UCI approves 'no start' rule

The UCI's Management Committee announced Friday that it has approved the so-called 'no start' rule which will allow the organization to use data from the biological passport programme to keep riders with abnormal values out of competition for 15 days. The committee made the decision at its meeting in Snekkersten, Denmark. This type of rule has been applied in the past to the riders' haematocrit values, where a value over 50% would result in a temporary ban from competition.

The biological passport has now been officially integrated into the UCI's Anti-Doping Rules, as was expected after the 'no start' proposal was announced last week. The 'no start' rule was devised as an first course of action before imposing a formal suspension, since a sanction "requires a greater degree of certainty."

A value will be considered to be anomalous if it does not conform to previous values detected in the riders' samples.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1