Cycling Australia has sacked Men's Road Coordinator Matt White for his involvement in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, "while ruling out any amnesty with athletes who owned up to using drugs," according to the AFP. CA held a board meeting on Tuesday to discuss the evidence by USADA and admitted it was "incredibly damaging for cycling worldwide." CA said in a statement: "The evidence presented is damning, the behaviour of the key players is morally reprehensible and cycling fans have every right to feel let down." CA said that White "had made a valuable contribution," however, there was no choice left "but to dismiss him." CA: "The admissions contained within his public statement... clearly place him in breach of the CA Anti-Doping Policy and Code of Conduct" (AFP, 10/17). In a statement, White said he hoped for "a clear path and a bright future for the sport." White added, "It's crucial there is a positive outcome from the current debate about cycling's past, and I feel a responsibility to be part of that -- even if it won't be in an official Cycling Australia role" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/17). In Sydney, Le Grand & Kogoy noted "the peak body for cycling in Australia did not ask" White whether he doped during his riding career when they hired him as an Olympic coach. At the time, CA was "aware of allegations raised by a former teammate." CA President Klaus Mueller said that at the time of his hiring "the board and executive had assumed White was innocent" because the source of the allegations, disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, was a "highly discredited" witness. Mueller said the process that put White in charge of the men's road racing program was not perfect, but "it wasn't haphazard" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/18).
