Australian Matt White has stepped down as Orica-GreenEdge sports director yesterday after admitting to doping while riding with Lance Armstrong's US Postal cycling team. "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, who rode at US Postal from 2001-03, said. On Wednesday, the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) published a 1,000-page document which said that Armstrong used banned substances and organised team doping during his career. Meanwhile, the RadioShack-Nissan team severed ties "by mutual agreement" with Armstrong's former manager, Johan Bruyneel, after he was singled out as a central figure in the former champion's doping programme. Reuters
Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo secured his sixth pole of the MotoGP season with a last-gasp spurt in qualifying for today's Japanese Grand Prix. The Yamaha rider clocked a record lap of one minute 44.969 seconds as the chequered flag fell, comfortably ahead of title rival Dani Pedrosa's Honda. Reuters
Wycliff Palu, Sekope Kepu and Drew Mitchell have returned from injury to bolster the Australia squad for next Saturday's final Bledisloe Cup test against World Cup winners New Zealand in Brisbane. Utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper, who missed last weekend's 25-19 win over Argentina in Rosario because of concussion, also returned to beef up the side that has been hit by injuries Reuters
