ANTHONY MORAN, WHO yesterday announced his decision to resign from the Cycling Ireland board in the wake of their nomination of Pat McQuaid for a third term as UCI President, has revealed an email from Betsy Andreu inspired him to make the decision.
Speaking on Newstalk’s Off the Ball show, Moran said that while he had been considering his position in the aftermath of the McQuaid decision, the email from Andreu made his mind up.
“She said she knew what it was like to be in my position,” he said. “It was nice to get an email from someone like that.”
Betsy Andreu — wife of a former Lance Armstrong team-mate — was a key whistleblower in the shamed Texan’s story.
Last night, Moran also denied that he was “anti-Pat McQuaid” and recalled how himself and other members of the Cycling Ireland board met up individually with the UCI chief in the days prior to their decision, recalling how he told McQuaid that he had “lost confidence” in cycling.
He also described how he had been disillusioned with the sport of cycling, ever since USADA released their report condemning widespread use of performance-enhancers by Lance Armstrong and others in October of last year.
“It basically diminished any belief I had in Pro-Cycling, any belief I had in UCI and consequently, I didn’t see how I could support Pat for a third term.
“Every few years, we have a major drug scandal. There’s only so much a man can take.
“Personally, there was no way I could say to the USI: ‘jog on, everything’s fine.’ It’s the UCI management [who should be held responsible], which is certainly more than Pat McQuaid. So there has to be change, and we have to bring the sport on.”
He talked of how he received messages of support from people “all day long from all over the world,” and added: “They still have Hein Verbruggen – he should not be allowed there.
“This is a fella who’s said Lance has never doped… The perception I got was that UCI were trying to take control of the Armstrong affair.”
He revealed how he was “shocked” at Cycling Ireland’s decision, but explained: “I’m still friends with the guys on the board, so I wouldn’t divulge anything about what they did.”
However, he ended the interview on a somewhat optimistic note, suggesting the Spanish method of turning over doping investigations to national police services might be the way forward, and added: “I hope that a strong candidate comes forward [to contest McQuaid's nomination].
“I used to love the sport and I hope to get that love back,” he said.
