“We’re one of the most tested sports in the world and I think that the ITA (the International Testing Agency) does a good job, but I also think we can create an even more robust anti-doping system,” says Emily Brammeier, the new president of the Movement For Credible Cycling (MPCC), a voluntary organisation that promotes clean cycling by setting higher ethical standards. “Every year there are still questions asked to the yellow jersey at the Tour de France if they’re clean. There are rumours of doping, gene doping, EPO, mechanical doping, still many question marks. Is it a really good thing that we don’t have that many positive tests anymore: does it mean we’re doing a good job or that the cheaters are doing a better job? It’s important we focus on closing loopholes in the system. It’s our sport’s responsibility as a whole to ensure that people trust what they’re seeing. Riders are getting younger and they’re also really impressionable, and these grey areas that we have at the moment are really damaging for the sport and its stability.”

After 18 years leading the MPCC, Frenchman Roger Legeay has stepped down as its president. In almost two decades at the head of the body, the former Crédit Agricole team manager persuaded the UCI to introduce a number of stringent anti-doping measures, including the banning of corticosteroids, tramadol and carbon monoxide rebreathing. Now, aged 76, Legeay has handed over responsibility to Brammeier, who for the past nine years has been the head of communications at Picnic PostNL. The 31-year-old has also become an influential figure in the corridors of power in recent years: a MPCC board member for the past three years and vice president in the last 12 months, she was elected to the vice president role at the teams’ organisation AIGCP in 2024, and also sits on the ITA’s Funding Commission. Additionally, she played an active role in the now-paused One Cycling conversations. 

Though Brammeier will not be familiar to a lot of fans, her family’s DNA is rooted in the sport . Her brother Matt, now the senior coach at British Cycling, raced professionally for 13 years and was a five-time Irish champion. His wife, Nikki, finished first or second in 10 consecutive British cyclocross national championship races in the 2010s. “Growing up, I saw first hand the grit and determination it takes to be a pro, and the challenges my brother and sister-in-law had to overcome as the sport was coming out of its dark history,” Brammeier tells Rouleur just days after her appointment. “Matt and Nikki were the first British riders to join the MPCC and as a family we’ve always upheld those views of fair play and of the importance of protecting elite athletes.”

This article was published on Rouleur in October 2025. You can read the full article here.