Tour De France Set Apart From Icu Rule

The organisers of cycling’s prestigious Tour de France have said that the race will no longer remain under the jurisdiction of the sport’s governing body the International Cycling Union.

Tour de France organisers ASO have been embroiled in an ongoing row with the ICU over who has the final vote on which riders compete in the race – a debate which has led to this definitive action.

The Tour de France, which takes place over 2 weeks in July, will now fall under the jurisdiction of the French Cycling Federation.
 
‘We have asked the FFC that the Tour is organised under their aegis,’ said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.

‘The AFLD (French anti-doping agency) will therefore be in charge of the doping tests before and during the race.’

Prudhomme added that their decision was also based on the fact disciplinary proceedings against FFC president Jean Pitallier had not been not dropped.

The UCI opened the proceedings in March when, backed by Pitallier, ASO decided to organise the Paris-Nice race outside the governing body’s regulations.

In a statement the UCI said the decision was bad for cycling and they also expressed their concern over doping controls at the event.

The AFLD will be able to test hair and urine samples but will not be able to use information gathered in the ICU’s ‘blood passport programme’ which collates cyclists’ health data and highlights any anomalies that may indicate doping.

The Tour de France starts on 5th July from Brest and ends in Paris on 27th July.