Team doctor Massimiliano Mantovani confident of strong anti-doping culture
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Victor Hugo Peña is hopeful this project will propel Colombia back to the top of world cycling. (Image credit: Alex Hinds)
Claudio Corti is excited about the opportunity presented by Colombia Coldeportes(Image credit: Luis Barbosa)
Fabio Duarte on the stationary bike.(Image credit: Luis Barbosa)
Former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer, Victor Hugo Peña undergoes VO2 and base threshold testing.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
Fabio Duarte is one of the top riders on the Colombia Coldeportes team.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
Outside the Coldeportes facility in Bogota.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
The riders throw around a medicine ball as they prepare for the first day of testing.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
The Coldeportes (Colombian Institute of Sport) headquarters have been recently revamped as part of an overhaul of the ministry of sport in Colombia.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
Team management get a tour of the testing facility at the Coldeportes headquarters in Colombia.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
Victor Hugo Peña talks to RAI about the team project.(Image credit: Alex Hinds)
Victor Hugo sporting the VO2 testing mask. (Image credit: Luis Barbosa)
Many of the international press agencies were in attendance. (Image credit: Luis Barbosa)
Under the watchful eyes of experienced team doctor Massimiliano Mantovani, the new professional continental outfit Colombia-Coldeportes has undergone its first series of pre-season tests. Mantovani, who has worked in cycling for over a decade, including previous stints with Barloworld and Team Type 1, said the preliminary testing was important to building an internal profile of the team's riders for both physiological management and the team's anti-doping program.
After potential recruit Edwin Parra's positive test while riding for the Boyacá Orgullo de América team earlier in the year, Coldeportes is taking the issue of doping very seriously. Parra had been set to join Coldeportes, but after the news of his positive test was released in November by the Colombian national federation, the team quickly severed its ties to the Colombian rider.
All riders in the team are to be tested internally on a fortnightly basis at the team's European base in Italy and Mantovani told Cyclingnews that it would be nigh on impossible to use any form of PED without him knowing.
"We have a unique set-up that means that all riders will be living together, with the staff in Italy," said Mantovani. "I will be overseeing testing, and we plan to randomly test riders at least once every fortnight. It would be crazy for a rider to try to dope in these circumstances.
"It's the same system as WADA, and to me the prospect of a random testing protocol makes it far too risky to try to dope. Personally I'm confident that with the system we have we can avoid any problems."
As a professional continental team hoping to ride in the WorldTour, the team will also be taking part in the UCI's biological passport system, along with the normal random testing conducted by both the UCI and WADA.
"In the next few days I will be talking to riders individually and as a group about the subject, and I honestly think we have a good group of riders here who have the right kind of values."
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"We have only 16 riders, which makes things a lot easier to manage for me. I am alone, but I think it's still possible to do a good job."
Colombia-Coldeportes is a new Colombian team, that has no affiliation to the Colombia es Pasion - Cafe de Colombia team. The team has ambitions to ride at all three of the Grand Tours and is harbouring a roster that includes former under 23 world champion Fabio Duarte and 2011 Tour de l'Avenir winner Jhoan Esteban Chaves who the team hope will develop into Grand Tour contenders in the years to come.
Alex Hinds is a graduate of Economics and Political Science from Sydney University. Growing up in the metropolitan area of the city he quickly became a bike junkie, dabbling in mountain and road riding. Alex raced on the road in his late teens, but with the time demands of work and university proving too much, decided not to further pursue full-time riding.
If he was going to be involved in cycling in another way the media seemed the next best bet and jumped at the opportunity to work in the Sydney office of Cyclingnews when an offer arose in early 2011.
Though the WorldTour is of course a huge point of focus throughout the year, Alex also takes a keen interest in the domestic racing scene with a view to helping foster the careers of the next generation of cycling.
When not writing for Cyclingnews Alex is a strong proponent of the awareness of cyclists on the road in Sydney having had a few close run-ins with city traffic in the past.
