The Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) has announced the appointment of a new director, Olivier Banyuls, who will become head of the foundation on December 1.

Banyuls, currently deputy director of the CADF, will succeed Francesca Rossi, who will move to the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) at the beginning of 2020.

Banyuls joined the UCI's Anti-Doping Service in 2007 and has since risen through the ranks, holding her current position since 2015.

"We are delighted that Olivier has agreed to become director of the CADF," CADF Foundation board president Rune Andersen said in a statement released by the CADF. [He is] highly respected in the field and has unparalleled knowledge of the anti-doping situation in cycling. His appointment will ensure a seamless transition as Francesca Rossi will remain at the CADF as Special Advisor until the end of this year."

Founded in 2008, the CADF is an independent organization that manages the International Cycling Union's (UCI) anti-doping program; it became fully independent from the UCI in 2013 and had previously included senior UCI members on its board. It is fully funded by the teams, the UCI, organizers, and cycling officials, including riders.

Current responsibilities include, but are not limited to, implementing the UCI's doping control strategy, conducting in- and out-of-competition testing (over 15,000 in 2018), managing the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) program, research and information gathering.

In announcing Banulus' appointment, the CADF stated: the CADF will "continue to increase its in-depth knowledge of cycling, strengthen its inspection programs at the UCI Pro Series and UCI Women's World Tour levels, and focus its inspection program before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We will focus our efforts."

Bañuls said: "The CADF is recognized as one of the most reliable, efficient and effective anti-doping organizations in the world, and as director, I will work to ensure that the CADF remains at the forefront of anti-doping efforts in cycling.

"There are a number of exciting new projects starting in 2020 and all of us at CADF look forward to implementing them for our sport.

One of the challenges facing Banyuls will be maintaining the relationship between the UCI and the CADF, which has been strained in recent weeks.

In October, the UCI announced its intention to "keep in touch" with the International Testing Agency (ITA), a new organization established by the Olympic Movement in 2018 with the support of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) The UCI will eventually switch its anti-doping control for cycling to the switch to the ITA and possibly decide to abolish the CADF.

"More specifically, the UCI is keen to measure the potential benefits of a more global approach with respect to synergies, including in key areas such as research, innovation, information, investigation, and cost and resource pooling," the UCI press release stated, It mentions the ITA, which operates the anti-doping programs of more than 40 organizations.

In the same statement, the UCI confirmed that the CADF will retain responsibility for cycling's anti-doping program in 2020 and clarified that Rossi's upcoming departure is unrelated to discussions about cooperation with the ITA.

Among the main issues that could potentially shift from the CADF to the ITA is the loss of cycling-specific information and expertise due to the contrast between the CADF's focus on cycling and the ITA's multisport mandate.

"We are in the early stages of the process and we need to evaluate all aspects," UCI President David Lapartient said in an October interview with the French newspaper Le Monde.

"I keep saying that the CADF is doing a good job. Most anti-doping agencies are multi-sport. Exchanging [information] within the ITA would be a richer research pool and would be more effective for all," he added, and said that all CADF employees would be offered positions within the ITA.

Later, CADF Board President Rune Andersen claimed that La Partiente was seeking more control over the CADF's activities.

"He has asked me many times for authority to do this or that, and I have always said no," Andersen told Le Monde. Andersen told the newspaper Le Monde, "He has always said no." Since then, ITA's music has gotten louder and louder, like a veiled threat."

La Partiente has been accused by some of having ambitions to one day move to the IOC, a potential conflict of interest given the relationship between the ITA and the IOC.

He told Le Monde, "I never tried to control the CADF, nor did I want to. I have never interfered." But it is not illogical to be interested in the CADF's activities. But it is not illogical for me to be interested in the CADF's activities; the CADF forgot that it has a client, UCI.

He said of his connection to the IOC, "It is easy to blame. I make decisions in the interest of the organization I represent, fully aware of the facts. If I wanted to please (IOC President) Thomas Bach, I would have joined the ITA from its inception."

In response to the UCI press release, the CADF issued an open letter condemning the ITA's move. In the letter, the CADF board expressed surprise that the UCI would make such a decision without consulting the cycling community, citing the CADF's credibility throughout the sport and with WADA, national bodies, and various law enforcement agencies.

"Nevertheless, it is surprising to us that such a decision would be initiated without a comprehensive consultation period with the cycling community. In any case, the decision must be made by the cycling community, it must be based on facts and reason, and not rushed."

"The CADF has worked tirelessly to create a solid foundation for the protection of the sport and to instill confidence among the cycling community in its work, and the UCI's position is that its timetable for evaluation has been identified and published. A decision on the future of the Cycling Anti-Doping Program could be made in February 2020.

The results of the UCI and ITA discussions will be presented at the 2020 UCI Cyclocross World Championships Steering Committee meeting in February 2020 in Dübendorf, Switzerland.