Recent allegations that up to 45 per cent of cyclists in this year's Tour de France had tested positive for doping substances have been described by Pat McQuaid as mischievous and publicity-seeking. McQuaid, a senior member of cycling's world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), yesterday strongly criticised the findings of last week's independent report by the French Council for the Prevention of Doping (CPLD).
The report, based on urine analyses conducted by the new French anti-doping body after the Tour, stated that nearly half of the 96 tests showed traces of products such as corticosteroids, salbutamol and terbutaline, which can be performance enhancing. The CPLD argue that their findings suggest that widespread doping is still in force, two years after the Tour almost collapsed under the weight of drug seizures and positive tests.
However McQuaid, who was one of those responsible for bringing the Tour de France to Ireland that year, strongly rejects this conclusion. He stands by the UCI's own findings, which conceded that these substances had been used by some riders, but deemed that there was no sinister motive involved in the majority of cases. Two are being investigated further.
"The substances concerned are permitted, on medical grounds, once the rider has a certificate justifying their use," McQuaid explained. "The CPLD have admitted that they didn't take these medical certificates into conclusion, and they have also failed to consider the thresholds involved. Riders who had miniscule amounts of these substances in their systems were deemed positive, which goes against all the regulations on anti-doping of both the UCI and IOC.
"The simple fact is that many riders in a three-week race as tough as the Tour de France are, at some stage, likely to seek medical assistance. There is a huge strain on the body, be it from crashes, saddle sores, allergies or racing from 35 degree conditions at the bottom of a mountain to freezing, damp conditions at the top. To expect to do that and not run into problems is nonsense.
"Are you telling me that over three weeks a guy can't go to the doctor and get a cream for a saddle sore? But that is what this new body are saying."
McQuaid concedes that cycling's recent history has made things difficult for the sport. "1998 showed that there were a lot of cheats in the Tour de France. And I have no doubt that of the 180 riders in the Tour de France this year, there are still some cheats amongst them. But from what I have seen from being part of the UCI, all the indications are that the situation is much, much better than it was two years ago. We are doing more than any other sporting body to get rid of doping. And we are not the only ones with the problem.
"Cycling isn't looking to be set up on a pedestal, for people to tell us that we are doing great things. All we ask for is a bit of fair play and some balanced reporting. But we are simply not getting that at the moment," he said.
