Brian Cookson calls on Astana sponsors and suppliers to help ensure team does not dope

Brian Cookson has been frustrated by news coming out of Astana in recent weeks

International Cycling Union president Brian Cookson has called on Astana’s financial backers and equipment suppliers to play their part in ensuring the team’s riders do not dope.

Two riders from the Kazakh squad’s senior roster and three from their under-23 line-up have failed doping tests in recent months, prompting a review of their UCI WorldTour licence.

The UCI’s Licence Commission allowed Astana to keep their place in cycling’s top tier on Wednesday but ordered an audit of the team and warned the licence could yet be rescinded should there be any flaws in their practises or further positive tests.

The UCI was widely criticised for the decision, but Cookson insisted the companies and organisations behind Astana must also play their part in addressing the team's problems.

Collective effort

“This is not just a matter for the UCI,” he told Sky Sports. “We have all got our responsibilities here: the teams, Astana, the national federation of Kazakhstan, the sponsors, the funders, the suppliers of the team. The reputational damage that is being done to them is surely substantial, so we have all got to step up to the plate here.

“We are doing our bit, but we need other people to take their responsibility as well, so I am calling on the management of Astana to take their responsibilities very seriously."

Astana were allowed to keep their WorldTour licence by an independent four-man panel, but Cookson was personally accused on social media of weakness and shirking difficult decisions. 

He sympathises with the frustrations of cycling fans and even expressed his displeasure at Astana’s champagne-fuelled celebration of the news, but he remains adamant that UCI and legal protocol must be followed.

Following protocol

He added: “On social media there is a lot of kneejerk reaction and I understand that feeling, but I ask people to understand that what we do has to be legally defensible. It’s not just a question of me ‘growing balls’ or any other of the various comments that have been thrown around. It’s a question of what we can make stick.

“Nobody would thank us if we made a judgement that was too hasty and not sustainable and defensible legally. I am determined that we do deal with this situation under the UCI rules, under the Wada [World Anti-Doping Agency] code and under the legal constraints that would see us have to defend the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or anywhere else.

“This might feel like a step backwards, but once you start making things up as you go along and once you start applying rules flexibly, I think that is a recipe for disaster.”

As well as the audit, which is expected to be concluded by the end of January, the UCI is also set to review a 550-page report of a four-year investigation into the banned doping doctor Michele Ferrari, which has linked the Italian to Astana.

Waiting game

According to leaked reports in Italian media this week, Ferrari, who was heavily involved in Lance Armstrong’s doping regime, visited an Astana training camp in November 2013 and has had as many as 17 current or former Astana riders on his client list.

The UCI is waiting to receive a copy of the report from the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) and Cookson admitted acting on any potential offences by Astana could still be weeks away.

“We have asked for it [the report] as quickly as we could and we have been chasing it up again today,” he added. “I would hope that they [Coni] would want to help us, but we will have to wait and see.

“Once that comes, our lawyers will have a quick review of it and see what information might be appropriate to the Astana situation. As and when that has been done, we will make a decision on referring that back to the Licence Commission. That could be any time in the next couple of weeks, or a bit longer if we don’t get the information from Coni.”