The MPCC Exodus

Katusha

Katusha have quit the MPCC grouping of teams, following Orica-Greendge’s departure too. Teams rushed to join this group when they needed the political cover and most bail the moment they have to uphold its strict rules.

The exodus is a blow to the group but at the same time the MPCC’s work is almost done as most of the ideas it promoted have now been adopted by the UCI and the ones that aren’t yet are under review.

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Which Races Will Katusha Miss?

майка Катюша

Last Friday the UCI announced that Katusha’s Eduard Vorganov had been notified of A-sample finding of a banned substance called Meldonium. Katusha now face a suspension from racing of 15-45 days which will undermine their spring classics campaign and their membership of the self-regulatory group the MPCC means they could sit out a second period too.

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The Electric Shock

Femke Van den Driessche

The UCI has confirmed there was a concealed motor found in controls on one of the bikes in the pits belonging to Belgian U23 rider Femke Van den Driessche. She is proclaiming her innocence saying the bicycle belonged to a friend who dropped it off at the pits but as we’ll see below, the backstory does not matter when it comes to the UCI rules as rider and team alike are responsible for ensuring they have a compliant bicycle.

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We Haven’t Had A Doping Scandal

As athletics stumbles around in the dark, or should that be stumbles because they’re wearing a blindfold, it’s different watching another sport get the treatment normally reserved for cycling. In fact so far this year we haven’t had a major doping scandal, to the point that the sport almost invented one in a reflex action.

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Taking One For The Team

The subject of collective punishment is in the news with Jonathan Vaughters’ old quote about stopping his team being reheated and, less prominent but all the more real, the current suspension of the Androni team and now the possibility of Katusha being banned given Giampaulo Caruso’s EPO sample following Luca Paolini Tour exit.

At first glance it makes sense because if a team has a couple of doping problems in a year then maybe a pause for reflection could do it some good. But the more you think about it, the more it risks hitting innocent riders.

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What Athletics Can Learn From Cycling

Yesterday brought news of a leak of blood values of 5,000 track and field athletes from 2001 to 2012 thanks a joint effort by Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper and German TV channel ARD, whose 55 minute show you watch online for yourself.

Glancing at athletics, the sport seems to be in a similar position to where cycling was some time ago, not so much for the news that doping was widespread a decade ago but because of its response to the claims. The head of the IAAF, athletics’ governing body, called the report “a joke” but nobody has seen the funny side. Can cycling’s experience help?

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Abolish the MPCC

Criterium du Dauphine
Last Saturday riders from 13 teams were tested for cortisol levels on the morning of Stage 7 of the Dauphiné. It’s part of their membership of the MPCC, the Movement for Credible Cycling. The group’s become laughing stock for some recently and teams are pulling out fast at the moment too. But the guarantees it brings riders and their health is no joke. In fact it’s so good the UCI needs to adopt its rules to the leter.

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Old News: Bio Passport isn’t Watertight

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News that the athlete bio-passport isn’t foolproof has been doing the rounds after France Télévision’s Stade 2 show took some athletes, “microdosed” them with EPO and their values didn’t ring alarm bells on the AMPU bio passport system.

News? Actually no it’s been set out in academia since 2011 and in the same year Italian pro Leonardo Bertagnolli was telling the police just the same. Still since the report has got some traction so here’s a quick look at the issues.

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The CIRC Report

The UCI’s Cycling Independent Reform Commission (“CIRC”) has published its report. It’s not a gripping read, this is a report on the corporate policy of institution a decade ago. But buried in the 228 pages are revelations, there is strong criticism of those running the UCI in the past and it puts the spotlight back on contemporary doping practices.

To reduce it to one sentence the report says the UCI was lax for many years but believes doping continues today, albeit on a reduced scale and the UCI needs to implement anti-doping and governance reforms. Let’s take a closer look.

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