The French anti-doping agency Agence Française de Lutte Contre le Dopage (AFLD) has accepted the proposals made this week in relation to the upcoming Tour de France, and has said that it will work within the framework laid out.
It welcomed the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s ruling on its request to be involved in testing at the Tour, even though that ruling refused the AFLD’s initial request for it to carry out its own screening.
WADA announced its decision on Tuesday, turning down the AFLD’s application on the basis that it considered that any “testing conducted by AFLD will necessarily fall under French law, which is not, to date, fully [WADA] Code compliant.” It felt that this could lead to complications at a later point.
However it proposed that it would work closely with the AFLD, facilitating tests on riders which the French agency suspected were using doping substances or methods.
WADA laid out a framework for how the partnership would be done. The choice of wording is very significant, and is reproduced here:
“WADA does not give permission to AFLD to conduct additional testing at the Tour de France. This resolution is however subject to the following conditions:
a) Because of the acceptance of UCI to conduct extra testing if information warrants it, WADA requires of AFLD to be informed of any target test that it might suggest be conducted as a result of the receipt of confidential information.
b) Upon receipt of this information, and after evaluation of the background information related to such request, WADA will pass such request to its Independent Observer (IO) team present on site during the Tour de France in order to appropriately manage the issue of confidentiality, and for the IO team to pass it on to UCI as follows:
i. The IO team will ask a UCI doping control officer (DCO) to conduct the specific target testing mission(s) by first contacting the UCI designated DCO and agreeing on a place and time to meet.
ii. A representative of the WADA IO team will then go with the UCI DCO and the UCI chaperone to collect the sample.
iii. The WADA IO team representative will only inform the UCI DCO and UCI chaperone of the name of the rider at the appropriate time in accordance with its own appreciation of the circumstances.
iv. There should be no communication to any external parties from the UCI DCO and the UCI chaperone from the time they meet the WADA IO team representative until the mission is fully completed.
v. All samples collected during these missions should be analysed for EPO and hgH.
c) If for whatever reason(s) the above mentioned conditions are not acceptable to UCI, or are not respected during the Tour de France, WADA will grant the AFLD the permission to perform such tests itself.”
What’s noteworthy is that WADA appears to be taking seriously the AFLD’s claim that the UCI did not prove itself to be impartial during the 2009 Tour. One of the AFLD’s biggest complaints after the event was that the UCI tester waited for almost an hour before carrying out what should have been a surprise, early-morning test on the Astana team of Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador.
Such tests are supposed to be unannounced, and the UCI tester’s breaking of protocol was a significant failure. It effectively gave advance warning to the riders concerned, invalidating the requirement that such tests should be a surprise.
The danger is that if riders are given sufficient time, hematocrit levels can be diluted and other measures taken in order to avoid problematic results.
There have also been allegations in the past that certain teams have been tipped off in advance about pending examinations. While WADA’s ruling cannot be taken as a direct criticism of the UCI, nor as proof that such accusations are founded in truth, it does seek to safeguard the integrity of anti-doping procedures.
If the guidelines are followed by the UCI, this should effectively remove doubt and rule out claims that anything incorrect is done during the 2010 event.
As was announced on Monday, the UCI testers will also be monitored by WADA observers during the race.
The AFLD has weighed up WADA’s ruling and yesterday issued a deliberation which welcomed the plans for the 2010 Tour.
Again, VeloNation reproduces the specific wording used:
1 - The College of the AFLD has examined today the resolution of the World Anti-Doping Agency on the request of the AFLD to conduct additional controls during the 2010 Tour de France.
2 – It has decided to respond positively to the proposal that WADA made to perform additional checks under the World Anti-Doping Code.
3 - The College of the AFLD has noted that "WADA is concerned that the controls carried out by the AFLD would necessarily be subject to French law, which to date is not in full compliance with the WADA Code. To remedy this legal problem, WADA proposes to carry out its checks by its intermediary.
4 - The College noted that "WADA believes that the information provided [by AFLD] at first sight seems realistic and useful to carry out targeted checks on the riders."
5 - The College has finally appreciated the significance of the last paragraph of the resolution which states "If, for any reason whatsoever, this resolution is not accepted or respected by the UCI during the Tour de France, WADA will allow the AFLD to do itself these additional controls. "
6 - At a time when several judicial investigations in cycling are in progress in France, but also in the United States in the wake of revelations of Floyd Landis, the AFLD wants to renew its support for WADA in its efforts for a credible anti-doping policy.”
The French police and customs officials are working closely with the AFLD in order to target riders or teams who they feel might be bending or breaking the rules. WADA’s acceptance of an AFLD involvement is positive in that it shows that it is willing to work with whatever agency can help in the fight against doping in the event. In addition to that, the protocol it requests the UCI to follow is also one which should ensure the integrity of the anti-doping process. This should be welcomed by the UCI, in that if it is followed correctly, it will ensure that the governing body cannot be accused afterwards of showing any bias.
It seems likely that this year’s Tour de France will be one of the most closely monitored in the history of the sport, which can only be good for the race and also for the notion of clean and fair competition.