Tyler Hamilton has blasted Pat McQuaid's "hypocrisy" after the UCI chief labelled him and Floyd Landis as "scumbags" for exposing Lance Armstrong's use of banned substances.
McQuaid criticised the drug-cheat whistleblowers for making a living from their indiscretions by releasing books on their evasion of UCI's drug-testers at the US Postal and Discovery Channel teams.
But Hamilton has insisted there is "no place in cycling" for McQuaid.
"Pat McQuaid's comments expose the hypocrisy of this leadership and demonstrate why he is incapable of any meaningful change," Hamilton retorted in a statement.
"Instead of seizing the opportunity to instill hope for the next generation of cyclists, he continues to point fingers, shift blame and attack those who speak out. Tactics that are no longer effective. Pat McQuaid has no place in cycling."
Hamilton rides in the pack with Armstrong in 2003
McQuaid has also been criticised for not apologising on behalf of UCI to clean riders who were the victims of an unfair competition.
The Sunday Times' David Walsh, who, along with former Sunday Times writer Paul Kimmage, has tirelessly endeavoured to prove Armstrong was doped up, posted a quote on Twitter which undermined McQuaid's seriousness in dealing with drugs in cycling.
Walsh wrote: "'I don't know what he's trying to achieve because he cannot achieve anything by saying this,' McQuaid on Andreu admitting EPO use in '06."
McQuaid was damning in his assessment of Hamilton and Landis in Geneva on Monday when he recalled the former's duplicity on the tour.
"They are not heroes. They are scumbags. All they have done is damage to the sport," McQuaid insisted at the press conference.
"We called Hamilton in [after he failed a dope test]. He said our machines were wrong. We said ‘we are after you’. He was positive two, maybe three times, eventually he was thrown out of the sport.
"He then spends the next few years trying to prove he was a twin before he was born or something like that and prove the scientific community wrong.
"What does he do now? Writes a book just before the USADA report is announced and is making money left right and centre. He’s on a personal mission to make money for himself."
Armstrong meanwhile has removed '7-time Tour de France champion' from his Twitter profile after the UCI announced he had been stripped of his titles.
Armstrong has removed '7-time Tour de France champion' from his Twitter bio
Last week the Texan lost contract deals with Nike and Oakley amongst others, as he suffered a hit estimated at $30m.