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Bike Pure is an independent, non-profit voluntary campaigning organisation run from Ireland by stage race and national championship winning cyclists Myles McCorry and Andy Layhe.
McCorry said: "No sponsor wants their brand associated with scandal and in the past it has been all to common occurrence within cycle sport. In defending the integrity of professional cycling, BikePure also protects sponsor investment in the sport.
"Getting riders to be held responsible for their own behaviour and removing the product association with a rider who is cheating, is not only good for brand image, but has a knock on effect of decreasing the desire to dope: knowing all elements in the sport stand united against the cheats."
McCorry believes money talks:
"The finance that funds a team’s wages has the power to induce change and with all power comes responsibility. It is with this commercial influence that the cycle industry can make a collective impact. Demanding that their sponsored athletes race clean, taking pride in clean riders and thus promoting a healthier company image and better sales.
"For the companies who fund our sport, it is business, but business must have a conscience. Sponsors have a duty of care to promote a positive sport.
"Supporting drug free sport is endorsing cycling’s future for sustained prosperity. We ask sponsors to demand a drug free commitment from their athletes and immediately remove all support from cheating riders/teams and redirect it to young clean athletes – the future."
Signed-up BikePure riders include Dan Martin, Garmin-Slipstream; Dan Fleeman, Cérvelo Test Team; Russell Downing, Candi-TV – Marshalls Pasta; Lizzie Armitstead, Lotto; Rebecca Rusch, Specialized MTB, Helen Wyman, Kona CX; and Katie Compton, Planet Bike. Now BikePure wants companies to align with the organisation’s clean cycling campaign.
"We are compiling a list of companies who wish to be associated with Bike Pure’s philosophy," said McCorry, pointing out that fans should "support the companies committed to helping cycling begin a new era of accountability."
BikePure now has nearly 15,000 members from 81 countries. It costs nothing to join.
BikePure’s Andy Layhe spoke to BikeBiz in the latest edition (on page 75), which you can read here.
