Defending champion Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma - Lotto) passes the Madonna del Ghisallo chapel.(Image credit: Sirotti)
Aldo Sassi greets his charge Ivan Basso at the start of the Tre Valli Varesine(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Franco Pellizotti and Michele Scarponi relax before the ride.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
On Saturday UCI Anti-doping manager Francesca Rossi and UCI Doctor Mario Zorzoli both rejected the Italian anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri's comments that doping is rife in cycling and defended the sport's reputation by revealing data from the UCI's Biological Passport programme.
The two UCI officials were speaking at a congress called 'Ethics in Cycling' held at the Madonna del Ghisallo cycling museum just before the Tour of Lombardy passed by. Ivan Basso and his coach Professor Aldo Sassi also attended.
"It's not true that all cyclists are doped. The truth is that a lot of cyclists follow the rules. The values studied in their biological passports prove it," Gazzetta dello Sport reported Rossi as saying.
She told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: "The athletes Torri speaks to are all under investigation and so he's got a pessimistic view of the situation. But the biological passport controls tell us that the mentality of most of the athletes is changing."
Zorzoli gave further details: "So far 850 riders have been followed with the passport programme and their whereabouts is monitored 365 days a year."
"Between 2008 and 2009, more than 19,000 test were done, 80% of them out of competition and 65% of them were blood tests."
"The percentage of tests showing suspicious data has dropped from 11% to 2-3%."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Rossi and Zorzoli refused to speak about the ongoing Alberto Contador Clenbuterol positive case or Franco Pellizotti's biological passport violation. However Rossi insisted that any suspension based on the biological passport data only comes after a process of right to reply, so that riders have the chance to justify any unusual blood value fluctuations that could be caused by illness or perhaps altitude training.
"Riders are only deferred for disciplinary action after a long process. It doesn't happen automatically. There's a dialogue: the rider has the right of reply to justify any eventual anomalies," Rossi said.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
