In three weeks the first Pro Tour Cycling classic event will take place; This is the Giro d’Italia that will open with a 28.5-kilometer stage in Palermo, Sicily, followed by the 207-kilometer Cefalu-Agrigento route.
Not news to us in the cycling world, this high-demand sport has been severely affected by constant doping cases involving the best riders, including Tour winners or team leaders. Therefore; In the French city of Paris, many prominent cycling authorities have come together to carry out a reform of the sport in order to establish a new beginning and strengthen its credibility.
Among the participants were: Victor Cordero, director of the International Association of Cycling Race Organizers (AIOCC), Eric Boyer of the International Association of Professional Cycling Teams (AIGCP), the president of the French Cycling Federation (FFC) Jean Pitallier and other representatives of the Tour de France organize Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). The only missing part was that of the International Cycling Union (UIC), which unfortunately rejected the invitation.
These representatives met at the French Olympic Committee and agreed to sign a new declaration to restructure sports regulation and doping, as well as to create a more exclusive 2009 cycling calendar for the future.
We agree on what we want, “said teams representative Boyer about the different roles of race organizers, teams and riders.” Now, we have two options: either we tell the UCI that it has its place within the framework that we conceive or we acknowledge the fact that it did not respond to our outstretched hand. I prefer the first option. “
Another body that does play a fundamental role in the fight for a new beginning in cycling is the International Cycling Union, which manages the three jewels of cycling; Il Giro, Tour de France and La Vuelta. Despite your agreement to establish an anti-doping plan and mandatory blood passports that riders must carry with them at all times; the group is required to openly join forces with the other cycling bodies to be successful; for example, the World Anti-Doping Agency
“WADA agreed to test its athlete passport project with the UCI, rather than any other sport, in an attempt to help restore cycling to a cleaner and more credible state,” said John Fahey, who replaced Pound as president of the AMA in January. “This came after a cycling season and the Tour de France in 2007 in which cycling was again affected by doping scandals.”
However, his presence at the Paris meeting left an empty seat that we hope will not remain that way and we could soon see all the correspondent authorities working together with a single purpose: the reestablishment of one of the most beloved sports in history.
