Following the decision in principle of the UCI Management Committee on 31 January 2020 to transfer the operational activities of its anti-doping programme to the International Testing Agency (ITA)[1] from 1 January 2021, the UCI held a video call with representatives of the families of men’s professional road cycling: teams (International Association of Professional Cycling Teams - AIGCP), organisers (International Association of Cycling Race Organisers - AIOCC) and riders (Association of Professional Cyclists - CPA). Held to inform them of the progress of the preparations being made for the transition, the meeting formed part of the stakeholder consultation process embarked on in 2019 and which will continue throughout 2020.

As part of the meeting, the ITA and the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) gave a presentation detailing the road map, the actions undertaken to date and upcoming deadlines. The families of professional road cycling were also notified that all the conditions laid down by the UCI Management Committee – including the requirement on the part of the ITA to create a dedicated cycling unit, to give all the CADF’s employees the opportunity to join it, to allocate all the financial contributions made by cycling’s stakeholders exclusively to the sport’s anti-doping programme, and to report regularly on this to the future Funding Committee (made up of representatives of the UCI, the AIGCP, the CPA and the AIOCC) – form part of the agreement currently being drawn up between the UCI and the ITA. The agreement will be approved at the UCI Management Committee’s next meeting in June.

The families’ representatives saw for themselves the high level of collaboration between the UCI, the ITA and the CADF, who are working constructively in bringing this ambitious project, one of great importance to cycling, to fruition. Our International Federation is very satisfied with how preparations are progressing and with the excellent cooperation between the parties involved.

The participants also discussed the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the 2020 anti-doping programme and highlighted the importance of regular testing resuming as soon as possible. It goes without saying that any resumption in testing must abide by relevant national health regulations. Following the meeting, the UCI, the AIGCP, the AIOCC and the CPA formally called on the CADF to gather detailed information on these aspects.

Despite the problems posed by the current circumstances, the UCI, the ITA and the CADF remain convinced that the transfer will take place in the best possible conditions and will reinforce the protection of clean athletes.

The UCI and the parties involved will continue to keep the families of professional road cycling informed in the months ahead with regard to the full transfer of its antidoping activities to the ITA from 1 January 2021.



[1]The ITA ("International Testing Agency") is an international organisation constituted in the form of a non-profit foundation and based in Lausanne (Switzerland). The ITA was set up at the initiative of the Olympic Movement and with the support of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Its mission is to offer independent anti-doping services to sporting and political authorities. It currently manages programmes for more than 40 organisations, including International Federations of Olympic sports and leading event organisers.