Former Lance Armstrong soigneur Emma O'Reilly has again claimed to have evidence that the UCI had complicity in the American's evasion of a positive doping test. In an interview with Mail Online, O'Reilly reveals details of a conversation between Armstrong and former UCI president Hein Verbruggen that allegedly involved the American asking the UCI not to use an unnamed commissaire again.

Just days after the announcement of the guidelines for the UCI commission CIRC that is set to look into past doping in cycling and UCI's role in the travails that have plagued the sport, former Lance Armstrong soigneur Emma O'Reilly has again claimed to have damning evidence against the international federation for being complicit in Armstrong's doping. In an interview with Mail Online, O'Reilly speaks about a conversation between Armstrong and then UCI president Hein Verbruggen that took place shortly after the American's win in 1998 Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt.

“We were in the team car at the end of the race,’ O’Reilly told the newspaper. “I was about to drive Lance and one of the other riders to the airport. Lance called Hein and said words to the effect of, “That race commissaire, I never want to see that guy again”.

“And he was being serious,” O’Reilly continued. “And you could sense that Hein was taking it seriously, too. It wasn’t a friendly chat. It was a serious conversation, and the impression I got was that Lance was being listened to. I said there’s no way you should be able to do that.”

O'Reilly has had the chance to discuss the incident with Armstrong and reports that the American has the same take on the situation as she has.

O'Reilly also claims that Armstrong's sports director Johan Bruyneel was informed about an issue with one of Armstrong's samples. The tip was allegedly given via a mobile of one of Armstrong's teammates.

In the past, O'Reilly has made similar accusations, detailing how the UCI allowed Armstrong to produce a backdated prescription when he tested positive for cortisone at the 1999 Tour de France. In recent years, Armstrong has himself backed the claims, referring to a conversation he had with Verbruggen shortly after the announcement of the positive test.

Verbruggen has admitted that the conversation had indeed taken place but he refuses that the UCI had any involvement in the potential cover-up, claiming that the testing was being handled by the French anti-doping authorities and not the international federation.

It is still unclear whether O'Reilly will discuss the matter with the UCI commission, CIRC, that has been established to investigate past doping in the sport and the UCI's role in the handling of the matter.