USA Cycling was due to name its team for the UCI Track World Championships on Friday, but the announcement was held up in legal limbo as the federation grapples with rules and looming deadlines after Bobby Lea appealed his 16-month doping ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Lea, 32, was a bronze medalist in the 2015 world championships in the scratch race, but tested positive on August 8 last year for noroxycodone - the result of an ill-timed dose of a painkiller the night before the USA Cycling track championships. He has hired Howard Jacobs, famously the attorney who defended Floyd Landis in his Tour de France doping case, to handle the case which goes before CAS on February 19.
Jim Miller, USA Cycling's Vice President of Athletics explained the situation to Cyclingnews, saying the timing of the case is very difficult. "[Lea is] going to CAS on the 19th, we have to inscript a team with the UCI by the 21st. He won't hear from CAS (with a decision) until the 26th," Miller said. Complicating matters is the fact that if CAS deems Lea eligible to compete at Worlds, USA Cycling is required to allow him to under the Ted Stevens Act, which protects all athletes' right to compete.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lengthy discussions between Lea's, USA Cycling's and the USOC's attorneys led the team announcement to be delayed until the CAS hearing. "If he is deemed eligible by CAS, then he is the automatic nominee for the scratch race by our criteria, and for the points race as a result of Jake Duehring declining his selection, so that's where we're stuck."
Duehring was second to Lea in the national championship omnium, and will compete in the race at the world championships. Because the points race falls during the omnium schedule, he declined to compete in that, but could race the scratch race should Lea be declared ineligible. Lea, who hopes to compete in the omnium at the Olympic Games in Rio, is not allowed to compete in the discipline under UCI rules because he did not race it at any of this season's World Cups. He wants to compete in the scratch and points race instead.
"[Lea's] attorneys have asked that he's listed as a reserve. If he's not on the inscription he can't compete, even if he's deemed eligible. If you're on the inscription you have up to 48 hours before the first event to name your starters, so that would buy the time," Miller said. If USA Cycling failed to add Lea to the roster, and he is declared eligible by CAS, then they could argue USA Cycling neglected to provide avenues for Lea to compete.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1ooiwTc
No comments:
Post a Comment