The International Cycling union has instituted an athlete passport program that aims to keep biological records of a set of chosen athletes to create a baseline to base all other cyclists against.

The passport program is expected to cost more than $4 million according to the cycling union’s president, Pat McQuaid.

The cost and the effort, McQuaid said, are worth it, considering the way doping has dogged the sport.

The idea behind the program is to catch the dopers much before the actual races begin, and to clear confusion that arises when a large group of cyclists get caught.

 “I think the expectation from the cycling organizations is that every rider at the Tour next year will be covered by the passport process,” said David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “I would say that is a significant advancement.”

This is a great thing for cycling, and hopefully it is as effective as the ICU is saying it’s going to be.

Read more about the cycling union cleaning up.