A month after cycling’s governing body, the UCI, agreed with ASO, organisers of the Tour de France, not to use France’s anti-doping agency, the AFLD, on this year’s race, there is little sign of a thaw in their relationship with the news that the UCI has declined an offer from AFLD to collaborate on next month’s Paris-Nice race.
According to Reuters, UCI President Pat McQuaid, recently elected to the IOC and speaking at the Whistler ski resort currently hosting many of the Vancouver Winter Olympic events, wrote to Pierre Brody, who heads the AFLD, to tell him “I do not think your proposal will lead to an improvement in the fight against doping."
McQuaid’s letter added: "According to the World Anti-Doping code, international sporting events have to be controlled by the International Federations. That is the case for Paris-Nice, that will fall under the UCI's guidance. The UCI has planned to carry out 95 anti-doping tests.”
The Irishman continued: "Do you think it would be appropriate to accept this proposal since multiple attempts have shown that [sic] we can fear from such a collaboration with AFLD,” highlighting the issue of “the lack of random out of competition tests in France."
The latter is one of the chief criticisms levelled by the UCI at the AFLD. According to McQuaid’s letter, in the lead-up to last year’s Tour de France, the French body carried out only 13 out-of-competition tests, with six of those on French riders to whom it has access throughout the year. The UCI, on the other hand, had performed 190 out-of-competition tests.
Another bone of contention is what the UCI sees as favouritism shown by the AFLD to the Astana team, which put two riders on the Champs-Elysées podium in the shape of overall winner Alberto Contador and third-placed Lance Armstrong.
Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
Ah but taking pictures of things to defy the man (avoid a fine) is righteous. Taking pictures of people to grass on them to the cops (perhaps...
But getting paid for it is the very definition of professional....
Never had a Shimano QR fail on me. They just work. And the top end ones look good too....
If you're only looking at the guy in front of you then you're going to crash whatever brakes you have, you need to look beyond them to anticipate...
As a woman, this works great for me! My chain broke once, and a kind guy stopped with a chain breaker and sorted it all out for me. We stopped at a...
Same. I also have gone through a bunch of their tyres, and only the extralight disappointed (torn sidewall) but the standards are fantastic....
thanks for the ideas....
Indeed - but it's no more inconsistent than our current road design - very often UK high streets are "for shopping" and also a busy through route....
If you ask the world's leading economic commentators how many people have been rescued from abject poverty by capitalism the average answer would...