International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge reiterated his confidence in under-fire International Cycling Union chief Pat McQuaid on Wednesday.

McQuaid and his predecessor Hein Verbruggen have been in the spotlight ever since the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, with pressure on them to clarify how much they knew and whether or not dope test results were suppressed.

Rogge, though, stood by McQuaid and expressed his hope that the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency would mend their differences in what has become an increasingly unseemly war of words.

"We have confidence in Mr McQuaid and his role as president of the UCI," the 70-year-old Belgian said after a meeting of the 15-member IOC Executive Board.

"There is an ongoing discussion between the World Anti-doping Agency and the UCI. We call on both parties to reconcile and to find a solution to this crisis together," added Rogge.

Rogge said in January that he would not comment on either McQuaid or Verbruggen's position.

"Calls for a resignation are not valid until there is solid proof. First investigate and make a judgement, then carry out the punishment. Not in the reverse order," he insisted.

McQuaid and his organization were widely criticized for disbanding its own independent commission into the Armstrong scandal at the end of January.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/15/2013 page12)