Cycling Body Urges Armstrong to Testify to Panel Cycling's governing body urged Lance Armstrong on Tuesday to testify before its independent commission on doping. The International Cycling Union said it was aware of reports that Armstrong had come clean and confessed to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey taped Monday. "If these reports are true, we would strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to the independent commission established to investigate the allegations made against the UCI in the recent USADA reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service team," the federation said in a statement. The UCI said it would not make any further comment until it has saw the interview, which is to be broadcast Thursday night. FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2012, file photo, Lance Armstrong talks to supporters prior to a run on Mont Royal Park in Montreal. Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. Within minutes of Armstrong announcing he would step down as chairman of Livestrong, the foundation he created to support people with cancer, his longtime endorser Nike issued a statement saying it would be cutting sponsorship ties with the cyclist amid allegations of doping. Armstrong is said to be worth around $100 million, but most sponsors dropped him after USADA's scathing report _ at the cost of tens of millions of dollars. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes, File) Close The UCI set up an independent panel in November to investigate the Armstrong case and what role the governing body had in the scandal. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency raised suspicions of UCI collusion with Armstrong in its damming report that led to the cyclist being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life. The UCI has been accused of covering up suspicious samples from Armstrong, accepting financial donations from him and helping him avoid detection in doping tests. Armstrong reportedly is considering testifying against UCI officials. Former UCI President Hein Verbruggen said Tuesday he wasn't ready to speak about the Armstrong case. I haven't seen the interview. It's all guessing," Verbruggen told the AP. After that, we have an independent commission, which I am very confident will find out the truth of these things. The three-member independent commission is chaired by retired British judge Philip Otton. He is working with Australian lawyer Malcolm Holmes and Tanni Grey-Thompson, a 10-time Paralympic gold medalist in wheelchair racing who is now a lawmaker in the upper chamber of Britain's Parliament. The three-member panel will meet in London from April 9-26, with a June 1 deadline to deliver its report. The cycling body has said the three will have access to "all relevant documents in the control or possession of the UCI," including bank and telephone records and laboratory test results.