Cyclists have called for stricter penalties to be imposed upon people who have been found guilty of doping.
Cycling has been rocked by the revelations that Lance Armstrong led "the most sophisticated doping programme sport has ever seen" to win his seven consecutive Tour de France titles.
The issue was raised at a meeting of the International Cycling Union's athletes' commission, with plans put forward to severely punish anyone caught using performance-enhancing drugs as well as imposing sanctions on their team.
"The commission proposed stiffening the sanctions against riders found guilty of doping in order to have a dissuasive effect," read a UCI statement.
"In this respect, the athletes' commission supports the UCI regulations introduced on July 1, 2011 that prohibit any person involved in a doping case from returning to cycling in any post or position of responsibility.
"Furthermore, the commission proposed sanctioning the teams and the entourage of riders who test positive and not just the rider him or herself."
Armstrong has been stripped of his Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life.
Barney Corkhill
