The UCI, which said last October that it hoped to implement the passport early this year to detect possible doping, gave no date for the launch.

It said on Wednesday that samples were being taken to establish each rider's steroid and blood profile.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has praised cycling's governing body for its plans, drawn up after the sport had been rocked by doping scandals in recent years.

Rogge said he expected other federations to adopt the same approach.

The UCI plans to conduct 7,000 out-of-competition tests this year, seven times as many as last year, a statement said.

This will require knowing where riders are when not competing, and the UCI already has information on the whereabouts of most of them, it said.

The UCI has started training teams to use a World Anti-Doping Agency programme to record athletes' whereabouts online.

It will be fully operational in March and will gradually take over from the system of faxed information.

ASSOCIATED PRESS