Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 11, 2007
The Agency for Cycling Ethics, Inc., ("ACE") (http://www.agencyforcyclingethics.org), a subsidiary of The Agency for Sports Ethics, LLC, ("ASE"), is pleased to announce that Team High Road (formerly known as the T-Mobile Professional Cycling Team) and Slipstream Sports, LLC (owner of the Slipstream-Chipotle presented by H3o - Professional Cycling Team) have both entered into agreements with ACE to provide its Pure Sport Anti-Doping Monitoring Program for their respective cycling teams' 2008 season. For Slipstream-Chipotle, this represents a continuation of its participation in the ACE anti-doping program initiated for the 2007 season.
As part of its' support of the ACE PURE Sport program, UCI has agreed to accept all Team High Road and Team Slipstream blood test results provided by ACE. The sharing of rider's blood profile information with UCI is intended for use in conjunction with the proposed WADA rider passport program, scheduled for implementation during the 2008 season. UCI will have access to the ACE data through role-based security protocols managed by ACE throughout the year
"We are delighted that one of the world's top cycling teams, Team High Road, and a premier U.S. team, Slipstream-Chipotle presented by H3o, both of whom are leaders in the push for clean and fair sport and are dedicated to ethical conduct in cycling are on board with the ACE Pure Sport program for next season. The anti-doping program we rolled out in 2007 with Slipstream-Chipotle presented by H3o has been a great success and provides a blueprint for monitoring riders to promote a drug-free cycling environment" said Paul Strauss, Chief Executive Officer of ACE.
In 2007, ACE introduced a unique and comprehensive program to monitor cyclists' biological markers (biomarkers) over time (longitudinal) in the fight against doping. From inception, the Slipstream-Chipotle team has demanded rigorously ethical behavior from all of their athletes and it was the first team to undergo ACE's frequent blood and urine testing program. Jonathon Vaughters, Director Sportif of Slipstream-Chipotle presented by H3o said "The ACE program has worked really well for us this year. It was the right move for us to bring the program on board in 2007. It is definitely the way of the future and I believe we will see more teams also deciding to go this way in the coming months."
For 2008, Team High Road has joined the premiere ACE anti-doping program ("Pure Sport") to achieve their objective of being a clean team that wins. "Last year we made a strong commitment to fight against doping," said High Road Sports General Manager Bob Stapleton. "It is the most comprehensive program out there. It is exactly what the team needs and exactly what the sport needs." Stapleton continues, "We started with the first testing at our team meeting in October and we are very pleased to see that our riders understand the importance of these strict measures. We believe frequent comprehensive testing and using profiles that detect small changes in body chemistry are invaluable tools to ensure the future of the team in the sport. The testing will keep us more informed about the conduct and health of our athletes."
UCI Applauds Cycling Teams' Participation with ACE
Anne Gripper, the Manager of Anti-Doping Services for UCI, upon learning of Team High Road's entering into the ACE Pure Sport Program, stated: "The UCI encourages professional cycling teams to take responsibility for anti-doping within their team environment. Team High Road and Slipstream-Chipolte presented by H3o continue to demonstrate leadership in this regard. By initiating a comprehensive team-based anti-doping program delivered by the Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), by actively supporting the UCI in their broad anti-doping efforts and, most importantly, by actively working to create a doping-free culture within their team, their participation in the ACE program is a role model for other teams to follow."
Ms. Gripper further adds, "The Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE) assists cycling teams to create a doping-free culture by providing a robust, independent and transparent anti-doping program. ACE collects a high volume of blood and urine samples throughout the year which enables the creating of individual rider profiles. Programs such as the ACE Pure Sport program, provides client teams such as Team High Road and Team Slipstream and the UCI with increased monitoring ability and certainly deters riders from participating in any doping activities."
About The Agency for Sports Ethics, LLC
The Agency for Sports Ethics, LLC is committed to the highest ethical standards in all sports. ASE's goal is to provide the tools and programs necessary to ensure sponsors, teams, athletes and the public that participants in the ASE family of programs compete drug-free and embody ethical competition on a level playing field. ASE intends to use the latest technologies, employ the most up-to-date proven methodologies and work with the foremost scientific experts in anti-doping in conjunction with sports' governing bodies to ensure athletes compete Pure.
About The Agency for Cycling Ethics, Inc.
The Agency for Cycling Ethics is committed to the highest ethical standards in the professional sport of cycling. ACE believes in creating a cycling environment free of performance enhancing drugs by providing teams with the independent resources necessary to achieve this goal.
ACE's global mission is to create a conscious environment in which athletes are responsible and accountable for their physical well-being while strictly adhering to the ethical standards of the sport.
About Team High Road
Team High Road Team has had a long successful history in the sport of cycling and has recently re-invented itself with the introduction of new management. At the end of 2006, Bob Stapleton took over the reigns. His company High Road Sports Inc. now owns and runs the team with a solid mission to lead the way to clean and fair sport and to be a clean team that can win.
About Slipstream-Chipotle Presented by H3o
Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, a sports marketing and development company, Team Slipstream is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions, featuring some of the United States' top cyclists. In 2007, Team Slipstream partnered with Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), to create the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional sports world. The team of 25 riders will undergo combined voluntary testing at least 700 times throughout the 2008 season.
For additional information or media inquiries please contact:
Scott W. Fennel
Agency for Cycling Ethics, Inc.
http://www.agencyforcyclingethics.org
United States Contact:
Toll Free: +1 (877) 776-2238
Mobile: +1 (805) 907-8855
# # #