Cortisol Level Tests on the Boucles de la Mayenne
5 member teams subjected 28 riders to cortisol level tests on the Boucles de la Mayenne. All the riders have been allowed to start.
On the Boucles de la Mayenne, 5 member teams registered for the race submitted 28riders to cortisol level tests as part of their commitment to the Movement for a Credible Cycling (MPCC):
These voluntary tests have been performed under the ITA (International Testing Agency) on all participants. The ITA has forwarded to the MPCC the results of all riders of the member teams. All results were in compliance with the standard established by MPCC members. The Board notes with satisfaction that the riders of these MPCC member teams registered for the Boucles de la Mayenne have scrupulously respected the clauses of their standing orders.
156 controls have been carried out by MPCC since the start of the season : On Paris-Nice, the Giro d'Italia and the Boucles de la Mayenne.
BACKGROUND ON CORTISOL TESTS BY THE MOUVEMENT POUR UN CYCLISME CRÉDIBLE (MPCC)
The objective of the MPCC and its member teams is to contribute to restoring the credibility of cycling. One of the organisation’s activities are voluntary cortisol tests amongst the riders of the member teams of the MPCC. In case the results of the test present an abnormally low value, the rider concerned will not race for a period of minimum eight days until the cortisol value has recovered again above that minimum value.
For the sake of clarity: it concerns a voluntary norm and the test does not concern an anti-doping control. Under WADA rules, athletes across all sports, with a cortisol level abnormally low, are entitled to perform their sport in competition (unless an anti-doping test has revealed the unauthorized use of the cortisol hormone).
The reason for the MPCC member teams to introduce this voluntary norm (below which the rider concerned will withdraw from competition for that minimum period of eight days), is an effort towards all stakeholders and fans of the sport of cycling and to confirm its commitment to clean sport and to show that cycling and MPCC member teams wish to be a frontrunner in that.
WHY CORTISOL TESTS ?
Although cortisol hormones are an allowed medicine when pre-scribed by a physician, the use of that medicine has frequently been abused in the history of sports (including in cycling) for the purpose of increasing the performance. Besides, a low level of cortisol can potentially endanger the health of athletes in certain circumstances when he/she is in competition while the athletes perform under high intensity or under stress.
For both reasons and with the objective to contribute to restoring the credibility of cycling, the Mouvement pour un Cyclisme Crédible and its member teams have introduced that voluntary norm below which its riders will temporarily withdraw from competition.
Cortisol Level Tests on the Criterium du Dauphiné
3 member teams subjected 21 riders to cortisol level tests on the Criterium du Dauphiné. All the riders have been allowed to start.
On the Criterium du Dauphiné, 3 member teams registered for the race submitted 21riders to cortisol level tests as part of their commitment to the Movement for a Credible Cycling (MPCC):
These voluntary tests have been performed under the ITA (International Testing Agency) on all participants. The ITA has forwarded to the MPCC the results of all riders of the member teams. All results were in compliance with the standard established by MPCC members. The Board notes with satisfaction that the riders of these MPCC member teams registered for the Criterium du Dauphiné have scrupulously respected the clauses of their standing orders.
177 controls have been carried out by MPCC since the start of the season : On Paris-Nice, the Giro d'Italia, the Boucles de la Mayenne and the Criterium du Dauphiné.
BACKGROUND ON CORTISOL TESTS BY THE MOUVEMENT POUR UN CYCLISME CRÉDIBLE (MPCC)
The objective of the MPCC and its member teams is to contribute to restoring the credibility of cycling. One of the organisation’s activities are voluntary cortisol tests amongst the riders of the member teams of the MPCC. In case the results of the test present an abnormally low value, the rider concerned will not race for a period of minimum eight days until the cortisol value has recovered again above that minimum value.
For the sake of clarity: it concerns a voluntary norm and the test does not concern an anti-doping control. Under WADA rules, athletes across all sports, with a cortisol level abnormally low, are entitled to perform their sport in competition (unless an anti-doping test has revealed the unauthorized use of the cortisol hormone).
The reason for the MPCC member teams to introduce this voluntary norm (below which the rider concerned will withdraw from competition for that minimum period of eight days), is an effort towards all stakeholders and fans of the sport of cycling and to confirm its commitment to clean sport and to show that cycling and MPCC member teams wish to be a frontrunner in that.
WHY CORTISOL TESTS ?
Although cortisol hormones are an allowed medicine when pre-scribed by a physician, the use of that medicine has frequently been abused in the history of sports (including in cycling) for the purpose of increasing the performance. Besides, a low level of cortisol can potentially endanger the health of athletes in certain circumstances when he/she is in competition while the athletes perform under high intensity or under stress.
For both reasons and with the objective to contribute to restoring the credibility of cycling, the Mouvement pour un Cyclisme Crédible and its member teams have introduced that voluntary norm below which its riders will temporarily withdraw from competition.
Team Total Direct Energie's fan club joins the MPCC!
Team Total Direct Energie is part of the MPCC for 14 years. Now its fan club also joins the movement as a "sympathizing member".
Passionate about cycling and Jean-René Bernaudeau's team, David Leroux founded a fan club dedicated to Team Total Direct Energie. To date, 9000 supporters are members of this fan club.
David Leroux comments:
"We love our sport so much that we don't want to see doping scandals disfiguring it. As we care about riders having equal opportunities, we believe it's very important the MPCC may benefit from an even greater consideration from the race organizers but also the UCI. We hope we can contribute to this purpose by committing to the MPCC as a "sympathizing member".
Cortisol Level Tests on the Giro d'Italia
13 member teams subjected 103 riders to cortisol level tests on the Giro d'Italia. All the riders have been allowed to start.
On the Giro d'Italia, 13 member teams registered for the race submitted 103 riders to cortisol level tests as part of their commitment to the Movement for a Credible Cycling (MPCC):
These voluntary tests have been performed under the ITA (International Testing Agency) on all participants. The ITA has forwarded to the MPCC the results of all riders of the member teams. All results were in compliance with the standard established by MPCC members. The Board notes with satisfaction that the riders of these MPCC member teams registered for the Giro d'Italia have scrupulously respected the clauses of their standing orders.
128 controls have been carried out by MPCC since the start of the season : On Paris-Nice and the Giro d'Italia.
BACKGROUND ON CORTISOL TESTS BY THE MOUVEMENT POUR UN CYCLISME CRÉDIBLE (MPCC)
The objective of the MPCC and its member teams is to contribute to restoring the credibility of cycling. One of the organisation’s activities are voluntary cortisol tests amongst the riders of the member teams of the MPCC. In case the results of the test present an abnormally low value, the rider concerned will not race for a period of minimum eight days until the cortisol value has recovered again above that minimum value.
For the sake of clarity: it concerns a voluntary norm and the test does not concern an anti-doping control. Under WADA rules, athletes across all sports, with a cortisol level abnormally low, are entitled to perform their sport in competition (unless an anti-doping test has revealed the unauthorized use of the cortisol hormone).
The reason for the MPCC member teams to introduce this voluntary norm (below which the rider concerned will withdraw from competition for that minimum period of eight days), is an effort towards all stakeholders and fans of the sport of cycling and to confirm its commitment to clean sport and to show that cycling and MPCC member teams wish to be a frontrunner in that.
WHY CORTISOL TESTS ?
Although cortisol hormones are an allowed medicine when pre-scribed by a physician, the use of that medicine has frequently been abused in the history of sports (including in cycling) for the purpose of increasing the performance. Besides, a low level of cortisol can potentially endanger the health of athletes in certain circumstances when he/she is in competition while the athletes perform under high intensity or under stress.
For both reasons and with the objective to contribute to restoring the credibility of cycling, the Mouvement pour un Cyclisme Crédible and its member teams have introduced that voluntary norm below which its riders will temporarily withdraw from competition.
Giro d'Italia 2021: 23 teams under the microscope
In an infography, we have represented the 2021 Giro d'Italia peloton, distinguishing MPCC member teams and non-member teams. Amongst member teams, no rider have ever been suspended. Within non-members, 4 already have
In the event of every grand tour race or big championships, the MPCC highlights how many riders are part of the movement but also how many riders have been suspended for doping in the past.
The spirit of the MPCC is to regroup teams which on a voluntary basis define stricter rules than international organizations. Amongst those, this one: « Don’t hire riders involved in doping cases and banned for more than 6 months, except no-shows, in the two years following the suspension. »
On the 2021 Giro d'Italia, MPCC members chose not to pick any riders previously suspended for doping. This choice matches the philosophy of the movement, thus fostering cycling's credibility. There are 13 MPCC members on this year's Tour de France, representing 56% of the peloton.
Credibility figures: generalized decrease in the number of disciplinary procedures
In a pre-Olympic period, you may be surprised to hear that the number of disciplinary procedures (doping or corruption) is decreasing, all sports put together. When you compare first quarter figures to previous years, the decrease has always been somewhere between 30% and 50%. Track & Field remains the sport with the highest number of cases by a large margin, even if the total appears three times lower than in the same date last year.
Most probably carrying out antidoping tests (in competition and out of competition) is hampered by the cancellation of a lot of sporting events - a pandemic related situation, just like in 2020. Accurate reports on the application of tests are still to be unveiled by international federations and anti-doping agencies in order to confirm this conclusion.
Cycling: 4 procedures
Based on comparisons with previous years, figures in early 2021 place cycling in a lower range. Only 4 procedures have been made public, all related to 4 different disciplines. For two of them, a sanction has been pronounced:
- A Czech cyclocross national champion suspended for 4 years
- A track elite rider suspended for 6 months
Two other procedures remain ongoing:
- An Italian professional road rider, provisionally suspended due to alleged use of EPO
- An Italian MTB elite rider who also is provisionally suspended
It is worth mentioning that no doping case or alleged doping case are relative to a masculine or feminine WorldTeam.
The MPCC is pleased that none of its members are concerned by any of these 4 cases.
Ronde van Vlaanderen 2021 : 25 teams under the microscope
IN AN INFOGRAPHY, WE HAVE REPRESENTED THE 2021 RONDE VAN VLAANDEREN, DISTINGUISHING MPCC MEMBER TEAMS AND NON-MEMBER TEAMS. AMONGST MEMBER TEAMS, NO RIDER HAVE EVER BEEN SUSPENDED. WITHIN NON-MEMBERS, NO ALREADY HAVE
In the event of every monuments or big championships, the MPCC highlights how many riders are part of the movement but also how many riders have been suspended for doping in the past.
The spirit of the MPCC is to regroup teams which on a voluntary basis define stricter rules than international organizations. Amongst those, this one: « Don’t hire riders involved in doping cases and banned for more than 6 months, except no-shows, in the two years following the suspension. »
On the Ronde van Vlaanderen, MPCC members chose not to pick any riders previously suspended for doping. This choice matches the philosophy of the movement, thus fostering cycling’s credibility. There are 16 MPCC members on this year’s, representing 64% of the peloton.
Vini Zabù: same old story!
The Italian team holds the record for the greatest number of doping cases over the last decade. Despite a new scandal - the second in the last 12 months, the team expects to attend the next Giro. MPCC condemns the serious damage this affair causes to the image of cycling.
Whatever the amount of resources allocated to the fight against doping, some riders will still choose to cheat. Though, this simple observation is not a thread for the credibility of cycling. However, when these events occur multiple times, year after year, within the same team, and when the institutions fail to break the cycle, it represents a terrible blow to the credibility of cycling.
Team Vini-Zabù gave us a striking example this week, as one of their riders was provisionally suspended by the UCI for assumed doping (EPO). Of course, as the process is still ongoing, we should remain cautious while we wait for the results of the second sample. Though, the previous cases are not cause for optimism. The latest cases happened less than a year ago.
This Italian team, which appeared within the peloton in 2009, has been subject to 9 doping cases in the last twelve years. The incriminated substances are always the same heavy well-known products (5 EPO cases, 2 growth hormones cases, 1 Clenbuterol case, 1 Ostarine case).
MPCC recalls that team Vini-Zabù belonged to the movement for a short time in 2014. Shortly after, despite two doping cases in less than a year, the team decided it was not relevant to commit to the rules of the movement, the same ones that all our members abide by. We immediately suspended the team and decided to exclude it from the movement during the General Assembly of October 2015.
Since its creation in 2007, MPCC set up a principle that we called today "the voluntary introspection" when a team faces several doping cases in a short period of time. Fourteen years later, this principle remains the same: team members commit to stop the activity of all their riders for 8 days or a whole month, depending on whether it faces a second doping case in 12 months, or a third case in 24 months.
In 2016, this MPCC precept even ended up convincing UCI to tighten its own rules as its anti-doping rules now include the opening of a proceeding that could lead to a 15-day or 45-day suspension of a team when two doping cases occur in a period of 12 months.
If UCI deems so, there is a genuine risk for Vini-Zabù to miss out on the Giro, a race for which it received a wild car again. Since 2009, the team is managed by the same people, Angelo Citracca and Luca Scinto. They were already in charge when each of the 9 proceedings were opened against the italian team. Yet, some organizers still trust them.
This new case is another element to support our statement given during our General Assembly of last March 2nd ; our movement was surprised that the Giro d'Italia awarded a Wild Card to a team that suffered a positive test during the last edition. Out of the nine cases involving Vini-Zabù riders, four of them were directly related to the Giro, which seems to not hold any grudge as it still granted 11 Wild Cards to the team in the last 13 years.
MPCC reacts strongly today as the members of it Board deem relevant to defend the integrity of its members (teams and riders) and support their voluntary choice to restore the image of cycling by committing to stricter rules. Our movement deeply regrets that RCS group still does not seem important to react nor give any explanation regarding its choices. As they face yet another doping proceeding, we hope that RCS will take responsibility for the future, even though the Italian organizers already held all the cards to do so after the Giro 2020.
For all these reasons, MPCC calls for all the teams, riders and organizers to join our movement.
CITROEN BECOMES SPONSOR MEMBER OF MPCC
Today, Citroen becomes a sponsor member of Mouvement pour un cyclisme crédible (MPCC). The brand joins AG2R La Mondiale, Bora, Cofidis, FDJ, Groupama, LCL, Lotto and Total Direct Énergie in the ‘sponsor members’ category. MPCC is an association that fights for clean cycling, relying on the notions of transparency, responsibility, and the mobilisation of its members. Those notions are in line with Citroen’s aspirations and its commitment to the development of ‘clean cycling’ for responsible, untainted performances. This partnership advocates for a cycling that complies with ethical rules, in particular with those of Mouvement pour un cyclisme crédible (MPCC), of which the AG2R LA MONDIALE cycling team was the founding member in 2007.
“Citroen adheres fully to the MPCC charter and to the obligations deriving from it. Citroen wishes to promote the image of cycling by fighting against doping and any form of cheating. We care deeply about the notion of responsible performance and our commitment for ‘clean cycling’ underlines human values incarnated by our brand.”
Laurent Barria, Director of Marketing and Communication at Citroen
“The support of sponsors in the fight against doping is a strong symbol of what MPCC stands for today. We are grateful for having a company such as Citroen on board and we hope that this initiative will encourage other sponsors to join the 9 partners engaged to date.”
Roger Legeay, President of MPCC
Since 1919, Citroen has been creating cars, technologies and mobility solutions to meet the evolutions of society. A bold, innovative brand, Citroen puts serenity and week-being at the heart of its customer experience and offers a large range of models, from the singular Ami, an electric mobility vehicle designed for the city, to sedan cars, SUV and utility vehicles, most of which are available in electric version or rechargeable hybrid. A pioneering brand in services and customer orientation, Citroen is active in 101 countries and operates a network of 6,200 points of sale and services worldwide.
Milano Sanremo 2021 : 25 teams under the microscope
IN AN INFOGRAPHY, WE HAVE REPRESENTED 2021 MILAN – SAN REMO, DISTINGUISHING MPCC MEMBER TEAMS AND NON-MEMBER TEAMS. AMONGST MEMBER TEAMS, NO RIDER HAVE EVER BEEN SUSPENDED. WITHIN NON-MEMBERS, 2 ALREADY HAVE
In the event of every monuments or big championships, the MPCC highlights how many riders are part of the movement but also how many riders have been suspended for doping in the past.
The spirit of the MPCC is to regroup teams which on a voluntary basis define stricter rules than international organizations. Amongst those, this one: « Don’t hire riders involved in doping cases and banned for more than 6 months, except no-shows, in the two years following the suspension. »
On Milan – San Remo, MPCC members chose not to pick any riders previously suspended for doping. This choice matches the philosophy of the movement, thus fostering cycling’s credibility. There are 15 MPCC members on this year’s, representing 60% of the peloton.
