The UCI's Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) reaches out to current and former riders, team staff and other cycling insiders. In a press release yesterday, the commission has asked anyone with information to assist in the investigation of cycling's doping history and allegations of UCI involvement.

CIRC chairman Dick Marty, a senior Swiss politician and former state prosecutor, said: “The primary purpose of our investigation is not to punish doping offenders but to learn from the past and ensure a better future for cycling. We will treat all witnesses fairly, and I urge anyone in the cycling community with information that can help our investigation to come forward.”

The main focus of the CIRC investigations will be the doping culture in cycling, especially concentrating on the period from 1998 to 2013. Another core part will be to uncover any part the UCI itself has played in possible cover-ups of doping cases during this period.

The commission doesn't set out to punish individual riders' doping offences, but rather wants to identify and tackle the practices and networks that have instigated and facilitated doping in cycling. These will then be presented in a report illustrating the causes of, and responsibility for, doping and making recommendations on how to change cycling's doping culture.

The members of the CIRC – Dick Marty, German CAS arbitrator Ulrich Haas and Australian criminal investigation specialist Peter Nicholson – will operate independently from the UCI, and the commission promises strict confidentiality.

As a bargaining chip, the CIRC will be able to propose reduced sanctions for any license holder (riders, officials, agents, organisers, team staff etc.) who admits to a violation of anti-doping rules. There is a possibility of a further reduction if information on others' anti-doping violations or relevant circumstances are provided; finally, prize money will not have to be returned.

These offers are only valid for license holders that aren't already serving a suspension or awaiting disciplinary action. However, the commission can recommend to reduce a sanction on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the sanctioning body, WADA and the UCI. This clause is believed to be an outstretched hand to Lance Armstrong who didn't contest the USADA charges, but could be convinced to cooperate with the CIRC if promised a reduction of his lifetime ban.

As WADA rules only allow for a maximum reduction of 75% from the minimum suspension of two years for first-time offenders (minimum four years for repeat offenders), any license holder who decides to come forward with his or her doping story would still face at least a six-month ban.

It is doubtful whether a rider's conscience alone will be strong enough to voluntarily admit to any wrongdoing if not already found guilty via a doping test. However, if the CIRC regulations are understood correctly, should a rider test positive, he can no longer bargain information for a shorter suspension – for that, he or she would need to come forward ahead of a positive test.