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LONDON - Cycling's 2006 season was damaged by doping scandals in Spain and France; now programmes in Britain and Denmark are trying to restore credibility to the sport in 2007.
British Cycling has announced a scheme pegging their best prospects for the 2012 London Olympics to an anti-doping campaign called "100 per cent ME".
It followed a November pledge by Danish team CSC to follow a testing regime that directors hope will set a sporting precedent.
Eight of Britain's Olympic track hopefuls will compete as the 100 per cent ME team.
"It's all about teaching these young bike riders how to approach the challenge of being the best in the world, and supporting them with a philosophy that backs that up," said Dave Brailsford, performance director at British Cycling.
Riders are already tested out of competition, both to establish a fitness baseline and to alert trainers to any potential doping, and they must be always available for testing.
"We're funded by the national lottery so there's a responsibility to the country and to the nation to show that we're clean. We're not scared to talk about doping, we're not scared to say that we're clean," Brailsford said.
UK Sport launched 100 per cent ME in 2005 to educate athletes about doping and provide workshops.
Programme directors said they had reached out to almost 20,000 athletes and support personnel since then, "allowing them to make sensible, informed decisions about competing drug-free".
UK Sport's John Scott said the sponsorship was a statement by British Cycling that doping in the sport will not be tolerated and sends out a strong message to their counterparts in cycling and the wider sporting world.
In May, Spain's Guardia Civil raided Spanish addresses and found anabolic steroids, blood transfusion equipment, bags of frozen blood and documents listing almost 200 professional athletes, including 58 cyclists, who police said were receiving illegal doping products and treatment from a Spanish doctor.
Nine riders said by police to be on that list were withdrawn from the Tour de France, including former winner Jan Ullrich and the 2006 Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso.
Proceedings against all nine riders have since been dropped, freeing them to compete again.
Floyd Landis' victory in the Tour turned sour when tests showed an elevated level of testosterone in his system.
The American was charged with a doping violation and faces administrative hearings next month that could strip him of the Tour title and impose a two-year sporting ban. He denies doping and has mounted a vigorous defence.
CSC will implement strong measures for 2007 and are calling their programme "the most radical anti-doping initiative in the history of all sport".
The number one ranked team have created an independent foundation at the University of Copenhagen to work with a Danish hospital and test riders more frequently than the UCI, cycling's international federation, or the World Anti-Doping Agency.
- REUTERS
