Business: UCI, ENSURE CREDIBILITY OF SPORTING RESULTS AND PROTECT ATHLETES

ENSURE CREDIBILITY OF SPORTING RESULTS AND PROTECT ATHLETES     

Cycling is a wonderful sport in which the exploits of riders strike a chord with the watching world. To ensure that people continue to follow our sport with passion, we must guarantee the credibility of race results. Our credibility has been undermined by numerous doping scandals and cases of suspected technological fraud. The UCI must now shoulder this responsibility, which is vital to the future of cycling.

1. Strengthen the preventive measures against technological fraud 

a. Implement an effective and credible action plan

Detected at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, the first case of technological fraud provided proof that mechanical doping was a reality. More cases have since been uncovered in amateur cycling. The UCI will take all necessary measures in stepping up the fight against technological fraud by implementing a credible and effective plan. The future of our sport depends on it.

• Use all existing technological resources to make controls tighter (2018). 
• Assess the possibility of imposing stiffer penalties, both on athletes, their entourages and teams (2018). 
• Encourage nations to impose specific criminal penalties (2018-2022). 
• Analyse performances so that controls can be targeted (2018-2022).

b. Develop verification tools and have them tested by independent laboratories  

We must always keep abreast of technological developments and miniaturisation. We must prioritise the search for the most appropriate technological control solutions so that we can keep the pressure up on cheats. The UCI will carry out controls using equipment approved by independent laboratories, and the funding needed to roll out these technologies will be made available.

• Develop a new generation tablet that is more efficient and cheaper and thus more likely to be used around the world by our National Federations (2019). 
• Use X-ray technology with recognised partners in checking bikes before and after races (2018). 
• Conduct more thorough checks by taking bikes apart if necessary (2018-2022). 
• Develop onboard magnetometer technology to prevent, in real time, the possible use of electric aids in competition (2020). 
• Have measuring tools validated by scientifically renowned, independent laboratories (2018-2020).

2. Contribute to anti-doping efforts worldwide

a. Continue to innovate in the fight against doping and maintain good rapport with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the IOC 

The doping scandals of recent years have saddled cycling with a very negative image. Our sport has genuinely grown in terms of awareness and the UCI has been very coherent in its efforts to tackle the problem. Our Federation has been a global leader in this respect. It was the first to introduce anti-doping controls, to carry out analyses detecting the presence of EPO, to measure haematocrit levels, to introduce the biological passport, and to delegate its anti-doping programme to an independent body: the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF).

The fight against doping is ongoing, however. It is a fight that needs to be stepped up, in collaboration with the main stakeholders: WADA, the IOC and government authorities.

At the meeting of its Executive Commission on 1 June 2016 the IOC announced that it will continue to advocate that all tests be carried out independently of sporting organisations and that national and international anti-doping programmes be harmonised under the supervision of a new body. The UCI has already taken action in this respect by creating the CADF. Nevertheless, we must keep on innovating to become even more effective in this fight.

• Assess the possibility of opening the CADF up to other sports (2020-2022). 
• Work with the International Testing Agency (ITA) set up by WADA and the IOC on technical issues and information gathering (2019). 
• Demand that the World Anti-Doping Code be amended so that riders returning “positive” or “abnormal” test results are provisionally suspended. (2018-2020). 
• Consolidate, if necessary, the process guaranteeing independence in the legal management of the Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) (2020-2022). 
• Draft a “clean cycling” charter and put it before cycling’s stakeholders (2019). 
• Create a link between the number of ADRVs committed by countries and their Olympic Games quota places (2022-2024).

b. Continue innovating and roll out a doping prevention plan 

While some National Federations have always been at the forefront of the fight against doping, others have lagged and held back by deep-rooted doping cultures. Education and prevention policies thus need to be strengthened and innovative actions and experiences shared. 

• Ensure cycling takes the lead in the fight against doping by means of innovative and ground-breaking initiatives (2018-2022). 
• Set up a doping prevention plan in conjunction with administrators, technical staff, fitness coaches and young riders (2018-2022). 
• Set up a post dedicated to doping prevention (2020). 
• Request that certain targeted National Federations come up with an education and anti-doping plan (2018-2022). 
• Implement a specific initiative in South and Central America in conjunction with WADA, the National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs), Regional Anti-Doping Organisations (RADOs), the Pan American Cycling Confederation (COPACI) and our National Federations (2019-2022).

c. Support the extension of the Prohibited List of substances 

WADA determines which products should go on the Prohibited List. A glance at the List reveals that some products that have been scientifically proven to have an effect on the performance of cyclists continue to be permitted. We must campaign hard for the List to be extended to include certain products.

• Explore, along with WADA, the possibility of preventing the use of certain nonprohibited medications in competition, in view of their health effects (2018-2019). 
• Demand that tramadol and other pain-relief medications be prohibited in cycling (inclusion in section P1: “Substances prohibited in certain sports) (2018-2019). 
• Call for the regulation of prohibited substances and for methods to be harmonised by enforcing a single mode of prohibition: “at all times and in- and out-of competition” (2019-2020).

3. Protect athletes 

a. Establish an independent regulatory medical monitoring system

Shaken to its core by a series of doping scandals between 1995 and 2010, the sport of cycling subsequently adopted a policy that focused on the fight against this scourge rather than on medical fitness, which is oriented towards safeguarding the health of athletes and gauges the effects of taking certain permitted and prohibited substances.

• Integrated the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission (2020). 
• Set out a specific medical fitness policy for the benefit of athletes (2018-2019). 
• Engage in independent regulatory medical supervision of teams, applicable in every country (2019-2020). 
• Recruit a UCI Medical Director, a full-time doctor who is responsible particularly for coordinating this supervision and providing a preferred point of contact with teams and other stakeholders (2018). 
• Create an epidemiological database of medical fitness and biological criteria and which respects medical confidentiality (2019-2022). 
• Embark on and promote the development of research into cycling-related epidemiology and medicine, particularly for the benefit of lesser-known disciplines (2019-2022). 
• Develop the relevant medical fitness criteria (2019-2022). 
• Pool blood testing with that carried out by the CADF for the biological passport, with a view to cutting down the number of actual tests conducted and reducing costs (2018-2019). 
• Remind team doctors that they are required to approve local cortisone injections and to prescribe a minimum eight-day suspension from work and competition (2019). 
• Introduce a no-start rule in the event of inadequate parameters, such as a very low cortisol test reading, with a suspension from competition (2019). 
• Approve the use of easily accessible matrices other than blood (or urine) with a view to identifying biological criteria for non-starts (2019-2022). 
• Improve, if necessary, the administration of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (AUT) in conjunction with WADA (2019).

b. Guarantee equal opportunity for all athletes

It is essential that the UCI guarantees that athletes are able to compete on an equal footing with each other and that the athlete is more important than the equipment used. In response to the laxity of recent years, our Federation must take a stricter line in ensuring that every athlete has the same opportunities, while also ensuring there is a place for continued innovation.

• Review procedures for the approval of equipment (2019). 
• Introduce a rule that states that only equipment launched on to the market by 1 January at the latest may be used for competitions, in particular, for the Olympic Games (2019). 
• Ban the use of prototypes in competitions (2019). 
• Draft a strict procedure governing the use of new equipment in competition (2018).

c. Enhance race safety and reduce the risk of accidents

Race safety is an essential factor in protecting riders. In recent years there have been too many accidents that could easily have been avoided had stricter rules been in place. The growing number of urban developments has also made competitive road cycling more dangerous. The UCI, which is already dealing with this issue, must improve race safety further still in conjunction with all stakeholders.

• Make race safety a priority (2018-2022). 
• Carry out a scientific study on the rise in the number of race falls and on the reasons for them so that the necessary conclusions can be drawn (2019-2020). 
• Consolidate the action plan drawn up by the UCI, in collaboration with race organisers, while also taking riders’ concerns into consideration (2020). 
• Alter the size of the peloton in response to race conditions (2020). 
• Stiffen the penalties imposed in the event of safety rules being violated (2020). 
• Make a decision on the use of disc brakes with a view to enhancing safety (2018).

4. Develop a policy framework on the risks posed by sports betting

a. Strengthen regulations on sports betting
b. Work with national governments, institutional bodies and private partners to monitor betting
c. Consider the possibility of regulating communication with riders during races

References:

UCI, AGENDA 2022, The Cycling of tomorrow is built today, David LAPPARTIENT UCI President, Key Area V - CREDIBILITY