At the start of the 112th Tour de France a week ago, the MPCC attracted a record number of individual rider members. Our movement hopes that other players in our sport will follow suit to strengthen the fight against doping.
The highlight of the season, the Tour de France, kicked off around ten days ago with the largest pool of MPCC riders for three years. At the big start from Lille, 57 out of the 184 starting riders began the race as members of our movement. By way of example, the whole Groupama-FDJ squad has its members committed to the MPCC on an individual basis, and six Tour de France teams have at least half of their starting line-up engaged against doping, a fact that we welcome.
In total, these 57 riders represented 14 nationalities and 19 of the 23 starting teams. These figures testify to the diversity of the peloton and the commitment of the riders, who are universally aware of the fight against doping. They are also a reminder of the spirit of the MPCC, whose membership is based on voluntary participation. The fight against cheating is not just a specifically French issue, but affects all lovers and professionals of our sport, so that it remains an example in competition.
Despite this, two riders who had been suspended in the past for an anti-doping rule violation and who had served a minimum six-month ban took part in this Tour de France. However, these riders do not belong to MPCC teams, which abide by one of our main rules : « not to hire any rider tested positive and suspended for more than six months in the two years following its suspension ». Only half of the participating teams – the 7 World Tour teams that are members of the movement and the 5 invited Pro Teams – chose to share our commitment to more credible cycling, a sign of how far we still have to go.
Alongside the riders and the teams, we would also like to emphasize the responsibility and weight that race organisers such as Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) can shoulder. ASO is doing its part by only granting wildcards to the Tour de France if the team is a member of the MPCC. This is a step that other organisers could follow in the future, and would illustrate the unity of the various stakeholders in cycling in the face of doping. Because the battle against this scourge will only be won by remaining active in the fight.