrongdoings" (CYCLING NEWS, 6/18).The AP reported Cookson, "who has called on Verbruggen to relinquish his honorary presidency and is mentioned frequently on the new site," said, "If Mr. Verbruggen wishes to sue the UCI, that of course is a matter for him" (AP, 6/17).
