An invite to disgraced former cycling champion Lance Armstrong to take part in a charity Tour de France bike ride has been deemed “completely inappropriate” and “very disrespectful” by the head of world cycling’s governing body.
Armstrong's spokesman said he will ride part of the route for "just a couple of days" before the start of the race, together with former Crystal Palace footballer Geoff Thomas. The pair are hoping to raise £1m for Cure Leukaemia.
But Brian Cookson, president of Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), said the plans were “very disrespectful to the Tour de France”.
“I think it’s disrespectful to the current riders in the peloton, I think it’s disrespectful to the UCI and current anti-doping activities. I think Lance Armstrong would be well advised not to take part,” he said at a Sports Industry Breakfast Club event sponsored by CWM FX.
Armstrong was banned for life from the sport in 2012 and stripped of his seven Tour de France victories after admitting to cheating in all seven of his wins.
Cookson said: “The charity justification was used quite a lot throughout Lance Armstrong’s career and that got us into a mess that is well documented now. There are other ways people can do good works and raise money.
“In my view bringing Lance Armstrong to ride on some or all of the Tour de France route one day before the actual race – I can’t think of a better word than disrespectful.”
Cookson said Armstrong’s cheating was “the most professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”.
“Lance Armstrong said he had been singled out and made an exceptional case. But he was the only rider who won the Tour de France seven times by cheating. So he is an exceptional case,” said Cookson.
At the height of his career, Armstrong founded the Livestrong charity, which became an international brand and raised £340m for cancer research.
But following his exposure as a doper of performance-enhancing drugs in 2012, Armstrong and the charity parted ways.
In an interview with Cycling Weekly, Thomas said critics were missing the bigger picture.
“I think there’s a bigger story here; to raise awareness and as much money as we can for this fantastic charity,” he said. “It’s my job to work out how to do that as best as we can. This has stirred up a lot of people’s feelings, yes, but it’s all from a good side from my perspective.”
The former England midfielder, who battled blood cancer 12 years ago, first followed the Tour de France route for charity in 2005 and was presented with a BBC award by Armstrong.
Thomas said he was inspired by the cyclist and hoped he could help to raise funds for the blood cancer charity.
“I wanted to see how he’d react to an offer to help in the fight against cancer again. What I saw was somebody who was frustrated he couldn’t do that type of work with Livestrong any more,” said Thomas. “It’s a great opportunity to get him back into that realm, and hopefully in future help him make millions of pounds for charity again.”
Armstrong - a survivor of testicular cancer - said he was “honoured and humbled” to be asked to take part in the charity ride.
"Since my own diagnosis, I've been 100 per cent committed to fighting this dreadful disease that affects millions, and that holds true today," he told the Associated Press.
