Plea ... Evans says cycling has changed and moved on. Source: Tracey Nearmy / AAP
Australian 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans has issued an impassioned plea for fans not to abandon cycling, saying the sport had already "changed and moved on" after years of doping controversies.
His comments come after US rider Lance Armstrong was stripped of seven Tour de France titles, following the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and then ultimately cycling's peak body the UCI, fingering him as the key figure in a sophisticated, systematic doping scheme.
Evans, who was expected to speak during the announcement of the 2013 Tour de France route in Paris on Wednesday, wrote a diary entry on his website entitled: "Some thoughts".
"Behind the news, hysteria and sensationalism, I hope that people remember that the events being uncovered mostly occurred seven or more years ago, amongst a minority of those involved in a sport which has already changed and moved on," Evans wrote.
He said recent events were "difficult and confronting" for both those involved in the sport and fans, as he urged people to commend the authorities who are succeeding in the battle against doping.
He said the sport had learned from the mistakes of the past and was now at "a level playing field where the hard work, meticulous equipment preparation and natural ability are winning the big beautiful prestigious races.
"For those who are disappointed with the situation right now: do not despair, do not abandon us now we are in our best years, preparing things for our most important moment yet - the future...," he added.
Earlier this week Evans acknowledged meeting a doctor at the centre of the doping scandal, saying he spoke to Michele Ferrari in 2000 but they never discussed anything untoward.
While a number of prominent figures such as disgraced American rider Tyler Hamilton and Australian anti-doping expert Anne Gripper have lauded Evans and his win last year as a victory for clean cycling, Australia has already suffered a number of casualties in the Armstrong doping saga.
Matt White earlier this month stood down as Australia's professional men's road co-ordinator after confessing to taking performance-enhancing drugs while racing as a professional cyclist with the US Postal Service Team and Cycling Australia vice-president Stephen Hodge also resigned from the board after also admitting to doping.
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