Cycling Dopers Beware! After being criticized for conducting a lax anti-doping program at last year's Amgen Tour of California,

organizers of the USA's largest cycling race are responding with an expanded plan that includes a dramatic increase in the number of tests and the exclusion of any rider under investigation of doping.

The 650-mile race Feb. 17-24 will include 17 of the world's top road cycling teams. It will feature defending world and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini of Italy, former world champ Tom Boonen of Belgium and American Levi Leipheimer, who is the defending champion and last year was third in the Tour de France.

Details of the new strategy are expected to be released Tuesday by Tour of California officials, but USA TODAY obtained a draft of the plan that calls for extensive blood and urine testing. Race officials declined to comment before Tuesday's announcement.

Last year only four rider doping tests were conducted each day, and in the Tour?s first year there was no testing for illegal blood booster erythropoietin (EPO). That was especially embarrassing for title sponsor Amgen, the world's top manufacturer of artificial EPO pharmaceutical drugs such as Aranesp and Epogen, which are used in treating anemia.

Doping continued to dominate headlines in cycling last year. The Operation Puerto blood-doping scandal erupted in Europe, and many top riders were implicated, including 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich. The French Tour was further sullied by the expulsion of race leader Michael Rassmusen two days before the finish.

Tour of California race organizer AEG Sports worked with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to come up with the tougher program.

"AEG Sports should be commended for being so proactive about the problem and taking time to listen to us and to implement our suggestions," says Travis T. Tygart, CEO of USADA. "All sports organizations should be as proactive as they can and follow AEG's lead in this area."

How the plan will work:

•All riders will have blood samples collected prior to the race, which will be tested for indications of blood manipulation. In addition, 30% of riders will have urine samples collected before the race. Urine samples will be analyzed for the presence of banned substances such as steroids, hormones (including EPO) and masking agents.

•The results of the blood tests will be incorporated into the UCI's Biological Passport program. The biological passport is an electronic record for each rider, in which the results of all doping tests over a period of time are collated.

•Each day's stage winner, overall leader of the race and three others will have a full screen for steroids, hormones, stimulants and masking agents. In addition to post-stage testing, there will be full screen testing for three additional riders throughout the day.

•Teams have agreed to guarantee that all members, including coaches, trainers and support staff, are clear of any open doping investigations. The team's roster of riders will be submitted to USA Cycling (the national governing organization) and UCI to confirm that there are no "open investigations."

That exclusion rule has some teams worried. USADA guidelines say a rider can only be suspended if an offense is established. But without a clear definition of "open investigations" at the Tour of California, teams are concerned that overzealous officials could restrict riders without due legal process.

Michael Ball, CEO and head designer of Rock & Republic fashion jeans and owner of the new Rock Racing Team, has hired several riders who have served suspensions for doping, including 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton. A strong supporter of a riders' union, he's afraid his team may be unfairly singled out by what he calls a "twisted crusade."

"If they target my riders, I'll stand arm in arm with them," he says. "The true power is in the team owners and our athletes."

Find this article at: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2008-01-21-tour-of-calif-doping_N.htm