Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[aphronesis]

UCI isn’t so interested in anti-doping as much as internal control. By the looks of it. That doesn’t differ from large money sport. So where would the reformation come from?

 

[peterfin]

UCI isn’t so interested in anti-doping as much as internal control. By the looks of it. That doesn’t differ from large money sport. So where would the reformation come from?

That's the question. The UCI cares about external perception. Unless media and other external forces start to casts doubts, their processes won't change. As a result, a lot can go on beneath the surface without triggering a response. Most of the time an event is needed to trigger change: helmets (Casartelli), motor doping checks (Cancellara was the ongoing rumour, Van den Driesse the case), SaFeR (Mäder), program of EPO and blood doping checks by UCI (French customs captured Willy Voet).

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

It's weird how cycling works ( doesn't) often backwards, often years, decades behind other sports.
And even the way cycling thinks and acts about drugs is completely out of touch, alternate reality.
Many drugs have off label uses that have far surpassed the original purpose. Viagra and Rogaine are both wildly profitable and popular off label drugs. In cycling circles all kinds of speculation about who, how to detect drugs but never the root conversation, what did Amgen say to the UCI when they asked how to detect their product in humans.
What was the response of Amgen when they found that EPO was being used by endurance athletes instead of people who are anemic from serious health complications.
What is Amgen's stance on off label use?
Amgen was obviously able to detect EPO in users, detect levels and test placebo groups to ensure no trace amounts or accidental consumption during clinical trails and beyond..
If the UCI is having a hide and seek hard time detecting a drug in an athlete's system, does Amgen have the same problems?
Why would you ask anyone else first?
I would be curious to see the hundreds if not thousands of back and forth between Amgen and the UCI about can the company help for the obvious misuse of their product.. That's likely from an alternative reality, UCI probably has not even approached Amgen about collaborating or clinical solutions.
What do other sports say to the UCI when the desperate, spiraling out of control UCI asks..
What is your doping program look like and how do you implement it?
How much does it cost?
Why don't we hear about your sports in the media about doping controversy? Or positive tests that define your sport, define the narrative surrounding your sport? What can't we get right in cycling that every other sport appears to have found workable solutions? Help us! We can't get it right. We have tried and failed, it's killing the sport..anyone please help,
signed sincerely UCI
First thing UCI needs to do is clean house and immediately fire top @10-15 people in the chain of command and ask if their replacement knows anything about cycling, cycling history, if they say yes, don't hire them. Hire people from outside the cycling bubble, and if you hire someone from Amazon, Google, Total Energies, local coffee shop , football, rugby, F1_and they have zero cycling experience, zero knowledge of the sport, don't worry, things can't get worse, they just can't get worse.

I thought testing was in the hands of national agencies, not the UCI.
Adding items to the banned list beyond what WADA lay down, determining who gets tested on race days and who is to be subject to ADAMS whereabouts requirements: those are (I thought) the main, or only, sport specific involvements prior to the labs returning adverse findings.

 

[Rob5091]

I thought testing was in the hands of national agencies, not the UCI.
Adding items to the banned list beyond what WADA lay down, determining who gets tested on race days and who is to be subject to ADAMS whereabouts requirements: those are (I thought) the main, or only, sport specific involvements prior to the labs returning adverse findings.

https://www.uci.org/pressrelease/uci-statement-concerning-martti-sciortino2/6LSIAEbHLYFbHiRMGN2Has

The UCI delegated its anti-doping programme to the International Testing Agency (ITA) in January 2021, whilst retaining results management and the prosecution of anti-doping rules violations. Since then, cycling’s clean sport efforts have been led by the ITA Cycling Unit, which is dedicated specifically to all disciplines of cycling. The UCI and the ITA are bound by a service agreement which guarantees that the ITA operates in an independent manner.

 

[dr.eve]

Thanks for this. What your post reminds is that this is a complicated subject.

Of your 'what you can get away with' list, I think all the teams and top riders would be trying that. It then comes back to your latter points.

I don't know enough about how all these substances work but some of them should still trigger in the passport e.g. synthetic hemoglobin / Erythromer will still cause elevated HCT / HGB. But I don't think the passport is policed as well as it can in theory. That has also been mentioned before in The Clinic.

And I still wonder how Gianetti stumbled upon a super responder when he was only 19 years old? Just lucky?

Sportswashing might be a valid motivator for UAE but we need to be careful not to introduce political discussions here. But UAE are financially capable of playing in Formula 1 rather than a 2nd string Euro centric global sport like cycling. Plus, other teams have potentially big pockets too - particularly Red Bull whose marketing budget is several billion Euro per annum.

There is a big flaw on your side... 'be careful not to introduce political discussions here'.

Im fact, political reasons may be one of the biggest drivers for gaining an advantage, bending the rules, bribing, straight out cheating et cetera.

And it's often also visible in plain sight.

But hey let's not mix politics with sports...