The UCI has announced plans to transition its anti-doping efforts in cycling from the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) to a new dedicated cycling division of the Lausanne-based non-profit International Testing Agency (ITA), effective January 1, 2021 ...

The UCI was hit with a blow to professional cycling at the highest level last October when six riders were expelled in 2019 after Austrian and German investigators uncovered a multisport doping ring allegedly masterminded by former Milram team doctor Mark Schmidt. The company announced that it would enter into discussions with the ITA about anti-doping in the wake of the Operation Adelrath blood doping scandal.

Stefan Denifl and Georg Preidler confessed to their involvement in the scheme and were banned for four years. Borut Bozic, Kristijan Koren, Kristijan Durasek, retired professional Alessandro Petacchi, and mountain biker Christina Kollmann-Forstner were also sanctioned.

The CADF, founded in 2008 as an independent anti-doping body for cycling, vehemently opposed the ITA affiliation last October, saying the move "establishes an independent specialized body to protect the integrity of each sport to manage issues such as doping and match fixing He said it would be a departure from the moves of many federations, which "recognize the importance of having an independent specialized body to manage issues such as doping and match-fixing. They are following the model of the CADF, which has already been established for this purpose."

The ITA is "a very important step in the right direction.

Announcing the move to the ITA, the UCI said it had heard "several times" from representatives of teams, races, and riders as well as the CADF; the CADF will continue to serve the UCI in 2020 and "the sum of its vast expertise will be preserved in the ITA."

The agreement mandates that the ITA establish a "dedicated cycling unit" and that all CADF employees be offered the opportunity to participate in this unit; UCI will "report regularly to the current funding committee, which is composed of representatives from UCI, AIGCP, CPA and AIOCC, and its role will be maintained."

UCI President David LaPartie said, "The UCI has long been one of the leading federations in the area of anti-doping, and our cooperation with the ITA will make us stronger than ever in this area.

The UCI said that cooperation with the ITA could lead to "important synergies" in research, innovation, information, and investigation, while sharing costs.

"This decision was made in a context where doping is part of an environment where there are no barriers between sports and between countries, and where it has become clear that, alongside testing, information (intelligence) is a central element of an effective anti-doping program (e.g. the Adelrath case) The UCI press release stated.

By joining the ITA, the UCI, as a pioneer in this field, once again proves that it is capable of taking the decisions necessary to stay at the forefront of the fight against doping.

The agreement between the UCI and the ITA will be ratified at the next UCI Management Committee meeting in Lausanne in June.