Anti-doping meeting to consider biological passports

PARIS, Oct 20 (Reuters) The creation of a biological passport will top the agenda at next week's two-day international meeting on doping and cycling in Paris.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) said earlier this week they planned to collect blood and urine samples from all riders in 2008 to create a medical profile that would then be compared to the data registered in doping tests.

UCI representatives, French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Dick Pound will meet in the French capital on Monday and Tuesday to tackle the issue of doping in cycling.

Round tables will take place at the French Olympic National Committee's headquarters.

''These two days of exchange and round tables will aim to find new ways to reinforce the fight against doping in cycling,'' the French sports ministry said in a statement.

''The measures stemmed from this meeting could be experimented for the 2008 season.'' Cycling has been hit by an unprecedented number of doping affairs this season.

Dane Michael Rasmussen was sacked by his Rabobank team as he led the Tour de France for allegedly lying about his training programme.

Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov was found guilty of blood doping during the world's greatest stage race and was also kicked out of the event along with his Astana team.

American Floyd Landis, who had won the 2006 Tour, has been handed a two-year suspension by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and then stripped of his title by the UCI following a positive test for testosterone during his victorious ride on the French roads.

REUTERS BJR RK1715