UCI president Pat McQuaid speaks at the Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The UCI have confirmed that biological passport cases could be opened within the next few weeks after their President, Pat McQuaid, told Cyclingnews that the governing body were analysing several suspect passport readings.
There have been no new cases since mid-2010, while the passport was criticised in August for a lack of testing at several races. McQuaid strenuously denied that the UCI lacked funds to carry out a rigid testing programme.
“I don’t know exactly where we are with cases but having said that there was a discussion that did take place in this building about a number of athletes that are being studied because of their parameter data by the experts because we think that there should be cases opened against them,” McQuaid told Cyclingnews.
“We have to wait for the process to happen and I can’t tell when or if that will happen, the decision hasn’t been made yet. I can’t say if it’s one, two or three athletes. It’s all at a late process but I don’t know exactly where. It could be weeks or days.”
The UCI introduced its first set of cases in 2009, followed by another batch in 2010. The passport is widely regarded as a strong tool in the ongoing anti-doping battle.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
