![]() | Current Issues | No.52 January 2008 |
||
print / save view |
Introduction
During 2007, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) publicly launched
several new aspects to our anti-doping efforts:
As important as these measures are in their own right, they also provided
excellent opportunities to “go public” on our strong stance
against doping and our desire to break the entrenched culture of doping
that seemed to be prevalent in the professional elite ranks of our sport.
The announcements also offered an opportunity to engage riders and teams
in a public demonstration that all members of the cycling family were
equally committed to changing the culture of doping.
The design and implementation of these new initiatives during 2007 must
however, be viewed in the broader context of UCI’s increasingly
stronger and more effective anti-doping efforts over the last 10 years.
Our efforts have traditionally focussed on the twin strategies of:
More recently, we have added the third aim of engaging key stakeholders
in our efforts – particularly riders, professional teams and race
organisers.
This article outlines the responses by the UCI to the increasingly complex
and effective types of doping chosen by riders over the last 10 years.
A Solid Foundation: 1997 – 2006
Between 1997 and 2006, the two cornerstones of the UCI’s anti-doping
programme were:
Human recombinant erythropoietin, commonly known as EPO, appeared at
the beginning of the 1990s. A highly effective doping product, which improved
performance and sped up recovery, it propelled doping into a new era.
Although banned, it was undetectable. It was soon recognised as the drug
of choice for endurance athletes, including road cyclists.
EPO can be lethal. Several unexplained deaths due to cardiac arrest of
otherwise healthy riders during the 1980s and 1990s were linked to the
use of EPO. In order to contain the risks, some cycling teams instigated
a system of medically-supervised doping.
It was at this point that the UCI decided to invest a significant proportion
of its resources into combating an increasingly sophisticated doping culture
and strengthening its programme to protect riders’ health. The introduction
of pre-race, unannounced blood testing was a landmark in the fight against
doping and in the protection of riders’ health. It was the culmination
of the cooperative efforts of the UCI, the scientific community, riders,
doctors and team managers.
These blood screens were not doping controls, but they did enable the
detection of abnormal blood parameters, which may be the consequence of
doping. It was an innovative approach, which even today remains an advanced
tool in the fight against doping. From this point on, all riders whose
haematocrit levels exceeded the permitted limit were declared unfit to
compete and were obliged to abstain from cycling for 15 days.
The “Festina Affair” during the 1998 Tour de France (which
involved doping materials being seized from an official car of the Festina
team by French police), certainly put the spotlight on what, until then
had been a little-known phenomenon - organised, systematic doping within
a team, as opposed to doping by individual cheats. The fallout from the
1998 Tour de France certainly reinforced the UCI’s determination
to focus on the elimination of blood doping.
During this period, the effectiveness of the blood screening program to
detect doping practices was increased by the addition of further parameters
with corresponding “no start” limits.
Table 1 – Introduction of new parameters
and “no start” limits for men and women.
![]() In particular, the measurement of the percentage of reticulocytes, free
plasma haemoglobin and the Stimulation Index (a derived parameter based
on haemoglobin and percentage of reticulocytes), led to an increased capacity
to target riders for follow up anti-doping tests based on the outcomes
of their blood analysis.
Table 2: The type of anti-doping follow up tests
indicated by abnormal parameters in blood screens.
![]()
“Operation Puerto” provided one of the best examples of the
effective use of information from blood screens. In 2003, the UCI began
to notice a large number of suspicious blood parameters among Spanish
riders, and riders who rode for Spanish teams. At the same time, we received
information that was passed on to the World Anti-Doping Agency and national
law enforcement authorities. This led to a police enquiry, which culminated
in 2006 with the dismantling of a supply ring of illegal doping products.
Strengthening our efforts: 2006-2007
The dramatic events before and after the 2006 Tour de France were a catalyst
for even stronger anti-doping efforts by the UCI.
Just days before the start of the 2006 Tour, a public announcement about
the status of “Operation Puerto” was made. The release by
Spanish authorities of the names of over 50 riders who may have been implicated
in using the autologous blood doping services provided by Dr Fuentes,
led to the expulsion of several named riders from their teams. And then,
to create the other dramatic bookend of the 2006 Tour, the day following
the final stage saw the public announcement that the winner, Floyd Landis
had returned an adverse analytical finding for testosterone.
These events clearly indicated that the doping problem was still embedded
in the professional ranks of the sport. In response, we designed a new
program, “100% Against Doping” during the latter part of 2006.
The program was designed specifically to be conducted on riders in the
20 licensed UCI ProTeams. A significant new element within the program
was the introduction of properly planned, out-of- competition testing.
Both blood and urine samples would be collected from riders during training,
specific preparation or resting phases. The out-of-competition testing
was both broad (covering a large spread of ProTeam riders) and targeted
(testing conducted more frequently on riders considered to be more at
risk of doping).
The true strength of “100% Against Doping” was the combination
of several elements:
Most importantly, this program was a means of gaining the financial,
practical and public support of the most significant stakeholders in the
fight against doping – the professional teams and their riders.
One of the most important individual elements of “100% Against
Doping” was the opportunity provided to riders through the ‘Rider’s
Commitment to a New Cycling’ to indicate their support for clean
cycling and to provide their agreement to the use of DNA to assist in
the resolution of Operation Puerto. By signing the commitment, rider’s
agreed to pay an amount equivalent to their 2007 salary if they were found
to have breached an anti-doping rule violation for which a two year sanction
was imposed.
At the request of professional teams, a second version of this document
was created which provided a similar opportunity for team managers to
express their commitment to clean cycling. A third version of the document
was created prior to the World Championships in Stuttgart, which provided
non-professional riders the same opportunity to express their commitment
to a new cycling, free from doping.
By October 2007, a total of 688 professional riders
had signed the document. In addition, 67 members of team management had
signed, as had 474 non-professional riders. ![]()
The Way Ahead: 2008 and Beyond
The planned implementation of a biological passport for approximately
660 professional riders during 2008 represents a significant paradigm
shift in the international anti-doping effort. The eyes of the sporting
world will be on cycling as we journey down this new path. We believe
that it offers a significantly enhanced likelihood of detecting drug cheats.
The biological passport is an individual, electronic record for each
rider, in which the results of all doping tests over a period of time
are collated. The passport for each rider will contain:
During 2008, each of the 660 professional riders included in the UCI passport
program will have:
The total number of tests, and in particular, the number of out-of-competition
tests will increase significantly in order to ensure the success of the
biological passport.
Table 3: Testing numbers for 2006, 2007 and
2008
![]() The haematological profile is a newest element to the UCI’s anti-doping
program.
The main difference between profiling and traditional testing is that
a series of tests from each rider are organised into a profile, which
enables individual limits for each rider to be established. The current
anti-doping approach compares each blood sample to a population limit.
The population limit currently determines the “no start” rule.
With the new approach, each sample will be compared with the rider’s
own individual “normal” haematological levels. Any significant
variations can then be assessed for possible blood doping manipulation.
The approach relies on the concept of “indirect” detection.
Scientific experts will not actually “see” a banned substance
in a sample. Instead, they will compare the parameters of the new sample
to parameters measured in previous samples. In this way, fluctuations
in the riders’ levels, which may indicate manipulation, can be identified.
It is impossible for a rider to maintain a steady profile if he is manipulating
his blood for performance enhancement and/or manipulating his blood to
escape detection through a doping control.
The haematological profile was the key outcome of the Paris Summit on
Doping in Cycling organised by the French Ministry of Sport, UCI and WADA
on 22 and 23 October 2007, at which the concept of the biological passport
was announced and discussed. The UCI’s concept of the biological
passport includes the haematological profile, a steroid profile and individual
anti-doping tests.
Blood samples to be included in the haematological profile will be analysed
and the results examined in three steps as follows:
The scientific assessment of a rider’s profile applies similar principles
to those used in forensic medical science to determine the likelihood
of guilt.
Once sufficient evidence is gathered that indicates guilt at an agreed
level of certainty, scientific experts will recommend that the UCI open
disciplinary proceedings for an anti-doping rule violation. It is expected
that a profile of six tests will enable the detection of blood manipulation.
In some cases, a fewer number of tests may be needed to detect doping.
Such a violation will be based on Article 15.2 of the UCI Anti-Doping
Rules – “the use or attempted use of a prohibited method”.
To support this rule, The List of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited
Methods maintained by WADA is incorporated into the UCI Anti-Doping Rules.
Section M1 of the Prohibited List prescribes the “enhancement of
oxygen transfer through blood doping” as a prohibited method.
The expected sanction for a first offence under this rule is a suspension
from competition for 2 years.
The development of a steroid profile follows the same principles as the
haematological profile, except that the matrix of analysis is urine.
Urine samples will be collected from riders as normal. In addition to
analysing the sample for the full range of prohibited substances, WADA-accredited
laboratories will be required to provide a detailed steroid analysis for
each sample.
Once sufficient steroid analyses have been conducted, the Lausanne laboratory
will apply the same Bayesian statistical model to determine possible enhancement
of performance through the use of endogenous (naturally occurring) steroids
such as testosterone.
The provision of accurate and timely whereabouts information is critical
to the success of this program. High quality, no-advance notice testing
can only occur when we know where to find the rider.
Each rider in the passport program will be held individually responsible
to provide his location details every three months. He must also ensure
updates to his location are provided to the UCI before the change occurs.
Riders will be encouraged to provide specific information about their
location in the mornings before training. This will ensure blood samples
are collected consistently, most importantly before physical effort
Riders and teams are strongly advised to use ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration
and Management System) for the provision of whereabouts information. ADAMS
is a worldwide database maintained by WADA, which ensures rider confidentiality
and minimum duplication of effort. Once using ADAMS, riders are no longer
required to provide separate information to their National Federation
or National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO).
The biological passport is a great step forward. It is part of the continuous
effort already undertaken by the UCI to eliminate doping from cycling.
The UCI has been a pioneer in the use of haematological parameters for
the detection and prevention of doping activities since 1998.
What is new about this approach to anti-doping is that:
One thing is certain - this new approach will enable the detection of
riders who use blood doping methods or endogenous steroids such as testosterone.
Once a rider is included in the biological passport program, it will become
impossible for him to escape detection if he uses blood or steroid manipulations
to enhance performance.
We are closing the gap on cheaters. Those who dope will be caught. The
culture of doping in cycling is being eliminated.
Contact
Anne Gripper
Manager, Anti-Doping Union Cycliste Internationale Aigle, Switzerland Email: anne.gripper@uci.ch ![]() http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 |