The philosophy of MPCC hasn’t changed and will not change.
Thanks to the voluntary basis, the MPCC is an indispensable partner and a necessary complement to the international rules.
The recent withdrawal of several UCI World Tour team members from MPCC (KATUSHA, LAMPRE-MERIDA, ASTANA) cannot be explained by a problem of compatibility beetwen the rules governing our sport and the philosophy of the movement. To the MPCC, this is mostly related to these teams’ failure to keep their commitment, just 3 years after their accession.
Without a doubt, some of these teams – which have excluded themselves by not following the rules they committed to – had not hesitated to carry high their new MPCC flag in front of the media, the UCI licence commission and/or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with the aim of preserving their image and their World Tour status. By not respecting their commitment, these teams did join MPCC by opportunism.
Find below the commitment letters the team managers sent when they applied to MPCC:
KATUSHA – LAMPRE-MERIDA – ASTANA
The rules the MPCC members voluntarly commit to:
> A rider facing a cortisol level irregularity can’t take part into a competition (8-days stop)
> A rider subject to an ongoing procedure due to a positive test can’t take part into a competition
> A rider banned for a minimum period of 6 months must be dismissed by his team
> A rider who has been banned for a minimum period of 6 months can’t be hired
> In the event of 2 positive tests over a period of 12 months1: 8-days team introspection period, no competition
> In the event of 3 positive tests over a period of 24 months1: 4-weeks team introspection period, no competition
MPCC also took note of the ORICA-GREENEDGE team’s decision
to quit the movement despite showing their support to the MPCC actions by way of a press release.
The Board of Directors has validated the accession of:
> The TOUR OF JAPAN
> The continental team VERANDAS WILLEMS as a provisional member
During the Board of Directors met on 2 March, the sponsor representatives spoke before the Board members, renewing their commitment to the movement and asking to continue to stricly apply its measures.
According to the reports of many independant experts – as requested by the MPCC – but also by the international scientific community, it is agreed that glucocorticoids are enhancing drugs. That is why all the doctor representatives of MPCC team members reaffirm the principle of cortisol level tests which do not allow a rider to compete in a race if an irregularity is detected for whatever reason. MPCC will continue to carry out these tests in 2016.
On the basis of this renewed confidence, the Board of Directors asks:
WADA:
> To add corticosteroids to the list of banned substances
> To add tramadol to the list of banned substances
UCI:
> To prevent a rider from taking part in a competition in the event of a cortisol level irregularity
> To formalize the principle of replacing a rider on the eve of a grand tour race in the event of a cortisol level irregularity
> To amend the UCI regulation in the event of a « team introspection » in case of several positive tests
> To increase the number of bike testings by making this systematic for all the riders tested for doping after an UCI race.
> To ban for a minimum period of 4 years (instead of the existing 6 months sanction) any rider who is convinced of the use of a non-regulatory technological assistance
> To establish a commission of experts on the topic of glucocorticoids
> To establish a monitoring cell on the topic of sporting bets
1 The principle of « team introspection » has been validated by the Professional Cycling Council (PCC) at the join request of MPCC & AIGCP.
If the UCI suspends a team, it should not go hand in hand with a voluntary team introspection