In recent years, Torku-Sekerspor has been set back by several doping scandals. Now Lionel Marie has taken over the team leadership and he wants to restore the credibility.

Cycling's growth has created lots of opportunities in emerging markets but it has also raised some doubts about the quality and the ethics of some of the riders. For example, Torku-Sekerspor has gradually built an impressive race schedule and has a team that has been competing in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. But the talk of Torku automatically turns to performances of some of their riders in the main event of their season, the Tour of Turkey, a race where the local team has beaten several world class riders from the WorldTour. Later it was revealed that both Ivailo Gabrovski and Mustafa Sayar who won the race in 2012 and 2013 respectively, had tested positive for EPO.

Lionel Marie has now arrived at the Turkish team in order to restore order and find another path. He has been signed to use his experience from teams like Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, Garmin, Orica-Greenedge and Giant-Shimano to attract more money to Turkish cycling. Football and basketball currenly gain most of the attention but the Frenchman hopes to close the gap.

First of all, he knows that it is important to clean the image and for him, nothing is better than joining the Movement for a Credible Cycling. "With what has happened in recent years, it was a priority to become a member of MPCC, just as it is to join the ADAMS system. We want to be a transparent team. The sponsor believes that cycling will follow a different path," Marie says.

"Torku is a very large company in the country and want to use the bike to become better known.The advantage is that there is a great desire to learn. Fate has always brought me great adventures and the Turkish cycling culture is in its infancy. Hence, both riders and staff listen to what I say," he adds.

The Tour of Turkey will logically be the big goal of the year. With two veteran signings, Tomasz Marzcynski (former Vacansoleil and CCC Polsat rider) and Kevin Belgian Seeldraeyers (former Quick Step, Astana and Wanty rider, he will try to win the race. "I have suggested that we should try to be pro continental in the near future", reveals Marie who did not get a positive response immediately. "They consider to be an option. We'll see."