UCI further reinforces the independence of its anti-doping program by delegating results management to the ITA

As of today, Monday 9 February 2026, the ITA assumes responsibility for legal proceedings pertaining to anti-doping matters in cycling, including the handling of potential anti-doping rule violations and whereabouts failures. This decision was taken unanimously by the UCI Management Committee at its meeting in Beveren (Belgium) on 29-30 January. It forms part of a long-term strategy endorsed by the UCI Anti-doping Program’s Funding Committee – which brings together the UCI and representatives of teams, riders and organisers – to further strengthen the independence and integrity of cycling’s anti-doping program.

This major step follows a structured and progressive pathway pursued by the UCI over many years to further strengthen the independence, credibility and robustness of its anti-doping program. In 2008, the UCI established the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) to lead operational anti-doping activities in cycling, and to further strengthen both the expertise and the independence of its clean sport program through a dedicated entity operating outside the UCI’s internal organisational structure. In 2013, it further reinforced its system with the creation of its Legal Anti-Doping Service (LADS), a unit responsible for results management of anti-doping violations and the handling of whereabouts failures.

In 2021, the UCI delegated its operational anti-doping activities (such as testing planning and operations, review of therapeutic use exemptions, monitoring of athlete biological passports and intelligence-gathering and investigations) to the ITA, embedding cycling’s anti-doping program within an independent, international and multi-sport environment. Since then, efforts to contribute to clean cycling have been led by the ITA’s Cycling Unit, dedicated specifically to all cycling disciplines.

The delegation of results management to the independent international anti-doping body builds on this strong foundation, ensuring the highest level of expertise and experience for the UCI’s anti-doping program.

The ITA already brings extensive and proven expertise in anti-doping related legal proceedings and results management activities for over 60 international partners, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as for numerous International Federations across the Olympic and wider global sporting landscape. This consolidated experience ensures that cycling continues to benefit from highly specialised, robust and efficient results management processes, within a framework designed to further reinforce independence and integrity.

The ITA will apply the same high standards of transparency for results management and public communication as the UCI has done to date. All cases under the jurisdiction of the UCI will be disclosed in line with the ITA’s public disclosure policy, which is fully aligned with the public disclosure provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code and ensures that any anti-doping rule violations in cycling are communicated transparently and without delay to the cycling community and the wider public.

UCI President David Lappartient said: “The delegation of results management to the ITA represents another major step in a process initiated with the creation of the CADF to ensure the independence of the fight against doping in cycling, in order to make it as effective and deterrent as possible. Since the delegation of the operational aspects of its anti-doping program to the ITA in 2021, the UCI and the cycling community have been able to fully appreciate the professionalism of the independent international anti-doping organisation. It is therefore with full confidence that we are now entrusting results management to the ITA. In doing so, we continue to move towards even greater integrity in our sport.”

ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen said: “This decision is a powerful signal of trust from the UCI, and one that we take with great responsibility. Cycling has the largest anti-doping program delivered for an International Federation anywhere in the world, and the UCI’s choice to fully entrust its results management to the ITA reflects both the depth of expertise within our legal and operational teams and the maturity of our partnership.

“Beyond governance structures, what truly matters is what athletes experience on the ground: a system that is independent, consistent and able to act with authority and speed. Through this delegation, the UCI is demonstrating a clear and long-term commitment to providing its riders with the strongest possible anti-doping program. We warmly congratulate the UCI for the clarity and consistency of its path towards independence and for its continued leadership in protecting clean sport.”

Through this delegation, the UCI and the ITA reaffirm their shared commitment to safeguarding athletes and ensuring that cycling continues to be protected by a robust, independent and highly professional anti-doping program