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Former road racer Matt White said he was standing down from his position as Professional Men’s Road Coordinator. Photo: AFP

Cycling Australia to meet over Armstrong-linked doping admissions

Cycling Australia will meet this week to discuss what action it will take after former road racer Matt White admitted involvement in the Lance Armstrong doping conspiracy, the organisation said on Sunday.

White, 38, said he was part of a strategy of doping when he rode on the Armstrong-led US Postal Services team from 2001 to 2003 and told CA on Saturday he was standing down from his position as Professional Men’s Road Coordinator.

“In light of the admissions by Matt, the [CA] board will meet this week to discuss what options are available to us and to determine what action should be taken,” President Klaus Mueller said in a statement.

“We recognise that both Asada [Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority] and the UCI [International Cycling Union] have people poring over the [Armstrong] decision and supporting documents released by the US Anti-Doping Agency in relation to this case.

“We will certainly consider any advice we receive from them as part of our discussions.”

White announced on Saturday he was stepping down from his jobs as the sports director of the emerging Australian professional team Orica-GreenEDGE and his role in Cycling Australia’s men’s road racing programme.

“I am sad to say that I was part of a team where doping formed part of the team’s strategy and I too was involved in that strategy,” White said in his statement.

“My involvement is something I am not proud of and I sincerely apologise to my fans, media, family and friends who trusted me and also to other athletes in my era that consciously chose not to dope.”

White’s confession comes as fallout from the scandal widens, with Armstrong having been stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and banned from cycling for life after a long investigation by Usada.

Mueller said while all the relevant information and advice was unlikely to be available for consideration at this week’s meeting, the board will discuss what could be done in the short term.

“We will also look at the processes we have in place in relation to the appointment of staff to positions within the organisation,” Mueller added.

Last week he said it might be time to consider an amnesty for athletes if they admit to wrongdoing.

Armstrong, who denies taking banned substances, has been accused by Usada of being at the heart of “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme” ever seen in sport.

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