Lance Armstrong: David Millar gives his verdict on UCI decision

I agree with the International Cycling Union (UCI) that Lance Armstrong does not have a place in cycling following revelations he is a drug cheat.

But should he be forgotten? No. The errors of the past will stop history from repeating. If we wipe the slate clean, then there is a strong chance we will end up in the same position in 10 to 15 years' time.

At this moment, I feel sadness more than anything. I lived through this and had my own taste of admitting my doping past.

In truth, what has happened is not reflective of the sport. For it to come out all at once is not fair on many of the young guys who have never encountered doping and never will.

I do think that Lance should come clean, but I also know Lance and the sheer scale of what that would represent for him.

He has had a decade of libel cases and he might even go to jail. It has got so big it might be very complex for him. It is simply not a case of coming clean just to clear his conscience. He would have to do it tactically.

It feels a little bit like we have taken a few steps backwards, although cycling has progressed.

We now have an anti-doping culture where before we had a doping culture. But now we have to start with persuading the public and the fans again. The truth is that the majority of the sport is clean.

We have been chipping away at doping over the last five years, or even longer. Myself, fellow ex-doper and now my Garmin-Sharp manager Jonathan Vaughters and the team made it our mission in 2008 to have a clean line-up and show it is possible to win the biggest races without doping - a no-needle-policy team.

Garmin-Sharp have been proactive and transparent with the media. We have made a difference and shown the young cyclists it is possible.

Regarding the UCI, there needs to be change. Some will not resign, so they will have to be removed. If they don't and there isn't a change then it would have to be forced upon them.

Should UCI president Pat McQuaid resign? I dont know. He has to distance himself from former UCI chief Hein Verbruggen and accept the past. We have to get rid of Verbruggen as honorary president.

McQuaid has to show some true innovative steps for moving forward. That would be a big shift.

If we want the sport to change, we have to help it change within the structure it is in for the time being.

David Millar was speaking to BBC Sport's Dan Roan and BBC World Service's John Bennett