Bike Pure is an independent not for profit organisation registered in Australia, promoting honest ethical cycle sport. We are strongly opposed to doping and stand together in a united position to begin a new era for cycle sport. Bike Pure has become an independent voice for honest, ethical cycling on a global scale, sending a powerful message that you don’t have to resort to taking illegal performance enhancing drugs to compete in cycle sport.
Bike Pure was conceived by it’s co-founders Myles McCorry and Andy Layhe out of the doping scandals that tarnished the 2008 Tour de France and has grown to become the world’s largest independent anti-doping and ethical sporting organisation of it’s kind. Both Myles and Andy work voluntarily from their bases in Ireland and Australia to run Bike Pure as a global organisation. Bike Pure is funded by donations, license agreements and sales via our online store. All proceeds go back into Bike Pure, ensuring that we can continue our profound message of promoting honesty and integrity in sport.
The most important and significant part of Bike Pure is that we do our utmost to educate riders, especially young riders as to the importance of honest and fair sport. This is done in a number of ways. We work closely with many cycling coaches and groups to educate and raise awareness of doping to their athletes. Bike Pure feel that correct guidance given to the next generation of riders will have a foundational effect in the decisions athletes make if they are ever faced with a decision to dope or cheat in sport. We distribute anti-doping literature at events and to members worldwide. Our growing list of supportive Bike Pure Ambassadors also promote our message at cycle races and events worldwide within their areas.
In June 2011 we established an Anti-Doping Research Fund, where a % of store proceeds are allocated. Proceeds from our Anti-Doping Research Fund are then forwarded directly to anti-doping research organisations to help in the fight against doping in sport. This gives members and those who support us a direct and personal means of contributing to anti-doping research and development.
More than 170 professional cyclists and teams, both professional and amateur, align with Bike Pure to show their support for honest, ethical sport, represented as sincere role models for cyclists and cycling fans around the world. Professional riders and teams signing up to Bike Pure adhere to our Honour Code, pledging to do their best using only natural talent and hard effort, never using performance enhancing drugs or knowingly bringing the sport into disrepute. Many choose to wear our distinctive FREE blue wristband and Token Products headset spacer on their race bikes to show their approval. Many of the athletes who form part of our organisation are already World, National and Olympic champions, acting as honest role models to the next generation of athletes around the world.
Bike Pure acknowledge that both amateur and professional cyclists are not immune to the pressures of doping and cheating in sport. A fundamental part of Bike Pure’s philosophy is to help educate athletes, both young and old, to the dangers of doping and promote honest, ethical participation in sport. The continuous aim of Bike Pure is to help develop and sustain a future generation of sincere role models who young athletes can aspire to. Our mission is to educate young athletes so that they can compete and be successful in sport without having to resort to cheating against their opponents. We were honored to support the UK Youth Cycling Championships in 2011 and 2012 along with many more projects across the globe, promoting the sport in a positive and constructive manner.
The effects of doping and cheating are far reaching, not only physically but psychologically. It is imperative that all athletes, beginners and professionals alike, understand that the use of forbidden substances can have severe consequences on both their physical and mental well being. Bike Pure also enjoy close ties with many world and national bodies including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency), the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport to name just a few.
We encourage athletes and teams to adhere to our ‘Honour Code’, declaring that they are opposed to doping in sport. Since our inception we have put forward proposals for the growth of the sport and a reduction in doping offences. These include stiffer sanctions for doping offenders – 4 year ban minimum and life bans for repeat offenders and also the banning of riders who have previously tested positive or administered illegal products from working on teams unless they can be seen to be repairing the damage they have inflicted upon the sport. It is through the actions and support of our members that we can apply pressure on authorities for these measures to be implicated. We first campaigned for a ban on the use of syringes within professional cycling. This ban was imposed by the UCI in 2011.
We are not naive to think this is a complete solution, but it is an important first element in ensuring riders who are opposed to doping join forces with the supporters and lay a foundation to protect the mental and physical health of future champions and the integrity of our wonderful sport.
Please join the growing number of cyclists worldwide who support honest, ethical sport by displaying the distinctive Bike Pure Wristband & Headset Spacer:
Bike Pure’s Athlete Honour Code:
• I pledge to respect and adhere to the rules of my sport.
• I pledge to compete to the best of my own natural ability.
• I pledge to commit to compete without using banned substances.
• I pledge to respect my fellow competitors.
• I pledge that as an ethical Bike Pure role model I will adhere to clean, honest, ethical sport and not knowingly bring my sport into disrepute.
If you are an athlete or team and agree with our Athlete Pledge then we want to hear from you!
If you have any questions or comments about Bike Pure then we’d be delighted to hear from you. You can email us at [email protected].
We are also active on Twitter and Facebook with some great interaction and comments there so why not join us!
Andy & Myles
Bike Pure
