UCI Recognizes Sanctions against Lance Armstrong

by Jeremy Clare

On October 22, 2012, the International Cycling Union (UCI) released its decision regarding USADA’s case against Lance Armstrong. UCI came to three main conclusions: (1) UCI will not appeal USADA’s reasoned decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS); (2) UCI will recognize and implement USADA’s reasoned decision; and (3) UCI will disqualify all competitive results achieved by Mr. Armstrong from August 1, 1998 thereafter.

In determining whether or not to appeal to the CAS, UCI determined that jurisdiction of the case was no longer an issue. UCI still believes that it should have handled the case first, but it also determined that USADA would have ultimately dealt with the disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Armstrong even if UCI had jurisdiction initially. Furthermore, because Mr. Armstrong chose not to proceed to arbitration, USADA would have made its decision in the same manner.

UCI also determined that it would have limited the disciplinary proceedings to only those violations that occurred within the last eight years in accordance with the statute of limitations under the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code). UCI disagreed with USADA’s determination that the statute of limitations was suspended because Mr. Armstrong concealed the violations. UCI argued that the statute of limitations within the Code is clear and applying it differently depending on the particular national laws and standards would be in direct contradiction with the purpose of harmonization of the Code. However, because Mr. Armstrong failed to invoke the statute of limitations and because it is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) responsibility to ensure compliance with the Code, UCI decided not to appeal to the CAS.

Ultimately, UCI recognized USADA’s decision. In doing so, UCI will disqualify all competitive results achieved by Mr. Armstrong in cycling sing August 1, 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins. UCI’s recognition did not alter its position on the issue of the statute of limitations, and UCI noted that the sanctions are still subject to appeal by WADA or Mr. Armstrong. WADA has 21 days to appeal to the CAS.

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Jeremy Clare is a law clerk at Karl Bayer, Dispute Resolution Expert. Jeremy received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2012 and received a B.A. from the University of South Carolina where he studied political science.