THE head of the UK’s governing body for cycle sport is to quit next year as the organisation remains under scrutiny over a substance administered to former Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins.
British Cycling’s chief executive Ian Drake will depart the organisation in April, becoming the second senior figure in months to quit following the departure of performance director Shane Sutton over a sexism row involving rider Jess Varnish.
The organisation has attracted the attention of investigators from UK Anti-Doping after Russian hackers released documents revealing that Sir Bradley had received three injections of triamcinolone, a steroid that aims to alleviate breathing problems and allergies, before the Tour de France. They were permitted under rules known as therapeutic use exemptions.
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It came as the organisers of an event featuring disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong criticised the American for pulling out of an event at the last minute in Dublin.
The American athlete, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles over doping, was due to appear at a sports and technology conference in Dublin today.
An on-stage interview at the widely publicised ticket- only event in the Irish capital’s RDS arena was to be followed by a 45-minute question and answer session open to the crowd.
Armstrong suddenly cancelled on the advice of his legal team, due to an upcoming court case brought against him on behalf of the US Postal Service.
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Spokesman Rob Hartnett said: “He has let us down, his fans down and he has let down those that wanted to hear him openly discuss his past and the future of sport.”
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