LONDON 2012: Wiggins believes in BOA doping life ban - but just not for David Millar

By Christian Crowther-Smith, Sportsbeat

BRADLEY Wiggins has admitted he'd like to have David Millar alongside him in Team GB colours at next year's London 2012 Olympics.

DECISION TIME: David Millar has yet to decide whether he will appeal his BOA Olympic ban following this week's CAS decision (Reuters)

British Olympic Association are determined to maintain their current hardline life Games ban for all those convicted of doping.

But that position looks exposed following the Court of Arbitration in Sport ruling that the International Olympic Committee's softer position, which bans those who have doped from the next Games following their suspension, was 'unenforceable'.

Millar - who has worn the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours - finished his two-year ban in 2006 but since returning to cycling has become a passionate advocate and educator for clean sport and a leading ambassador for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

And he joined forces with three-time Olympic champion Wiggins in Copenhagen last month to help Mark Cavendish win the world road race title.

"I spoke to David Millar about appealing a few weeks ago and he said that, in his mind, he was never going to do that. Obviously things have changed in the last 48 hours, so I don’t know what is going to happen now," said Wiggins, one of the star names at the BT Olympic Gold Ball, which raised millions for next year's Games team.

"The British Olympic Association are standing very firmly on what they believe in and I guess time will tell with that. 

"With Dave, I am hypocritical because I think that he should be alright to compete - but just not the others.

"I think a lot of us in the team think like that because we have personal ties with athletes and Dave is a friend. 

"He made his mistakes but he is now someone who believes passionately in the clean sport and has done a lot of work educating in that area since he came back to cycling."

Millar, unlike sprinter Dwain Chambers, has never appealed his BOA ban and was coy whether he would when asked about this week's CAS decision.

But a leading sports lawyer believes he would have a good case.

"In light of this decision, the BOA's rule stands on very shaky ground," said Jonathan Walters, a solicitor in the sports and media group at London lawyers Charles Russell.

"In his legal challenge, Chambers pled complicated competition law arguments against the BOA rule poorly - but pled differently on the basis that the rule is an invalid amendment to the WADA code, a challenge could well succeed, particularly with the precedent of the CAS decision."

But Wiggins appears a lonely voice in support of Millar's position among Team GB team-mates, within the BOA quick to point out that over 95 percent of past and previous Olympians have consistently backed their lifetime ban stance. 

© Sportsbeat 2011