14 Oct 2012

Australian cyclist admits role in doping ring

6:20 pm on 14 October 2012

Australia's international cycling team has been hit by the widening fall out from the Lance Armstrong cycling doping scandal.

The Australian cycling selector, Matthew White, has admitted to doping while he was a member of Armstrong's team.

The 38-year-old has admitted using the enhancers EPO and testosterone when he rode with Lance Armstrong's US Postal team between 2001 and 2003.

The ABC reports that on Saturday evening White confessed in a statement to using performance-enhancing drugs and stepped down from his roles with Cycling Australia and the Australian professional road team Orica-GreenEDGE.

"I am sad to say that I was part of a team where doping formed part of the team's strategy, and I too was involved in that strategy," he said.

"My involvement is something I am not proud of and I sincerely apologise to my fans, media, family and friends who trusted me and also to other athletes in my era that consciously chose not to dope."

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) recently released a detailed report accusing Armstrong of being at the centre of an elaborate doping conspiracy, ruling he should lose his seven Tour de France titles and be banned from the sport for life.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) is yet to decide whether to ratify USADA's decision.