PARIS, March 7: The International Cycling Union (UCI) on Thursday set up a new anti-doping foundation as part of its latest battle to rid the under-fire sport of cheats.

With a budget of five million euros a year, the goal of the foundation “is to permit the improvement of resources available in the anti-doping battle”, said a UCI statement. The new group will be headed by UCI president Pat McQuaid and made up of Peder Pedersen (Denmark), Daniel Baal (France), Artur Lopes (Portugal) and George Ruijsch Van Dugteren (South Africa).

“The introduction of the biological passport, which now complements the range of anti-doping actions undertaken by the UCI, was the driving force for this initiative, which will open new avenues for our Federation to pursue.”

The foundation board held its first meeting and heard that as of the end of 2007, three quarters of the scheduled drug tests had been carried out - 4,367 in-competition and 1,077 out-of-competition.—AFP