The UCI suspended Tinkoff-Saxo's Roman Kreuziger on Saturday due to "very serious anomalies" in his biological passport - an electronic record of his biological markers from years of doping tests, which is meant to help highlight cheating.
UCI president Brian Cookson claimed biological passport cases take too long to be concluded and argued cycling's world governing body would now treat such incidents as if a rider had failed an A-sample drug test.
When a cyclist fails an A-sample drug test, they are sidelined until the B-sample can be tested - and if that is positive for doping, the rider is punished by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) and the UCI.
Tinkoff-Saxo had withdrawn Kreuziger from their Tour de France squad in June due to abnormalities in his biological passport from his time at Astana in 2011 and 2012 but were keen to name the Czech cyclist for the Tour of Poland, which began on Sunday.
Instead, the UCI stepped in, suspending Kreuziger until the case is resolved.
"What was particularly worrying about this case was that his own team withdrew him from the Tour de France because of the biological passport but then put him back into competition at the Tour of Poland," Cookson told Cyclingnews.
"That was an extremely odd thing to do in my opinion. So what we've decided to do is look at all of these cases and treat them, if we can, as the equivalent to being an A-sample positive test.
"So rather than these things going on and on for months and months with riders competing, we will look at each case very carefully and if we believe there is sufficient evidence to pursue a case we will in all likelihood put a provisional suspension, as if we would had it be a positive A sample."
Cookson insisted that the UCI's decision was justified, revealing there were some serious doubts about Kreuziger's biological passport.
"There are very serious anomalies," the 63-year-old Briton said.
"The UCI and CADF experts have a very strong indication of manipulation.
"He has been invited to submit explanations. They've been submitted and they're not found to be convincing and we are now in a situation where we would have had to take disciplinary action very soon and we've done that as quickly as we could."
Kreuziger joined Tinkoff-Saxo in 2013 after two seasons with Astana, following four years on the books at Liquigas, who are now known as Cannondale.