Australian cycling team Orica-GreenEDGE are backing team director Matt White after he was implicated in the Lance Armstrong doping case.
It has emerged that White is apparently the unidentified “Rider 9” mentioned in an affidavit from Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis.
In the evidence, Landis says he shared banned human growth hormone with Canadian cyclist Michael Barry and Rider 9 while they were training for the 2003 Tour of Spain.
All were racing for Armstrong’s US Postal team at the time.
White is one of the main management figures at Orica-GreenEDGE, who made their debut this year and competed in the Tour de France.
He also managed the Australian men’s road cycling team at the London Olympics and is the Cycling Australia men’s road coordinator.
“We fully support Matthew White and trust his integrity as a sports director with us,” team general manager Shayne Bannan said in a statement.
“We have become aware of the fact the he has been linked to some of the evidence in the report about the US Postal Team and we are in contact with Matt to seek full clarity as to what this is about.
“We will comment once we have been able to talk to both Matt White and the relevant Australian authorities.”
Landis lost the 2006 Tour de France title after he was caught doping and Barry has also testified against Armstrong.
The affidavit implicating White is part of a large body of evidence that the US Anti-Doping Agency made public this week.
Armstrong, the record seven-time Tour de France champion, is facing a lifetime ban after saying he would not contest that charges that USADA have brought against him.
But he still fiercely proclaims his innocence, calling the case a witch hunt.
CA president Klaus Mueller said in a statement on Friday that they were unsure whether any Australians were named in the USADA evidence.
He said it would take time to go through all the evidence.
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