The International Cycling Union has asked Court of Arbitration for Sport board president John Coates to help choose a team to investigate the governing body's links to the Lance Armstrong doping case.

The UCI says the three-member commission will include a "respected senior lawyer," a "forensic accountant" and "an experienced sports administrator."

The UCI says "all three members will be independent of cycling."

The inquiry is seen as a key to restoring the UCI's damaged credibility following the Armstrong affair.

The governing body has been accused of covering up Armstrong's suspicious doping tests and unethically accepting $125,000 from him.

The UCI says it is already contacting officials recommended by Coates, an Australian lawyer who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee executive board.