Pope Francis warns cycling over ‘doping, dishonesty and corruption’ at Annual Congress of the European Cycling Union

The pontiff told the congress: ‘[When] sport becomes an end in itself, and the person an instrument at the service of other interests such as prestige and profit, then distortions appear that taint it’

Pope Francis has issued a warning to the sport of cycling over “doping, dishonesty and corruption”.

Speaking at the Annual Congress of the European Cycling Union, the pontiff praised cycling as a discipline which promotes “virtues such as patience, integrity, altruism and team spirit. In road cycling we can see how the whole team works together during races.”

But he added a warning over the ongoing questions of cycling’s moral compass, when “prestige and profit” lead astray.

He told the congress: “[When] sport becomes an end in itself, and the person an instrument at the service of other interests such as prestige and profit, then distortions appear that taint it. I am thinking, he said, of doping, dishonesty, disrespect for oneself and one’s opponents, and corruption.