French federation doctor criticises blood passport

Armand Mégret, the official doctor of the Fédération Française de Cyclisme (FFC), has released an open letter in response to the planned blood passport, an indirect doping test method scheduled to take effect next season. According to Mégret, the project sealed by the UCI and WADA at an Anti-Doping summit in Paris two weeks ago is still much too vague.

"The World Anti-Doping Agency has imposed a [detection -ed.] method of which we ignore the application modalities, the cost, or the persons that will be tested," Mégret stated. "We don't know if this will be considered a tool in the fight against doping [resulting in suspensions - ed.] or a medical procedure leading to a no-start."

The doctor also wondered about the methodology of the tests, as well as legal aspects. "It is also necessary that the detection values be clear. Doping is not the only factor that can lead to these kind of variations. We have to be able to exclude biological anomalies caused by possible health problems of the athletes," he continued. "For this method, there is no operative system, no organisation, no method, no technical details to be applied by the labs, no kits or protocols to be used. Riders will only turn to courts, which will appoint experts to show the method is flawed, as usual."