AN OLYMPIC medal winning cyclist has spoken of the dark time the Lance Armstrong scandal has caused for the sport he loves.

Marlow resident Willie Moore, who won bronze in cycling in the Munich Olympics in 1972, says the drug revelations has been a "massive blow" to cycling.

The celebrated sportsman has been stripped of his Tour de France wins and his reputation has been left in tatters.

Mr Moore, 65, said: "It's a massive, massive blow to the sport obviously."

The Olympian works at cycle shop Saddle Safari, in Crown Lane, Marlow.

The business had experienced a big boost in sales, following the euphoria of Team GB's cycling success this summer.

Mr Moore said: "It (the Armstrong saga) doesn't seem to have hit sales at the shop, it's not a major issue for the business."

The sport has been plunged into crisis, just after it had reached a high point with the Olympics.

But Mr Moore was not surprised by the revelations, with rumours rife for some time.

The father-of-two said: "There's an unfortunate perception being developed by the media that the Lance Armstrong years were a particularly period for the sport whereas my own belief is that drug taking has been prevalent in the sport way before this time and it's only since that time he left that the sport has started to clean up."

Cycling now needs a figure such as Elliot Ness, the famous American prohibition agent, immortalised in the film The Untouchables, where he is played by Kevin Costner, according to Mr Moore.

And he reckons reformed drug cheat David Millar, a London 2012 cyclist for Team GB and an honorary member of Wycombe Cycling Club, is just that man.

Mr Moore said: "I think we need an Elliot Ness type figure in the sport to properly stamp it out once and for all. I'd like to see him take the president's role."