Cookson, who became President of the UCI in September 2013, claims the organisation opened themselves up to an “unprecedented level of independent scrutiny” with the report, which was published in March.

Coming in under budget at CHF2.25 million (£1.5 million/$2.26 million/€2 million), the report was critical of the previous UCI leadership and outlined key challenges faced including the abuse of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE), new designer drugs and the micro-dosing of banned substances to avoid detection by anti-doping authorities.

“This was a brave thing to do and the cycling family should take real credit for playing its part in cooperating with the CIRC,” Cookson said.

“The report looked in detail at the past, but much more importantly, it made recommendations for the future.

“We are now busy implementing those including the establishment of a storage and re-testing strategy, working with the World Anti-Doping Agency and other experts to analyse new substances and trends and implementing appropriate night-time testing.”

Following the publication of the report the UCI’s former President Hein Verbruggen threatened to sue the governing body, having been the subject of criticism, and an agreement between the Dutchman and Cookson has been a source of contention with both alleging that the other failed to honour its terms.

Cookson has also expressed his view that cycling’s anti-doping procedures have been strengthened by the introduction of new Anti-Doping Rules to reflect the 2015 WADA Code, with the Briton arguing stronger sanctions on teams whose riders have doped are now in place.

Additionally the establishment of an Anti-Doping Tribunal to handle the cases of international riders has been aimed at preventing National Federations from giving their athletes favourable judgements.

Having signed 10 sharing agreements with National Anti-Doping Organisations in countries such as Switzerland, France, Denmark, South Africa and the United Kingdom, the UCI believe the reputation of the sport is improving, citing the return of the German broadcaster ARD to broadcast the Tour de France live after a three year absence.

The development of a 13-strong Athletes’ Commission, which includes representatives of each of cycling’s eight official disciplines, has been viewed as another positive as it aims to improve the training and competition conditions for athletes, as well as allowing riders to offer their opinions.

Dutch rider Bobbie Traksel was elected President of the Commission this month and is set to attend three UCI ruling Management Committee meetings during the calendar year, held in January, June and September.

Further investment in the UCI World Cycling Centre, which helped develop riders including two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, and Governments looking to incorporate cycling into their travel plans, have also been considered positives by Cookson.