Wednesday October 24, 2012

Insurance firm wants shamed cyclist to repay bonus millions

LOS ANGELES: Dallas insurance company SCA Promotions are demanding the return of millions of dollars in bonuses paid to Lance Armstrong now that the shamed cyclist’s Tour de France victories have been expunged.

“Mr. Armstrong is no longer the official winner of any Tour de France races and as a result it is inappropriate and improper for him to retain any bonus payments made by SCA,” Jeffrey Dorough, general counsel for the firm, said Monday in a telephone interview.

On Monday in Geneva, the International Cycling Union (UCI) officially backed the US Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to effectively erase Armstrong’s cycling record, including the seven Tour de France titles he won from 1999-2005.

USADA this month released a devastating dossier on Armstrong, putting him at the heart of the biggest doping programme in the history of sport.

Dorough confirmed that SCA were seeking US$7.5mil paid out to Armstrong after a 2006 arbitration proceeding, which included a US$5mil bonus as well as legal fees and interest.

During Armstrong’s era of dominance, US Postal Service team parent company Tailwind Sports took out a policy with SCA, paying a premium to cover bonuses paid to Armstrong for his Tour de France victories.

When SCA withheld a US$5mil bonus due after Armstrong’s sixth Tour de France win in 2004 because of the doping allegations made in the book “LA Confidential,” Armstrong took successful legal action.

Armstrong won that case, on the basis that the original contract between SCA and Tailwind Sports did not include any stipulations about doping.

Velonation reported that SCA in fact had paid a total of US$12mil to Armstrong in bonuses over the years.

“The only figure I can confirm is the US$7.5mil paid to Mr. Armstrong in 2006 pursuant to the arbitration,” Dorough said.

He also added: “Any sum that was paid by SCA would be in play.” — AFP

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