The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that a full audit conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 3-4 November 2021… ‘confirmed the strength and quality of the UCI’s anti-doping programme.’
The UCI was the 62nd anti-doping organisation (ADO) audited by WADA as part of its Compliance Monitoring programme to assess compliance with the world anti-doping code. each ado is then provided with a corrective action report and plan to assist with their anti-doping programme.
The in-person audit of the UCI came 11 months after the official transfer of its anti-doping operational activities from the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) to the International Testing Agency (ITA).
The audit covered all operations such as UCI governance, budgeting and reporting, intelligence and investigations, education, the therapeutic use exemption (TUE) programme, results management as well as data protection.
According to a release from UCI… ‘In its report, the WADA Audit Team highlighted the numerous strengths of the UCI and of its anti-doping programme. There were very few findings and corrective actions to report on, given the quality of the UCI’s programme.
‘It found that both the UCI and the ITA were high-functioning and high-performing with extremely competent, dedicated, and passionate staff. It was also impressed by the ingrained collaborative style it witnessed, as well as the proactive approach to the joint effort between the ITA and UCI staff.
‘According to the audit team, this collaborative approach would appear to ensure that the UCI’s processes and procedures are robust and that the different areas of its programme are comprehensive and efficient.’
For transparency, the UCI has published the introduction of the Audit Corrective Action Report issued by WADA.
Following receipt of the WADA Corrective Action Plan, the UCI and the ITA have started working to implement the corrective actions required by WADA within the set deadlines to ensure that the UCI Anti-Doping Programme remains fully compliant.
