October 30, 2013 (Ottawa, ON) – Cycling Canada is concerned by the allegations made public today related to Michael Rasmussen’s new book Yellow Fever (read about the allegations here).  The allegations towards Chris Sheppard, Seamus McGrath and Ryder Hesjedal dating back to 2003 are another example of why the international federation (International Cycling Union – UCI) needs to come to agreement with WADA on a way to deal with such allegations of historic doping.

The WADA Code has a statute of limitations of eight years. As such, even if these three athletes admitted to these allegations, this information in and of itself, would not result in anti-doping rule violations. We believe that the UCI and WADA should continue to work toward an agreement on an amnesty program that would relate historic cases of doping that are outside the statute of limitations. This type of amnesty could allow cycling to deal with historic cases while learning the scope of the cheating and the methods that were employed to avoid detection.

Since the Lance Armstrong USADA report and findings, Cycling Canada has been working with Canada’s national anti-doping organization, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (CCES), to get to the heart of the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in Canadian cycling.  The fact that athletes are not willing to speak out about their personal experiences with doping remains a serious stumbling block in this pursuit.

As for the Canadian riders cited in today’s allegations, if they have information they wish to share regarding their experiences in cycling and the issue of doping, it remains our hope that they will come forward should they have information that can assist in the fight against doping.

Cycling Canada has always taken a strong stance against doping and we wish to reiterate that doping has no place in our sport.  Those that break the rules will be punished to the fullest extent allowed by the anti-doping regulations.