Speaking on the abuse of cortisone as was highlighted by CIRC report, Brian Cookson stressed that UCI is alarmed by the deployment of this & other such grey products & that they are striving hard to eliminate such abuses.
The recently published CIRC report that took the cycling world by storm, looked into current as well as historic doping practices & albeit it talks about reduced use of the hard substances at present- yet it also highlighted several concerns.
One of them was cortisone & corticoid products that are used in training that help to burn off the body mass whilst preserving power. Another one is Microdosing EPO.
“One of the doctors stated that it’s not possible to shed weight which some cyclists achieve sans assistance & TUE has enabled this practice”, stated the CIRC report.
“He stated riders take to corticoids as it helps to lean out which means lose fat fast, & keep it at bay, sans losing on power.”
“As an example, the doctor explained that when one is trying to lose 4 kilos in four weeks with corticoid, he would come up with 7 percent power or weight improvement. The doctor even revealed that if the substance is used in huge quantity, accompanied by other substances, the rider would achieve performance gains.”
The UCI chief emphasized that use of grey substances is one of the major issues for them.
“I feel that we must seriously consider the CIRC report, regarding cortisone & other medical as well as quasi-medical abuses. Again this will tie up with the ethical processes here. I would be looking at TUE regulations. WADA has allowed TUE but if something is ethically challenging despite being under the rules, we would look to exceed WADA code, in case it’s possible”, noted Cookson.