October 26, 2006 – Mr. Pat McQuaid, UCI President, and Mrs. Anne Gripper, Anti-Doping Services Manager, spoke at the AIGCP Assembly (International Association of Professional Cycling Teams) in Paris on October 25.

Mrs. Gripper gave a presentation on the most recent improvements in the UCI’s fight against doping, explained about projects currently underway and asked for all groups involved in cycling, especially teams and riders, as well as National Federations and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to work together to fight against doping.

Amongst the new features and improvements announced, were improvements in the internal supervision of teams, stepping up of sanctions, the use of new blood parameters, a contribution from UCI ProTeams towards the financing of out-of-competition anti-doping controls (to increase their number), the use of DNA analysis to catch cheaters and an even stricter supervision of therapeutic use authorizations granted to riders.

As far as the National Federations were concerned, Mrs. Gripper stressed the need to improve the quality and quantity of controls and that severe sanctions must be applied and that educating cyclists was an important factor.

Finally, she stressed the importance of working together with WADA, especially for the development of the DNA testing of riders and the use of their haematological profiles.

The speeches given by the UCI President and Mrs. Anne Gripper were welcomed by teams, who wish to become more involved in the fight against doping.