NIne Tour de France riders has received anti-doping sanctions in the past

Among the nine riders five of the athletes are from Italy, among these Ivan Basso who also was kicked out of the Tour in 2006. The Italian rider was one of many who had used the services of the Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. The riders Michele Scarponi (Italy), suspended for three months in 2012 after being found guilty of Trafficking in any prohibited substance. Scarponi was also suspended for 21 months in 2007 for Use or Attempted Use of a Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method. Filippo Pozzato (Italy), suspended for three months in 2012 for a non diclosed substance. Alejandro Valverde (Spain), suspended for two years suspension in 2010 for Use or Attempted Use by an Athlete of a prohibited substance or method (blood passport) Rui Costa (Portugal), suspended for five months in 2010 after testing positive for Methylhexaneamine at the Portuguese Time Trial Championships. Alberto Contador (Spain), suspended for two years in 2010 after testing positive for Clenbuterol during the Tour de France. Damiano Caruso (Italy), suspended for one year for Use or Attempted Use of a Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method. Ivan Basso (Italy), suspended for two years in 2006 after violating anti-doping rule: Use or Attempted Use of a Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method Giampaolo Caruso (Italy), suspended for six months in 2003 after testing positive for nandrolone during the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under. Daniele Bennati (Italy), received a public warning after testing positive for Betamethasone in the Gent-Wevelgem race in 2005. Targeted controls UCI, represented by the CADF (Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation) and AFLD (Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage) will do the sample collections and analysis during TdF. And the riders are not just randomly selected. The two organizations is using information gathered over years to select or monitor riders during the race which starts July 4. - Our 2015 testing programme focuses more and more on qualitative rather than quantitative aspects. The anti-doping programme put in place for this year’s Tour de France has all the elements necessary to meet anti-doping objectives, both in terms of protecting the cyclists’ health and ensuring the sport’s ethics, said Francesca Rossi, Director of the CADF. Cooperation The agreement covering the Tour de France, is part of the cooperation agreement signed again this year between the UCI on the one hand, represented by the CADF, and the AFLD on the other, which aims to ensure efficient anti-doping controls at all the major cycling competitions in France (Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour de France). Regarding anti-doping controls for the Tour de France 2015, it is a global approach that will prevail to maximize the efficiency of the control system, including targeted controls at the start of the competition - in particular through data exchange regarding the localisation of the riders – as well as the sharing of information concerning the “biological passport”. - I am more than ever convinced of the necessity for all actors in the fight against doping to work together and I hope that the cooperation between the French Anti-Doping Agency and the CADF sets the example for other sports, declared Bruno Genevois, President of the AFLD. Control measures Several control measures put in place in 2014 will be renewed, such as: The AFLD has again carried out controls this year on a number of cyclists who will most likely participate in the “Grande Boucle”; Shortly before the start of the race, blood checks will be carried out on all participants; During the stages in France, the decision regarding which cyclists to test will be jointly decided by the CADF and the AFLD, on the basis of shared information, in order to have a well- targeted approach towards the riders; Based on intelligence gathering, some samples will be kept, possibly for several years, in order to allow subsequent analyses with the benefit of technical progress concerning detection methods. Agreement also with French police Finally, the cooperation agreement between CADF, AFLD and the French police has been renewed. This will allow the gathering of more information in order to improve the quality of testing during the race UCI President, Brian Cookson, stated: "I am extremely pleased that this partnership between the UCI, the CADF and AFLD on the Tour de France continues in 2015. The UCI is now collaborating much more effectively with all anti-doping stakeholders both directly and, where appropriate, through the CADF. I strongly believe that it is by joining our forces that we will protect clean athletes more efficiently."