Feb 3rd, 10. In last week's Trust House tour, Bike Pure's blue wristbands, signifying riders who want the world to know they are clean, were seen sprinkled throughout the peloton.    

McCauley and his Bike Pure blue wristband hurting up the KOM climb ©RoadCycling.co.nz

Bike Pure believe cycling fans deserve heroes they can believe in. Clean up or clear out is one of their mottos.  Although the sport is cleaning up, there is still a way to go with over 60 riders caught cheating using artificial, performance enhancing methods in 2009.

Those 60 riders include Danilo Di Luca who placed 2nd in the Giro d'Italia and won the points classification last year.  He has been banned for two years, but what might hurt more is the €280,000 fine the UCI imposed on him today.

New Zealand's current time trial champion and five time road champion Gordon McCauley was wearing his blue Bike Pure wristband and bike headspacer for the first time at the Trust House Cycle Classic in Wellington.

"I race my bike clean, as fast as I can, and that's why I can't hold my form all year long," said McCauley who added there are some people in New Zealand who are too quick to throw accusations around.

Like all pro-riders who affiliate with Bike Pure, McCauley has agreed to the Bike Pure honour pledge;

• I will endeavor to do my best to achieve victory using only my talent and hard effort.
• I pledge never to use Performance enhancing drugs, or knowingly bring cycle sport into disrepute.
• I agree that drug cheats should be banned for life, from cycle sport.

Jay Thompson shows his Bike Pure wristband ©RoadCycling.co.nz

"It's good to promote no drugs in sport. It's really good, because I don't like drugs in sport, it's not fair," he said.

McCauley was the only Bike Pure Kiwi racing this tour but he isn't the only Kiwi pro-rider who has signed up to the values and beliefs of Bike Pure.

Alex Meenhorst, who this year is racing for new European team, Team NetApp, is also a Bike Pure rider.

Matthews winning stage Stage 4 ©RoadCycling.co.nz

In addition, Eddie Bright, the Director Sportif of Cyclosport Kiwi women's team has signed the team up as a Bike Pure team.

"On behalf of the team I readily agree to the core values of Bike Pure. They fit in perfectly with our approach to cycling. With a young team developing into international riders, it is important that they are 100% dedicated to a clean and fair sport," said Bright.

"As a long time cyclist I am confident that at long last we are making a difference which can only grow stronger with organisations such as Bike Pure."

RoadCycling.co.nz has been publishing Bike Pure stories to help bring their message to New Zealand.  We hope next time we look on the Bike Pure website we'll see many more of our top riders signed up to show their commitment to a clean sport.

Find out more: www.bikepure.org - you don't have to be a pro-cyclist to add your support.

Related artilces

• What do you know about EPO?
• Doping consequences: a case study
• Bike Pure celebrates it's 10,000th member