Cycling's drug-testers will crack the problem of the banned performance-enhancer EPO within the next two years, according to one of the sport's leading officials.

The optimistic forecast, made by International Cycling Union (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, was tempered by a warning about the emergence of new impossible-to-detect substances.

"I think that in the next two years we will be able to detect EPO, but I'm worried about new products which we can't catch," he said.

Verbruggen also announced improved relations with the French police, who were perceived by some in the sport to have been heavy-handed in their dealings with cyclists during the Tour de France. "There will be fresh police and customs controls but with a softer approach," he said.

In the interview with the newspaper La Provence, Verbruggen raised the question of a rift between the UCI and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the question of sanctions. "The IOC considers the minimum sanction should be for two years for the first (drug) infringement and for life in case of a repeat. But for a cyclist two years represents a life ban," he said.