Last year, the International Cycling Union launched the most awaited tool to combat doping — the biological passport program. Although it has not yet identified any rider with the said programme, the UCI says that it will be revealing the first cases before May 9, in time for the opening of the first Grand Tour this summer in Venice, the Giro d’Italia.

UCI spokesperson Enrico Carpani said that with the first case, they have to be absolutely sure that they can defend themselves in court. It has to be safe and reliable so experts, as well as the legal department, are working on it. He also says that he expects the first cases to be released before the Giro commences.

In January of 2008, the passports were launched and regarded as the solution to cycling’s doping problems since it involves steroid profiling, longitudinal testing and long-term blood profiling. Theoretically, this could provide information on irregular fluctuations and value deviations on the blood profile which will allow authorities to identify cheats even if they don’t test positive for the substance. However, this is not the cure-all for doping. In last year’s Tour de France, six positive results were yielded by using the conventional blood and urine tests instead of the passport testing.

According to Carpani, the real challenge for UCI is more of legal than scientific in nature. Last year, when the UCI said that 23 riders needed to be tested further, no one was named publicly and no action has yet been taken. This year, some riders are again subject to scrutiny but as to how many, the UCI has not disclosed. The UCI still needs to strengthen its basis before making any public announcements.

David Millar, the British rider who was formerly banned for EPO use in 2004, now sits on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athletes’ committee. Millar, while recovering from a broken collarbone, says that the anti-doping movement’s ultimate goal is to catch athletes using new and undetectable drugs. The exposé of the first case is taking time since the passport is not as visible as a drug test, he said, but the release will make the passport more credible. Millar will be joining the Garmin-Slipstream team, together with Bradley Wiggins, in the Giro d’Italia.

The American team remains poised for this year’s Tour de France. Lance Armstrong, a member of the team while also recovering from a broken collarbone, will be joining in the Giro. Former World Anti-Doping Agency chairperson Dick Pound says that he thinks the seven-peat tour winner broke the anti-doping rules in March. He said that Armstrong left a French agency tester waiting for thirty minutes while he was having a shower. Pound thinks it is pretty obvious that if you are chosen for testing, you have to be chaperoned from the moment you are notified until the time you provide the sample. Lance, who calls himself the world’s most tested sportsperson, unquestionably knows that. The French Anti-doping Agency will be discussing this matter next month.

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