Bike Pure partners with Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling to set up ethical cycling programme

Bike Pure, the anti-doping charity set up in 2007 to combat doping in cycling, is partnering with Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling, the women’s team whose backers include Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins, to run its ethical cycling sport education programme.

Team owner and manager Rochelle Gilmore has set up the programme, announced last week, specifically to educate the team’s younger riders, who include Great Britain’s world and Olympic champion team pursuit trio of Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott, about “the dangers of doping, risk of contamination and the importance of honest and fair sport.”

The central message of the programme, to which each of the team’s riders, who also include Italian two-time world road champion Giorgia Bronzini, has made a personal commitment, is to emphasise that it is possible to succeed in sport without resorting to performance enhancing drugs.

“I have a young team with the average age being 23 so I feel it’s important to educate my athletes about the risk of contamination, innocent thoughtless mistakes and the temptation or influences to dope,” explained Gilmore, winner of the Commonwealth Games road race in Delhi two years ago, who will combine her role as manager with riding for Wiggle Honda.

Andy Layhe, who co-founded Bike Pure in Ireland with Myles McCorry and now helps run the organisation from Sydney, Australia, commented: “Bike Pure is delighted to announce a partnership with the Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling team.

“It's an important time for the development of women's cycling and Rochelle Gilmore has worked tirelessly to produce a dominant team that will be big players on the 2013 road scene.

Layhe, who represented Bike Pure at the two-day Change Cycling Now summit in London at the start of December, continued: “We are strong advocates of women's cycling.

“Rochelle's desire for all her riders to adhere to Bike Pure's principles reflects her own passion for fair, honest sport. It's important that all riders are given the opportunity to perform in a positive environment and our partnership reflects this.”

As part of its partnership with Wiggle Honda, Bike Pure will conduct seminars with the team’s riders to educate them about its principles of honesty and integrity and, above all, how to avoid accidental positive test results.

“Whilst systematic doping is not present in women’s cycling, women are at high risk of returning a positive test due to accidently consuming a banned substance,” explained Gilmore.

“Doping is not constantly on the mind of female cyclists and therefore they are not educated or experienced enough to know when they might be consuming a banned medication. Education is our motivation to partner with Bike Pure,” she added.