Pro Tour teams call on others to adopt biological passport

ProTour teams want others to undergo biological profiling too (Jean-Pierre Clatot/AFP/Getty Images)

Pro Tour teams issued a statement Thursday calling on non-Pro Tour teams to join them in adopting the biological passport.

The International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT), which represents the 17 Pro Tour teams, said it would refuse to compete with continental teams that do not adopt the anti-doping measure.

"The 17 Pro Tour teams will only agree to race against teams from the professional ranks (continental teams) if they adopt the biological passport for their riders," said the IPCT statement.

The passport is an individual electronic record for each rider, in which the results of all doping tests over a period of time are collated. It will also contain results of individual urine and blood tests aimed principally at measuring blood and steroid parameters.

Tests throughout the season will monitor any irregular biological changes occurring in the cyclist's organs, and thus signal possible doping violations.

© AFP 2008

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