UCI President Pat McQuaid has unveiled new policy proposals to prevent doping by ensuring that teams are no long structured on the historic model that left riders without adequate mentoring, support and supervision.
McQuaid stated that the UCI had a pivotal role to play in supporting teams and riders in creating an environment that continues to be conducive to the cultural change within cycling.
“Today’s riders should never be faced with having to make the same choices as previous generations,” said McQuaid.
“Today’s teams and those of the future must be built upon a model where riders are placed at the centre of the organisation where their performance is monitored and underpinned through collaboration with a multi-disciplinary scientific team,” he said.
McQuaid announced that the foundation of his new policy was the proposed introduction of a skills certification standard to ensure that those working within professional cycling as doctors, coaches and sports directors are suitably qualified and approved to do so.
The UCI President is proposing new team structures to ensure that there is one doctor, one coach and one sports director, each with separate responsibilities, for every seven riders.
“This will enhance the level of monitoring care and support available to each rider, thereby helping riders to better manage their workload, race schedule and recovery,” said McQuaid.
“Individualised training and sustainable race load programmes up to a maximum of 80 days racing are also required,” he added.
“Teams must be capable of providing analytical, scientific and innovative training solutions for their riders that are based on performance monitoring, especially power metering,” he continued.
McQuaid acknowledged that the UCI must also introduce a sustainable and long lasting economic model to assist teams in implementing the initiatives that he is proposing.
“This may well require the UCI to reduce the size of teams at UCI World Tour level and UCI Continental level by five or more riders respectively,” he said.
He went on to say that the ability of teams to embrace and finance the implementation of these policies had to be supported by a model that provides them with a more equitable share of the revenue generated by race organisers.
McQuaid expressed his intention to consult and work with teams to introduce and implement his proposed policies, which he described as a roadmap for the direction that cycling must take in the immediate future.