Cycling Set For Anti-doping Passport Scheme

The International Cycling Union wants to introduce ‘anti-doping passports’ for
all professional riders next year as a way of clamping down on the drug problems
that have beset the sport.

The new initiative would see blood and urine samples used to create a medical
profile akin to a passport that could be compared to results of subsequent
doping tests.

‘What this means is the rider becomes his own reference point,’ said Anne
Gripper, the UCI’s anti-doping chief.
‘We look for variations to determine
whether there may be use of a prohibited method or substance.’

Gripper said the scheme, which will be unveiled at an anti-doping meeting in
Paris next week, would be the first of its type in any sport.

‘What we’re looking for is indirect evidence of the fact that cyclists may be
doing something to increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood either
through blood doping or through small doses of EPO or something like that.’

The scheme is backed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Dick Pound
who believes anti-doping passports will be in widespread use in sport within
three years, but not in time for next year’s Beijing Olympics.