Sports and Courts Don’t Mix

The UCI’s flagship tool which enables them to catch cheating riders amongst its ranks has other sporting communities in awe of their efforts. The bio-passport program has cost over 20 million euro since its inception in 2008 and establishes a database of the world’s finest cyclists, closely monitoring their blood values. But its days could be numbered next month if the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agrees with the appeal of Italian cyclist Pietro Caucchioli. The Italian Olympic Committee handed Pietro a two year sanction only five months ago. The case has been lost in litigation as his claims for unfair punishment are based around the key fact that the bio-passport fails to prove the intake of a banned substance(s) and produces a ‘wake’ of evidence of their use. Caucchiolli’s suspension was due to blood irregularities discovered in three of his samples, dating back to the Summer of 2009.

The questioning over the passport legitimacy began in late summer when AG2R rider Tadej Valjavec, was cleared by his national anti-doping body after the UCI accused him of blood doping based on his passport findings. It was disappointing that Slovenia’s anti-doping organization failed to accept the passports findingswhich are correlated over a sustained period of time. Cycling’s efforts to create an honest playing field should be an example to all sports and ratified by all federations – the Valjavec case is only the beginning of legal wranglings.

There have been fewer convictions under the passport schemes due to its composition and the extreme possibility of litigation although when the Italian Anti-doping Tribunal (TNA) decided there was insufficient evidence to sanction Tour de France polka dot jersey winner Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) the ground shook. The passport is wounded. There were three suspicious results originating from a total of twenty two controls taken from Pellizotti. Two of those were taken after he had been at a training camp on April 15 2009 in Tenerife and July 2, 2009 at the Tour de France in Monaco, after he had been in Livigno. The third control was taken on December 12 2008 at his home. These spikes in his profile were ‘unnatural’ yet the design of the passport system is such that it will not stand up to court.

The problem may well stem from the secrecy of the data. The bio-passport information is held by the UCI and the prosecutor doesn’t have the ability to present the data to the defense because it’s all deemed as private information. Therefore if all the evidence listed is to be withheld from court, no jury could actually return a guilty verdict. The science is remarkable, the testing is by and large efficient, but the sport is being let down by the fact that the cloaked administration of the system is allowing the riders to side track any sanctions.

Should CAS rule in Caucchioli’s favor, the bio-passport could well be left as an expensive way to identify doping  with no appropriate sanction. At a cost of around 600 euros per test, if no conviction can arise it must be questioned, that in its current guise it is not efficient. The future of the bio-passport program must be transparent. The tabulation of rider’s blood and hormone profiles would now become be an insight for useful target testing of riders whose results are unnaturally suspicious.  Danilo Di Luca (LPR) also tested positive for EPO, after his passport profile produced irrefutable abnormalities.

If we lost the passport completely we would lose the best available weapon to identify cheats, and our sport needs all the weapons possible in this war to save the reputation of our sport.

Another deterrant to possibly prevent riders form doping was the implementation of taking back part of a riders’ salary. Greed and success is a major driving force behind riders who choose to dope. The 2007 riders contract stated a repayment of a years salary would accompany any suspension. This was a means tested method to help deter doping but is now also under severe scrutiny after the CAS ruled that “…..Vinokourov is not obliged to make the payment requested by the UCI,” earlier this month. Once again justice is let down by the system. Vino’s lawyers found holes in the contract and he can keep the 1.2 million euros salary he used to destroy our sport’s reputation in 2007. Vinokourov and his Astana team left the 2007 Tour after the Kazakh was found guilty of blood doping after winning the time trial in Albi.

Bike Pure are currently researching the idea that post suspension, rather than be fined, a rider would pay a years salary to ‘buy’ back his racing license keeping the power with the clean riders and out of the courts.

The tools to catch the cheats are there and improving year on year. This week the power to adequately punish riders has taken a severe body blow, thus the temptation to cheat is increased. The next step, should there be one, is a crucial one if our sport is to ever improve.