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Good Ones & Bad Ones

03 Dec 2010

Already in 2007 (prior to the introduction of the Biologic Passaport) the UCI had identified a "black list" of suspicious riders, the so-called "Men In Black", apparently because they were training with neutral clothes, without sponsors' logos, mostly in black. 

Anne Gripper, who in those days was the UCI anti-doping campaign manager, declared (guardian.co.uk, 22 jun 2007): "We have been informed that they are training in strange places in funny kit. Two of them were recently intercepted in an unusual training location and tested". 
The article continued by stating that the riders were tested 3-4 times out of competition in the last few weeks (all were negatives, ed.) 
Anne Gripper added : "They are considered high risk because of their suspicious behaviour and because they are likely to want to go well in the Tour de France" (!). 

In the so-called "black list" were also eventually included by part of the media some riders deemed "unwelcome" from the UCI: please read "Two stories about Michael Rasmussen" e "Fxxx off" by Klaus 
Wivel (newcyclingpathways.blogspot.com) and "A dirty deal " (nyvelocity.com) with regard to the case of Vladimir Gusev. 

Yesterday's communiqué by the UCI tells us that in 2011 the anti-doping programme will see a considerable increase in controls for those "riders whose profile may indicate illegal behaviour", rather than for those riders with a "regular profile". 

It is not clear yet what they really mean with "profile"...

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