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Geneva - World cycling chief Pat McQuaid has vowed to conduct a sweeping review of the drug-tainted sport after a series of high-profile doping scandals that have left it in crisis.

In an interview to be published on Wednesday, McQuaid admitted that doping had been an integral part of professional cycling for decades and that it was time for the sport to confront the scourge.

The International Cycling Union president said the review could produce a major upheaval in professional cycling within two years.

McQuaid told the Swiss weekly L’Illustre that the length of races, the number of rest days, the accumulation of races in a season and team structures would be included in the audit.

 
“And if the results dictate it, we will drastically change our regulations and the way we work from the 2008 season,” McQuaid added.

McQuaid said the full review of the sport would draw on a range of experts “to make it credible”.

“The Landis affair carried a clear message for those who had the intelligence to decode it,” he explained.

The time for facile excuses or for pardoning is definitely past. This is a war without concessions.” - Sapa-AFP
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