Former cycling body president claims report was 'character assassination'
UCI president Brian Cookson has insisted he will not get dragged into a public war of words with cycling's formed head Hein Verbruggen.
Verbruggen, the president of international cycling during the Lance Armstrong years, says he will fight any attempt to remove him as honorary president of the UCI after being criticised by the CIRC inquiry into the doping scandal.
[comment] [/comment]
He also claims he is being targeted by Cookson as a "personal revenge campaign" and has written to UCI board members vowing not to stand down.
Cookson said: "I think Mr Verbruggen's letter speaks for itself. Those who have read the CIRC report will understand where the UCI went wrong in the past, including the conflicts it needlessly got into and which seriously damaged its credibility.
"I was elected to change the way the UCI conducts itself and I won't be drawn into this kind of public conflict."
The Independent Commission for Reform in Cycling's (CIRC) report concluded that, under Verbruggen's leadership, the UCI had colluded with Armstrong to cover up allegations the seven-times Tour de France winner had doped.
Verbruggen has now written to all UCI board members saying he has put the "scandalously biased" report - which he also calls a "character assassination" - into the hands of lawyers.
In his letter, a copy of which has been seen by Press Association Sport, Verbruggen says: "Mr Cookson is in for a surprise if he thinks that I will accept this scandalously biased CIRC report, and the same goes for taking away my honorary title.
"Indeed, the last word about the CIRC report has not yet been written. I would like to make you aware that I am having the report analysed by Swiss lawyers."
The lengthy letter added: "It has become clear that what I am dealing with here is simply a personal revenge campaign against me by Mr Cookson."
Verbruggen also claims the €2.8m cost of the CIRC report has effectively been wasted.
After the CIRC report was published in March, Cookson, said he would write to Verbruggen to ask him to step down as honorary president saying he had made "serious errors of judgment and wrong decisions".
