David McQuaid's Continental-ranked team is in its third season and has moved to nail its colours to the mast of clean cycling (Photo: Jim Chen)
Now entering its third season in the international peloton, Irish man David McQuaid’s Synergy-Baku cycling team has joined the anti doping Movement for Credible Cycling.
The Azerbaijan-backed outfit said its application to join the organisation had been accepted on Thursday.
The movement is essentially a collective of cycling teams and other entities in world cycling, including some national federations.
Each member signs up to a number of core principals as a means of demonstrating their commitment to competing clean.
Continued membership of the movement is dependent on compliance with the strict anti-doping and medical requirements it sets out for its members.
Having become more and more established over the past two seasons, the overall goal of developing riders from Azerbaijan is now centre stage for David McQuaid’s team as the Olympics approaches.
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The MPCC’s stated goal is “to defend the idea of a clean cycling based on notions of transparency, responsibility and mobilization” of its members.
“It is important that teams, Synergy Baku Cycling Project included, develop young cyclists with a strong ethical approach, a correct code of conduct and learn to compete with their ability and hard work,” said team manager McQuaid.
“Synergy Baku supports the position of MPCC on medical and anti-doping matters and as such on the eve of our first 2015 races we are very pleased to have been accepted as members of the MPCC.”
MPCC president Roger Legeay said the team’s decision to join the movement demonstrated a “real commitment” to credible cycling.
“It is indeed important that all categories of teams commit to a cycling without doping,” he said.
Markus Eibegger winning on Seskin Hill during last year's Rás; he is hopeful the move will bring benefits on a number of levels.
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The team’s Austrian rider Markus Eibegger, who won the mountains classification in last year’s Rás and took victory on stage 6 atop Seskin Hill, said as well as committing the team to clean cycling, he was hopeful other benefits would also arise.
“Nowadays it is absolutely necessary to follow a zero tolerance policy,” said the 30-year-old former Austrian champion.
“It is the only chance for our sport to survive. I hope the MPCC teams will get advantages in race invitations, for example.
“But all MPCC members should respect their own rules, without any exceptions. Otherwise the word ‘credible’ doesn’t mean anything.”
The MPCC is made up of 11 of 17 WorldTour teams, 19 of 20 ProContinental teams, 35 of 162 Continental teams, and eight of 38 women’s teams.
Synergy Baku may have seen the departure of its Irish riders - including Philip Lavery and Connor McConvey, above - but McQuaid is still general manager.
Synergy Baku, which competes at Continental level and rode the Rás last year and the previous season, boasted a very strong Irish connection last year.
While McQuaid was at the helm, three-time Irish Olympian David McCann was a directeur and riding for the squad were Ireland’s Philip Lavery, Connor McConvey and Matt Brammeier.
However, all but Wicklow man McQuaid have since departed.
With the Olympics approaching there has been a move in the squad towards developing riders from Azerbaijan with a view to them qualifying for Rio.
McQuaid also said recently his team had not been immune from the current economic climate and that as the team took shape, budgetary adjustments had occurred.
This, he said, was another factor in the departure of some personnel from the squad over the winter months.
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