Festina joins campaign to crack down on banned drugs
Posted: Wednesday November 04, 1998 04:56 PM
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The move comes nearly three months after the Tour de France was rocked by a doping scandal that saw Festina team expelled Alex Livesey/Allsport |
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Festina, whose team was kicked out of
the Tour de France after admitting to drug use, said Tuesday it has
joined three other cycling sponsors in signing a charter aimed at
clamping down on use of banned substances.
The watch company also said it was earmarking 100 million
pesetas (US$715,000) to fight drug use in cycling and train young
riders.
The charter was signed last week by French sponsors Bigmat,
Cofidis and Francaise des Jeux in what was seen as a bid to clean
up cycling's tarnished image.
The document includes a range of measures designed to make it
tougher for cyclists to take illicit drugs.
Among the most far-reaching is one giving sponsors the right to
demand further medical examinations in the event of a positive drug
test, and prevent cyclists who test positive from competing until
undergoing a disciplinary hearing.
The move comes nearly three months after the Tour de France was
rocked by a doping scandal that saw Festina team expelled following
revelations that its riders systematically used the
performance-enhancing drug EPO.
The measures include allowing sponsors the right to hire doctors
of their own choice to test cyclists and making cyclists on the
three teams guarantee in writing that they will abstain from taking
banned substances during their contracts.
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