Cycling Australia confirms Matt White's new job after probe into Garmin-Cervélo sacking

Cycling Australia has confirmed that Matt White, sacked as team manager by Garmin-Cervélo ten days ago for breaking team rules by referring a former rider to an outside doctor without going through proper channels, will take on the role of Professional Men’s Road Coordinator to its High Performance Programme.

White had been due to combine that post, to which he had been appointed last month, with his duties at Garmin-Cervélo prior to his sudden sacking, which came just hours after he had managed the team to success in the Santos Tour Down Under, with Cameron Meyer clinching the overall title.

That followed the discovery that he had circumvented team rules by referring former Garmin-Transitions rider Trent Lowe to the Valencia clinic of the Spanish sports doctor, Luis Garcia del Moral. That referral was apparently due to Lowe living in Valencia, making it easier for him to undertake a VO2 Max test there, rather than at the team’s European base in Valencia.

The Spanish doctor oversaw the medical staff at the US Postal Service team between 1999 and 2003, when Lance Armstrong won five of his seven Tour de France titles, and has been named in doping allegations by Floyd Landis, a claim he denies.

White himself was a US Postal Service rider between 2001 and 2003, the team Landis joined in 2002 and several of whose staff and riders he accuses of being involved in organised doping. However, the Australian does not appear to have ever mentioned in those allegations which, among others, are currently being investigated in the United States.

Last week, Cycling Australia’s board asked CEO Graham Fredericks to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding White’s dismissal by Garmin-Cervélo.

The organisation said that “In his report to the board Mr Fredericks found no reason for Cycling Australia to reconsider the appointment of Mr White to the High Performance Program.

Fredericks himself added: "The board is satisfied that Mr White's breach of Garmin- Cervélo Cycling Team policy was an error of judgement that he sincerely regrets but that it was nothing more than that.

"Matt has learned a lesson, the hard way, from this and we are confident he is fully aware of and committed to the policies that must be adhered to when working with the national program.

"We look forward to working with him and believe he is a valuable addition to our team."