Three-time Tour de France winner, Greg LeMond, has spoken out in the strongest terms against the leadership of the UCI.

LeMond has published an open letter calling on UCI president, Pat McQuaid, and his predecessor, Hein Verbruggen, now the organisation’s honorary president, to resign.

He describes McQuaid as , and calls on him to resign if he loves the sport, or “even if you hate the sport”.

“Pat, I thought you loved cycling? At one time you did and if you did love cycling please dig deep inside and remember that part of your life – allow cycling to grow and flourish – please! It is time to walk away. Walk away if you love cycling,” Lemond wrote.

McQuaid has filed a libel action against the respected Irish journalist, Paul Kimmage, a former rider whose 1990 expose of doping at cycling’s elite level, Rough Ride, is widely regarded as the first major breach of the peloton’s code of silence: the omerta.

“I would encourage anyone that loves cycling to donate and support Paul in his fight against the Pat and Hein and the UCI. Skip lunch and donate the amount that you would have spent towards that Sunday buffet towards changing the sport of cycling,” the letter says.

Lemond urges Kimmage to spend money raised from a “fighting fund” backed by public donation on lobbying for change in the sport rather than defending McQuaid’s libel action in Switzerland.

The American, who won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989, and 1990, also turns his fire on USA Cycling in the open letter, and calls on riders to forego racing for a year to deprive the federation of money from the sale of licences.