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Tour de France

Is ‘technological fraud’ a real threat at the tour de france, the uci x-rays the stage-winner and yellow jersey bikes every day..

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How serious is the threat of “technological fraud” in the Tour de France? And what is the UCI doing to try to keep the genie in the bottle?

Velo queried several Tour riders and team officials across the peloton as well as spoke to the UCI officials in charge of the controls.

Also read : The UCI claims it controlled 700 bikes during the Tour de France

The UCI conducts dozens of daily X-rays and scans across the peloton every day.

“To be honest, I am in the bunch, and I don’t think it’s happening,” Caleb Ewan told Velo before he left the Tour.  “It’s true, the guys are flying,  but it’s down to bikes are faster, knowledge and training improves, and it’s normal that the sport evolves every year, everyone gets better and better. It’s human evolution.”

Following UCI protocols, bikes are X-rayed every day from the yellow jersey, along with the bikes of all the stage-winners, jersey-holders, and other random riders.

The UCI expressed confidence its controls are sending out the right message.

“I think it’s very difficult,” UCI’s Michael Rogers, who heads up the UCI’s efforts to combat technological fraud, told Velo . “We also need to think of the other side. It’s an extreme risk,  and the risk/benefit ratio is out of whack, but we need to stay present.”

Staying present — that’s what the UCI insists it’s doing with its staff of three or four officials who ply the peloton every day.

They scan dozens of bikes each morning with a hand-held device that can detect magnets. Another mobile, hand-held X-ray device was introduced this year to complement the UCI’s finish-line X-ray system.

They’re looking for motors, batteries, cables, or any large, dense mass that otherwise is not part of a modern-day carbon-fiber bike build.

So far in the 2023 Tour, there’s been no evidence of technological fraud in the peloton. In fact, there’s never been since the UCI rolled out its high-profile X-ray program nearly five years ago .

There have been hints of hidden motors for years, however, with rumors of major one-day monuments and even grand tour performances clouded in suspicion. YouTube is full of videos describing how they can be used.

Oddly spinning wheels, random wheel changes, and sudden accelerations following strange hand movements on handlebars were tell tale signs, but nothing was ever rooted out.

In 2016, a Belgian rider was caught with a motor-assisted bike during a cyclocross race. There were rumors of a rider using a motor-assisted bike last year in one of Italy’s top gran fondos .

Sensing the sport’s credibility was in question, the UCI’s redoubled its efforts to stop would-be cheats. The cycling governing began using a thermal-heat sensor and then rolled out a mobile X-ray facility.

With the improved technology of electric bikes, however, many insist the technology already exists to hide and mask motors in today’s racing bikes that are already laden with batteries for electronic shifting.

But would someone dare use it in the Tour de France?

“In the pro ranks, I would be surprised. I don’t think it’s a real issue,” Ag2r-Citroën’s Oliver Naesen told Velo . “Every day in the race communiqué we see the bikes that are scanned, and they all come back negative. I have never read anything of anybody having any anything illegal on the bike.

“On this bike, there is a big battery in the seat post for the derailleurs. There is electricity in the shifters for the derailleurs, but motors and engines? Not as far as I know of.”

“Personally I don’t think it’s happening. I am an optimist. It’s the same with doping, I think the sport’s quite clean,” Israel-Premier Tech’s Michael Woods told Velo . “I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in the past, but for it to be happening today, I don’t know.

“I won the other day [Puy de Dôme] and I didn’t have a motor in my bike,” Woods said. “The fans and the pundits are going to speculate, but that’s part of sport.”

Could someone use some sort of motorized assistance, not to necessarily go faster, but to ride easier across the stage to stay fresh for a key acceleration?

Or what about swapping out bikes during a stage, and riding a “clean” bike to the line where the X-ray crews are waiting?

Rogers insisted the UCI is keeping a sharp eye on the bikes raced on during each stage at the Tour.

Rogers told Velo that the team of UCI officials working the Tour this month are especially vigilant for any sort of suspicious performances, oddly timed bike changes, and frequent changes of wheels or other equipment.

“It’s quite a broad program. We have people tagging bikes after the race for X-rays,” Rogers told Velo . “We work closely with VAR [ed – instant replay], with watching video for suspicious kind of activity, bike changes, wheels changes, and we’ll keep track of those.”

Bikes can also be dismantled in what would be the ultimate control.

In the 2020 Tour, Jumbo-Visma’s top sport director was kicked out of the race after arguing with a UCI technician who insisted on taking apart Primož Roglič’s bike atop the Col de la Loze stage.

There was no motorized assistance found, but team officials were enraged after they said the UCI technician damaged the crankset.

Some pros believe that the UCI’s controls should be doing more.

Benoît Cosnefroy of Ag2r-Citroën told journalist James Startt that he doesn’t think the UCI controls are enough.

“I don’t know if there is any mechanical doping, but it’s possible in my opinion, and for me it’s a real problem because there is not a real fight against this,” Cosnefroy said. “It’s a question of credibility for our sport. It’s not like doping, where it is in your system and they can keep a flask and test it again some time in the future.

“With mechanical doping, there is no trace of it,” he said. “The bike is taken away and if something is wrong, there is no possible trace of it. For me the UCI is not doing enough.”

Rogers of the UCI insists the cycling federation is staying on top of the game.

“It’s important that we stay present and we keep up with technology,” Rogers told Velo . “We keep current, and we make sure we protect the integrity of the sport. The public are asking that, and there have been a lot of rumors in the past.

“We have to protect the riders by saying we check these things, and to send a message to the general public that the results are of full integrity.”

And what would happen if a stage winner at the Tour would be caught with a motor inside their bike?

“That would be really shocking, to be honest,” Naesen said. “They would go to prison.”

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Crazy Stat Shows Just How Common Doping Was In Cycling When Lance Armstrong Was Winning The Tour de France

Even after Lance Armstrong finally came clean and was banned from cycling for life, many still defend the (unofficial) 7-time Tour de France champion.

The biggest argument for Armstrong is the belief that all riders were doping.

We have known for a while now that a lot of cyclists were doping. A recent breakdown of the extent of the "EPO Era" (named for the most common drug, Erythropoietin) shows the "everybody was doing it" defense may not be that far off.

Teddy Cutler of SportingIntelligence.com recently took a an excellent and detailed look at all the top cyclists from 1998 through 2013 and whether or not they have ever been linked to blood doping or have links to doping or a doctor linked to blood doping.

Related stories

During this 16-year period, 12 Tour de France races were won by cyclists who were confirmed dopers. In addition, of the 81 different riders who finished in the top-10 of the Tour de France during this period, 65% have been caught doping, admitted to blood doping, or have strong associations to doping and are suspected cheaters.

More importantly for Lance Armstrong, during the 7-year window when he won every Tour de France (1999-2005), 87% of the top-10 finishers (61 of 70) were confirmed dopers or suspected of doping.

Of those, 48 (69%) were confirmed, with 39 having been suspended at some point in their career.

None of that excuses Armstrong's behavior, especially outside of the races . But it is clear Armstrong wasn't alone. He was just better at it than anybody else.

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Improved EPO test set to deter micro dosing at the Tour de France

French police and AFLD again join forces with the UCI’s Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation

The anti-doping controls at the Tour de France will again be carried out by French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) as part of a special agreement with the UCI, with the French reportedly using an enhanced EPO test to detect and deter the use of micro-doses of EPO.

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According to French newspaper L’Equipe , the French Châtenay-Malabry anti-doping laboratory has recently published a report on its progress to improve the detection of micro does of EPO. Following the approval of specific French law in France, WADA regulated night-time testing can also be carried when specific information and suspicion justifies waking athletes in the middle of the night.

There have been suggestions that some athletes may try to take micro does of just 500 units of EPO late at night, believing that the blood boosting drug will have cleared their system before a possible early-morning test. The AFLD hopes it has closed that window of opportunity by improving the testing method, even when athletes dilute their blood to try to trick the tests results.

Specialist French police from the Office for Combatting Damage to the Environment and Public (OCLAESP) will also work with the AFLD and the UCI, providing intelligence and police powers.

The Tour de France anti-doping programme began several weeks ago with riders tested while training and racing. L’Equipe suggests that 50 tests were done as riders studied key stages of this year’s Tour de France in recent weeks. Riders are also regularly controlled as part of the UCI’s Biological Passport scheme. Pre-race blood tests will also be carried on every one of the 198 riders in this year’s race.

Samples collected will also be stored for possible future testing when further techniques re developed.

“Our testing program in 2016 continues to focus on a qualitative approach rather than quantitative. The anti-doping program in place for this year’s Tour de France contains all the necessary elements to achieve all our goals in the fight against doping and to conserve a high level of ethics in this wonderful sport,” Francesca Rossi, the director of the UCI’s Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation said in a statement.

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The UCI and French anti-doping authorities have often clashed in the past about the way controls are done and who is responsible for the testing but their relationship has improved in recent years.

“At a time when the efficiency of the fight against doping is occasionally subject to controversy, it is essential that cooperation between the AFLD and the CADF continues for an event of the importance of the Tour de France,” Bruno Genevois, the President of the AFLD said in the UCI Anti-Doping Foundation statement.

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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters , Shift Active Media , and CyclingWeekly , among other publications.

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The UCI reveals its programme to combat doping and technological fraud for the 2023 Tour de France

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today reveals its programme to combat anti-doping and technological fraud that it will implement for the upcoming Tour de France (1-23 July).

The comprehensive anti-doping programme deployed at the French Grand Tour will be led by the International Testing Agency (ITA), the body to which the UCI delegated the operational activities of its fight for clean cycling in 2021. After ensuring a level playing field for all participants at the Giro d'Italia last May, the ITA will once again work with all stakeholders, including the French authorities, to protect the integrity of one of the world's most prestigious cycling events.

This will be the third time that the ITA has taken charge of the anti-doping programme at the Tour de France since the UCI delegated its anti-doping activities to the agency. Within this framework, the ITA is in charge of the overall anti-doping strategy, which includes the definition of a precise and targeted testing plan. This plan is applied on the basis of a risk assessment that takes into account a wide variety of relevant factors whilst constantly adapting to current circumstances or new information. The testing plan also considers any relevant information received through the monitoring of the athletes’ Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) or gathered by the ITA’s Intelligence & Investigations Department.

All doping controls at the Tour de France will be targeted and performed at any time throughout the three-week race, not only at the finish line. At every stage, the yellow jersey and stage winner will be tested. Additionally, all athletes will already be tested before the start of the event as part of their medical monitoring. At the end of the race, the ITA will make a selection of samples that will be kept for potential re-analysis over the next 10 years.

Doping controls will mainly be conducted by the ITA’s Doping Control Officers (DCOs) with in-depth cycling experience. The ITA is also in close contact with other relevant French and international actors, for example with authorities, for support and exchange of information.

It should be remembered that 2023 has seen a significant increase in funding for cycling’s anti-doping programme . The UCI, UCI WorldTeams, UCI ProTeams, UCI WorldTour organisers and men’s professional road cyclists decided to further strengthen the capacity of the ITA to protect the integrity of the sport thanks to a progressive 35% budget increase up until the end of 2024. This funding principally reinforces the areas of Intelligence & Investigations, testing, scientific analysis, data analysis, long-term sample storage and sample re-analysis.

The Director General of the ITA Benjamin Cohen said: “We are looking forward to delivering the anti-doping programme for this major cycling race for the third time under the responsibility of the ITA and in collaboration with our partners to ensure a level playing field during the event. As the testing operations for this event are already at a vigorous level, the additional resources stemming from the decision of the cycling stakeholders to further protect the sport from doping will allow us to step up in other relevant areas of the clean sport programme for the Tour de France and throughout the year. Most notably, it allows us to invest more in intelligence and investigations, an area that has proven to be very effective and complementary to the testing regime. We are steadfast in our commitment to ensure a clean and fair competition environment for all participants in this highly anticipated event.”

When it comes to the fight against technological fraud at the Tour de France, controls for the presence of any possible propulsion systems hidden in tubes and other bike components will be carried out with the use of three tools: magnetic tablets, mobile X-Ray cabinet and portable devices using backscatter and transmission technologies.

Before each of the 21 stages, a UCI Technical Commissaire will be at the team buses to check all bikes being ridden at the start of that day’s stage. These pre-stage checks will be carried out using magnetic tablets.

After each stage , checks will be carried out on bikes ridden by:

the stage winner

riders wearing a leader’s jersey (yellow, green, polka dot, white)

three to four randomly-selected riders

riders who give rise to suspicion, for example following the pre-stage scan, an abnormally high number of bike changes (in which case the bikes on the team car can also be checked) or other incidents picked up by the UCI Video Commissaire

These post-stage checks will be carried out using either mobile X-Ray technology or devices that use backscatter and transmission technologies. If necessary, the bike in question will be dismantled.

Once the riders have crossed the finish line, the bikes subject to post-stage checks will be quickly tagged, enabling rapid control procedures to be carried out in a matter of minutes. The introduction of RFID tagging (tamper-proof tags using radio frequency identification technology) for all bicycles as part of the UCI Road Equipment Registration Procedure for the 2023 Tour de France and Tour de France Women with Zwift strengthens the UCI's ability to monitor the use of bicycles throughout the stages.

As a reminder, the mobile X-Ray technology, which is safe for users and riders, provides high resolution X-Ray image of a complete bike in just five minutes. Meanwhile the backscatter and transmission technology provides instantaneous high resolution images of the interior of the sections examined that can be transmitted, remotely, directly to the UCI Commissaires.

For road cycling, the UCI carries out bike checks at all UCI WorldTour events, as well as the UCI Road World Championships, UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup, UCI Women’s WorldTour events and the Olympic Games. Controls are also carried out at UCI World Championships for mountain bike, cyclo-cross and track as well as the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.

At last year’s Tour de France, a total of 934 bike checks were carried out and no cases of technological fraud were detected.

UCI Director General Amina Lanaya said: "The UCI continues to take the possibility of technological fraud very seriously. Our range of tools to combat all forms of cheating using a motor enables us to carry out rapid and effective checks. With the introduction of RFID tags on all the bikes, the UCI has the ability to monitor the use of the bikes during the race. This is essential to guarantee the fairness of cycling competitions and to protect the integrity of the sport and its athletes."

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Doping Cloud Still Looms Over a Thrilling Tour de France

By Michael Powell

• July 26, 2019

BRIANÇON, France — To watch the cyclists of the Tour de France assault the high Alps, those grand geologic up-thrusts of granite and limestone, to see men pedal through misting meadows and up brutal switchbacks is to thrill at feats of athleticism.

As the Tour headed toward its finale in Paris on Sunday, there were so many complex strategies and stories in the race’s final days: Would the ebullient young Julian Alaphilippe of Deceuninck Quick-Step regain the yellow jersey to become the first Frenchman to claim the title of champion in three decades? Would he fall to the high-altitude guy from Colombia, Egan Bernal of Team Ineos (the New York Yankees of cycling), or the Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk of Jumbo-Visma?

As I watched, however, another question nagged: Is all of this real?

Are these stars drawing on deep reserves within or are they helped along by a chemical new or old? When announcers exclaim that a rider pedals “like the Hulk” or describe Alaphilippe’s performance as “absolutely extraordinary,” it seems wise to temper the urge to clap unreservedly.

This sport was nearly consumed by doping. In the 1980s and 1990s and deep into this century, one champion after another fell away: Marco Pantani, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, who was barred for life and stripped of seven Tour de France titles.

This much can be safely said: Cycling today is far cleaner than before. Testing has improved by great leaps and athletes have their blood tested out of season, as well. This is essential for any half-serious testing program. As fewer champions perform in ways that make them appear as a separate species, rival cyclists perhaps no longer feel it necessary to illegally pump EPO into their veins, which increases the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen.

That said, cycling certainly is not altogether clean. In March, the German police found a skier tethered to a blood bag and the investigation led two Austrian cyclists to confess to doping. They hailed from prominent teams competing in this year’s Tour de France.

“Are we catching every cyclist who dopes? No,” says Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the EF Education First cycling team, and author of “One-Way Ticket,” a forthcoming book that examines cycling’s dirty history and his own doping. “But we are leaps and bounds better than two decades ago.”

I placed a call to the South African Ross Tucker, an internationally renowned exercise physiologist and founder of the website The Science of Sport . He has tracked doping and performance and notes that in the wake of multiple scandals, cycling times declined. Of late, however, those times have edged back up.

Cycling has embraced the biological passport, which profiles athletes’ individual blood values, so there is a baseline that their tests can be compared with. That has dialed back but not stopped doping. A cyclist might still try to micro-dose — take small doses of drugs that are difficult to detect — right up to the line.

“The breadth in which you can safely dope has greatly narrowed and that has constrained use,” Tucker said. “What we don’t know are the unknown unknowns. Are there new drugs, new ways?”

Ominously to the view of antidoping scientists, neither of the Austrian cyclists caught in that police investigation had tested positive.

Marc Madiot, director of the team Groupama-FDJ, employed one of those cyclists and he made a fine show of indignation. “Trust was betrayed,” he proclaimed. “That’s one of the hazards in life.”

That’s true about life. It’s also true that Madiot raced in the bad old days of doping and was questioned intensively by the police and was nearly brought to ground in a big cycling doping scandal in 1998.

Now I need to back off a few steps. Cycling may be the original fallen angel of doping — competitive cyclists in the 1880s allegedly pedaled fueled by a stew of cocaine and caffeine — but it arguably has a notably tougher testing regimen than many American sports, including baseball.

And many in Major League Baseball’s establishment hailed from a no less dirty rotten steroid era. Tony La Russa, now a vice president with the Boston Red Sox, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 for his work as a manager. His teams, notably the Oakland Athletics, were great beneficiaries of baseball’s steroid age and he adamantly defended such obvious dopers as Mark McGwire.

Nor did the baseball press cover itself in glory. A house was on fire and too many reporters sounded like fan boys rather than run for a bucket of water.

Let’s return to cycling. The persistence of its doping problems owes to the fact that the sport is about power and endurance. As another fallen champion cyclist, Tyler Hamilton, noted in his own tell-all book, “The Secret Race,” racing at the highest level is about the ability to endure pain while producing energy across hours of effort and at high altitudes.

In all of that, he noted, blood doping was — and still can be — a great force multiplier.

Of late, the look of professional cyclists has changed and that has stirred concern. Where in the 1990s cyclists like Armstrong looked muscular and fierce, today cyclists look lean to the point of emaciation. Much speculation centers on an unapproved drug, AICAR, which helps an athlete lose weight without losing muscle mass.

Tucker equates the effect of that drug to car design. You can, he noted, make a bigger and more powerful engine, and that happened in the 1990s. Or you can keep the engine the same size and cut the mass of the car.

“AICAR offers a way to cut weight without impacting performance,” he noted.

There is finally a conundrum that confronts all who would keep doping out of professional sports: The distance between the cup of suspicion and the lip of drop-dead proof is great.

“In order to trigger a sanction, you have to have been 99.9 percent likely doped,” Tucker said. “Obviously many fall short. They are highly suspicious but not enough to sanction.”

So fish slip through the net and maybe we’re the better for that. Better to let 99 walk free than to jail one innocent. It does however feed that nagging suspicion that hangs over all sports in this era — the explanation for extraordinary accomplishment might prove more complicated than it appears.

An earlier version of this column misspelled a part of the name of the cycling team that is directed by Marc Madiot. It is Groupama-FDJ, not Goupama. The column also misstated the year of a widespread cycling doping scandal in which Madiot was questioned by the police. It was 1998, not 1999.

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The ITA is ready to deliver a robust anti-doping program for the 2023 Tour de France

The international testing agency (ita), leading the cycling clean sport efforts on behalf of the union cycliste internationale (uci), is prepared to protect fair play at the tour de france through a comprehensive anti-doping program. after already ensuring a level playing field at the giro d’italia in may, the ita is collaborating with all involved stakeholders, including the french authorities, to protect clean sport at one of the world’s most prestigious cycling events..

It is the third time that the ITA will independently lead the clean sport program for the Tour de France since the delegation of cycling’s anti-doping activities by the UCI. The ITA is in charge of the overall clean sport strategy for the French Grand Tour, including the definition of an intelligence-led testing plan. This plan is applied on the basis of a bespoke risk assessment that takes into account a weighed variety of relevant factors whilst constantly adapting to current circumstances or new information through permanent monitoring. The testing plan also considers any relevant information received through the monitoring of the athletes’ Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) and any insights gathered by the ITA’s Intelligence & Investigations department.

All doping controls at the Tour de France will be targeted and performed anytime over the course of the three-week race, not only at the finish line. At every stage, the yellow jersey and stage winner will be tested. Additionally, all athletes will already be tested before the start of the event as part of their medical monitoring. At the end of the race, the ITA will make a selection of samples that will be kept for potential re-analysis over the next 10 years.

Doping controls will mainly be conducted by the ITA’s own Doping Control Officer (DCO) force with in-depth cycling experience. For the roll-out of the anti-doping program, the ITA collaborates with the French National Anti-Doping Organisation (AFLD), who will offer support with their doping control personnel. The ITA is also in close contact with other relevant French and international actors, for example with authorities at different sectoral levels, for support and information-exchange.

Furthermore, 2023 marks the first year of increased resources to foster fairer cycling . The UCI, UCI WorldTeams, UCI ProTeams, UCI WorldTour organisers, and men’s Professional Road Cyclists have decided to strengthen the ITA’s capacity to protect the integrity of the sport with a gradual 35% budget increase until the end of 2024. This funding primarily supports areas such as Intelligence & Investigations (I&I), testing, science, data analysis, long-term sample storage, and sample re-analysis.

“We are looking forward to delivering the anti-doping program for this major cycling race for the third time under the responsibility of the ITA and in collaboration with our partners to ensure a level playing field during the event,” said ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen. “As the testing operations for this event are already at a vigorous level, the additional resources stemming from the decision of the cycling stakeholders to further protect the sport from doping will allow us to step up in other relevant areas of the clean sport program for the Tour de France and throughout the year. Most notably, it allows us to invest more in intelligence and investigations, an area that has proven to be very effective and complementary to the testing regime. We are steadfast in our commitment to ensure a clean and fair competition environment for all participants in this highly anticipated event.”

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More resources for more impact: Cycling’s stakeholders increase funding of the UCI anti-doping program managed by the ITA

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Chris Froome: Tensions between Wada and UCI over closure of investigation into 2018 salbutamol use revealed

• Published 4 May 2021

Chris Froome was cleared of any wrongdoing

Tensions between the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and cycling's governing body over the controversial closure of the investigation into four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome's use of salbutamol in 2018 have been revealed.

The rider was cleared of any wrongdoing over the legal asthma drug almost three years ago.

In correspondence days later, now obtained by BBC Sport, the UCI president David Lappartient told Wada's then-president Sir Craig Reedie that the agency "appears to be placing full responsibility for the decision squarely on the UCI's shoulders".

"We both know very well who took the initiative of closing this case and the reasons why," Lappartient continued in the letter.

"It is disappointing to see that your organisation is not taking responsibility on the ground that technically the decision had to be taken by the UCI."

Lappartient also suggested the UCI had "concerns" about Wada's rules regarding the use of salbutamol, but did not reveal them to Froome because of "an understanding [Wada] would then support the UCI in justifying what, to the public, is a very difficult decision to understand".

When approached by the BBC, the UCI said the letter was part of an exchange of correspondence between the two men "aimed at addressing the relationship" between the two organisations.

Wada said the correspondence was in "the context of a frank discussion… intended to address all outstanding issues openly and honestly… after a period of uncertainty."

It said it had "followed all due legal and scientific process".

Lawyers for Froome said their client "was never charged with any wrongdoing and was fully exonerated", adding: "The process was confidential (and should have remained confidential) as Mr Froome did nothing wrong and was not charged with any offence."

Froome - at the time the reigning Tour de France champion - returned an adverse drugs test at the 2017 Vuelta a Espana when he was found to have above the allowed level of salbutamol in his urine. News of the finding was then leaked to the media in December 2017.

The British rider denied wrongdoing, insisting he increased his dosage on medical advice when his asthma symptoms worsened during the race, and that it remained within the legal limits.

He was free to continue racing pending an investigation, but amid mounting controversy, there were calls for his then-employers Team Sky to suspend him.

They insisted the rider was only 19% over the limit when the adverse test was adjusted to take account of dehydration.

Wada regulations allow athletes to take part in a pharmacokinetic study - a controlled test to help them try to show how they exceeded the permitted level of a drug without taking more than the allowed dose. But the agency said this was not feasible in Froome's case as it was impossible to recreate the conditions in which he took the original test.

After a nine month investigation, Wada eventually accepted there was no breach, and the UCI dramatically dropped the case in early July 2018, claiming it did so "primarily based on Wada's advice".

Chris Froome won the Tour de France in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017

'Regret'

Ten days after the decision was announced, Reedie wrote to Lappartient saying it was "disappointing" and "wrong" that "the position of the UCI is now apparently that it had no choice but to follow the position of Wada and close the case".

"The UCI was the results management authority with exclusive jurisdiction over the case and all relevant elements at its disposal," he wrote. "If the UCI… disagreed with Wada's position, it was under no obligation to espouse it."

He added that Wada "had no influence on the way the process was conducted".

"It is with regret that we have observed apparent attempts on the part of the UCI to divest itself of any responsibility for the decision," Reedie wrote.

'Tensions'

Two days later, Lappartient replied to Reedie, expressing his disappointment at "a lack of public solidarity from Wada" and blaming the agency for "tensions" at the Tour de France.

Lappartient wrote that "the objective difficulty in explaining how the Wada salbutamol regime can allow an athlete with a concentration of 2000ng/ml to be absolved, (especially without a pharmacokinetic study taking place)" was also partly responsible.

"I am sure you will understand the impact this case has had on the UCI's reputation and my reputation," he wrote.

The UCI president referred to a survey conducted the previous week in which 71% of respondents said they did not trust the cycling authorities to guarantee a Tour de France without doping. "Needless to say the decision in Mr Froome's case was obviously central to those responses," Lappartient wrote.

Lappartient explained how the UCI "sought to protect" Wada's salbutamol regime during the case, sharing its final decision with the agency before sending it to Froome and "even accepted Wada's requests to remove elements of the decision which would put Wada in an uncomfortable position".

"The fact the UCI 'did not attribute [its] decision to any systemic failing' was not because it does not have concerns about your salbutamol regime, but rather because it elected not to air these in a written document sent to an athlete," he told Reedie.

Lappartient explained that he was "happy to do that for Wada on the understanding that your organisation would then support the UCI in justifying what, to the public, is a very difficult decision to understand".

Froome's response

When made aware of the correspondence, lawyers for Froome told the BBC: "It seems that the UCI had concerns about Wada's salbutamol regime.

"It would be fairer to athletes if those concerns were tackled, rather than allowing the regime to continue in its current form simply to save Wada from embarrassment and potential legal liability from innocent athletes who have been wrongly prosecuted.

"Mr Froome hopes that the UCI and Wada have been working to improve the salbutamol regime and to reduce the risk of innocent athletes being wrongly accused of falling foul of it."

In his letter to Reedie, Lappartient also wrote that the UCI "refused to comply with a clear procedural order from its Anti-Doping Tribunal because it was told by Wada that doing so would undermine its salbutamol regime".

Describing the revelation as "disappointing", Froome's legal team told the BBC: "Were an athlete to refuse to comply with such a procedural order, it would not be tolerated.

"Mr Froome was never charged with any wrongdoing and was fully exonerated. The process was confidential (and should have remained confidential) as Mr Froome did nothing wrong and was not charged with any offence.

"Mr Froome therefore cannot comment on the specifics of the case, and makes only general remarks."

What have the UCI and Wada said?

When approached by the BBC, the UCI said the letter was part of an exchange of correspondence between the two men "aimed at addressing the relationship between the UCI and Wada moving forward".

"Wada has made developments with respect to the salbutamol regime in anti-doping proceedings," it added.

Wada said the correspondence was in "the context of a frank discussion… intended to address all outstanding issues openly and honestly, clear the air and pave the way for a positive future relationship between the UCI and Wada after a period of uncertainty.

"This was an extremely complex and difficult case that provoked a huge amount of debate. For a range of reasons that were outlined in considerable detail at the time… Wada continues to believe that the decision taken not to proceed with an ADRV [anti-doping rule violation] against the athlete was the correct and fair one.

"Since this case and the subsequent discussions that took place, work has continued in relation to salbutamol… as Wada constantly reviews the latest scientific evidence when it becomes available.

"At every stage, Wada followed all due legal and scientific process and, since the time of this correspondence, the two organisations have worked collaboratively and productively for the good of all athletes in the sport of cycling."

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Doping e frodi tecnologiche. Ecco cosa succederà al Tour de France

L’UCI ha svelato oggi il programma di lotta al doping e alle frodi tecnologiche che applicherà durante il Tour de France 2023.

Il programma antidoping sarà guidato dall’International Testing Agency (ITA), l’organizzazione a cui l’UCI ha delegato nel 2021 le attività operative per garantire un ciclismo pulito. ITA lavorerà con tutte le parti interessate, comprese le autorità francesi , per proteggere l’integrità di uno degli eventi ciclistici più prestigiosi al mondo.

In questo quadro l’ITA è responsabile della strategia antidoping complessiva, che include la definizione di un piano di controllo preciso e mirato. Questo piano sarà applicato sulla base di una valutazione del rischio che tenga conto di un’ampia varietà di fattori e sarà adattato in tempo reale se le circostanze o nuove informazioni renderanno necessari adeguamenti. Il piano di test tiene conto anche di eventuali informazioni rilevanti ottenute attraverso l’esame dei passaporti biologici degli atleti in gara o raccolte dal Dipartimento di intelligence e investigazione dell’ITA.

Ciò significa, in pratica, che si andrà ben oltre i test di routine, ormai praticamente inutili. I controlli antidoping effettuati nell’ambito del Tour de France saranno mirati e svolti durante le tre settimane di gara, e non solo al traguardo. Allo stesso modo, in ogni tappa, verranno testati la maglia gialla e il vincitore della giornata. Inoltre, tutti gli atleti saranno già controllati prima dell’inizio dell’evento come parte del loro follow-up medico.  

Al termine della gara l’ITA effettuerà una selezione di campioni che verranno conservati per potenziali scopi di rianalisi nei prossimi 10 anni. Quest’ultima è una scelta che farà storcere la bocca a qualcuno, ma che può funzionare come potente deterrente.

L’UCI sottolinea che il 2023 ha visto un notevole incremento delle risorse destinate al programma antidoping, con un aumento progressivo del budget del 35% entro la fine del 2024. Questo finanziamento sostiene principalmente settori quali l’intelligence e le indagini, i controlli, la ricerca scientifica, l’analisi dei dati, la conservazione a lungo termine dei campioni e la rianalisi degli stessi.  

UCI e lotta alle frodi tecnologiche

Negli ultimi anni, più che di doping si è fatto un gran parlare di doping tecnologico. Per questo l’UCI ha investito parecchi soldi anche in questo settore.

Per quanto riguarda la lotta alle frodi tecnologiche, durante il Tour de France i controlli per rilevare la presenza di motorini o altri sistemi nascosti nel telaio e in altri componenti delle biciclette saranno effettuati utilizzando tre strumenti: tablet a scansione magnetica , una cabina mobile a raggi X e dispositivi portatili che utilizzano tecnologie di trasmissione e retrodiffusione.

Prima di ogni frazione un Commissario UCI sarà presente sugli autobus delle squadre per controllare tutte le biciclette utilizzate all’inizio della tappa. Questi controlli saranno effettuati utilizzando tablet a scansione magnetica, ma ovviamente non possono prevenire un eventuale cambio di bici in corsa.

Per questo, dopo ogni tappa, verranno effettuati ulteriori controlli sulle bici utilizzate:

• dal vincitore della tappa;
• dai corridori che indossano le maglie di leader (gialla, verde, a pois e bianca);
• da tre o quattro corridori scelti a caso, oltre che da atleti che hanno destato sospetti, ad esempio a seguito del controllo effettuato prima della tappa, di un numero anomalo di cambi bici (in questo caso possono essere controllate anche le bici trasportate in ammiraglia) o altri incidenti rilevati dall’UCI Video Commissioner.

Questi controlli post tappa saranno effettuati utilizzando l’unità mobile a raggi X o dispositivi portatili che utilizzano la tecnologia backscatter . Se necessario, qualsiasi bicicletta verrà smontata.

Subito dopo il traguardo le biciclette soggette ai controlli post-tappa verranno rapidamente etichettate, consentendo di completare le procedure di controllo in pochi minuti. Visto che non stiamo parlando di applicazioni di uso comune, l’UCI ricorda brevemente il funzionamento di questi strumenti.

La tecnologia mobile a raggi X consente di ottenere un’immagine radiografica ad alta risoluzione di una bicicletta completa in soli cinque minuti.  Qui sotto un video che mostra come funziona:

La tecnologia di backscatter fornisce istantaneamente immagini ad alta risoluzione dell’interno delle sezioni in esame che possono essere trasmesse, da remoto, direttamente ai Commissari UCI.

L’UCI ci tiene a ricordare che i controlli per prevenire le frodi tecnologiche non riguardano solo il Tour de France,   ma vengono effettuati sulle biciclette in tutte le manifestazioni dell’UCI World Tour, nonché ai Campionati del mondo di ciclismo su strada, ai Campionati del mondo di paraciclismo, nelle gare dell’UCI Women’s World Tour e ai giochi Olimpici. I test vengono effettuati anche durante i Campionati Mondiali UCI di mountain bike, ciclocross e ciclismo su pista, nonché durante la Coppa del Mondo UCI Cyclocross.  

Durante il Tour de France dello scorso anno sono stati effettuati in totale 934 controlli sulle biciclette e non sono stati rilevati casi di frode tecnologica.

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Permetteteci una riflessione….

Fino a qui abbiamo parlato di tecnologie, di strategie e di finanziamenti crescenti contro il doping. Ben vengano tutte le azioni volte a garantire un ciclismo pulito. Si dice che il doping sia sempre un passo avanti rispetto all’antidoping, ma un tale spiegamento di forze ci dà almeno la speranza di vedere prestazioni e risultati credibili.

Tuttavia un pensiero ci gira per la testa. Perché c’è ancora così tanto bisogno di far conoscere al mondo quali sono le strategie messe in pratica contro il doping e le frodi tecnologiche nel ciclismo? Perché non si riesce ad affrancare il nostro sport dalla parola doping? Non c’è un altro modo per veicolare l’immagine del ciclismo come sport bello, pulito, genuino? Perché una parte di tutti questi fondi non viene investita nella formazione di atleti e preparatori e magari nella diffusione di una maggiore cultura sportiva nei ragazzini (non necessariamente ciclisti)? Prevenire è meglio che curare, ma spesso ce lo dimentichiamo…

E’ un argomento delicato, lo sappiamo. Ma a volte qualche riflessione è d’obbligo per capire se stiamo davvero sulla strada giusta. Fateci sapere per mail o nei commenti al post Facebook qui sotto cosa ne pensate in merito…

Per maggiori informazioni: uci.org

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Jonas Vingegaard has collapsed lung, Tour de France defense in doubt

• Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain -- Two-time defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard remained hospitalized in Spain a day after he broke his collarbone and several ribs in a bad crash with other top riders during the Tour of Basque Country.

The Danish rider's Visma-Lease A Bike team said Friday that further tests revealed the Vingegaard also suffered a collapsed lung and a pulmonary contusion. The team said that cycling's leading star was "stable and had a good night" but remains in a hospital in the northern Spanish city of Vitoria.

The accident comes less than three months before the start of the Tour on June 29 when Vingegaard is scheduled to to again face off against top rival Tadej Pogačar. That highly anticipated rematch is now in doubt.

Vingegaard was hardly moving as he was put in an ambulance wearing an oxygen mask and neck brace after the crash occurred on Thursday with less than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) left in the race's fourth stage.

The pileup also took out cycling stars Primoz Roglič and Remco Evenepoel.

Evenepoel, considered one of the favorites for the road race at the Paris Games, broke a collarbone and his right shoulder blade and was set to undergo surgery when he returns to Belgium on Friday, his Soudal Quick-Step team said.

The accident happened as riders were making what looked to be a conventional right-hand turn going downhill when one rider's front tire appeared to slip out and send other cyclists off the road. There were some large rocks and trees in the area, though it wasn't clear if any of the riders hit them. There was also a concrete drainage ditch place on the edge of the curve.

Roglic, a three-time Spanish Vuelta winner, emerged with just scratches but he did have to abandon the race he was leading.

Vingegaard was trying to defend the title he won last year at the six-day Tour of Basque Country.