e doping tour de france

How Is Doping Controlled and Regulated in the Tour de France?

As the world’s most prestigious cycling race approaches, anti-doping measures tighten.

Anti-doping at this year’s Tour will be run by the International Testing Agency (ITA), which is contracted by the UCI, cycling’s governing body. The ITA has been managing anti-doping at the Tour since 2021 and typically tests riders’ blood pre-competition and during the race. Tests are then analyzed at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited lab.

According to Law In Sport , in 2021, all 184 participating riders were subject to a pre-competition blood test ahead of the start. During the race, 60 percent of the riders were tested, and 393 blood and 162 urine samples were collected. The GC leader and stage winners were tested after each stage.

This year, the ITA plans to collect roughly 600 blood and urine samples during the race, in addition to the roughly 400 out-of-competition tests in the month leading up to the Tour.

There were also measures to keep an eye on the rest of the peloton and get specific about testing. “These doping controls were targeted based on several factors such as prior risk assessment, performance or intelligence,” Law in Sport noted.

According to the UCI , the rider’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) and intel gathered by the ITA’s Intelligence & Investigations Department are taken into account. This year, there is one new test for the endocrine module that can indicate the use of Human Growth hormone (HGh) that will be used. Some samples may be kept for up to 10 years for further analysis.

The budget for anti-doping has only increased in recent years: According to the UCI, the UCI, UCI WorldTeams, UCI ProTeams, UCI WorldTour organizers, and men’s professional road cyclists approved a 35-percent budget increase for anti-doping that runs through the end of this year.

The budget increase largely has gone to investigations rather than more tests at races, according to Director General of the ITA 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,” he said in a press release . “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.”

Last year, special attention was paid to race leader Jonas Vingegaard’s team, then Jumbo-Visma, and Tadej Pogačar’s team UAE. According to reports , within two days, Vingegaard was tested four times—a fact that his team manager applauded.

There are also mechanical doping and anti-doping controls now in place at races like the Tour. Since the mid-2010s, UCI officials have been checking bikes for motors across disciplines, and testing is done at the start of races regularly. If you’re watching the pre-race commentary during a stage, you may notice officials going around to bikes waving tablets over them. This isn’t some weird techno-benediction; the officials are looking for motors using mobile X-ray technology.

After each stage, checks will be carried out on the bikes of the stage winner, riders wearing a yellow, green, polka dot, white leader’s jersey, some random selections and “any rider who gives rise to suspicion, for example following the pre-stage control, or incidents picked up by the UCI Video Commissaire.”

Lest you think this is the stuff of science fiction, it has happened before: In 2016, at the Cyclocross World Championships, U23 racer Femke van den Driessche’s pit bike was found to have a small motor in it. The scene was dramatic: As UCI officials assessed her bike in the pit, she was seen ducking under the course tape and riding away. (She later used the ‘holding it for a friend’ defense that’s popular with athletes who are caught with banned substances.)

Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training with an emphasis on bringing more women into sport. She's the author of nine books including the Shred Girls series and is the founder of Strong Girl Publishing . She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast and spends most of her free time biking and running on trails, occasionally joined by her mini-dachshund.

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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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Tour de France

Tour de france: ramped-up tests for technological fraud and anti-doping, ‘it is impossible to slip through the net,’ says uci, as new measures are introduced..

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What is being described as ‘a new non-intrusive inspection tool’ has been added to the UCI’s arsenal of testing methods for this year’s Tour de France , with details of the latest method to be made public only after the conclusion of the race.

Designed to improve the detection of technological fraud , or hidden motors, it will be one of a number of measures being taken to prevent possible cheating during this year’s event.

The news has been announced close to the start of the Tour, and is part of an upgraded testing program for both athletes and bikes this year.

Expanded anti-doping controls will be conducted before and throughout the race, while an extensive regime of testing for technological fraud will also be carried out before and after each stage.

The UCI communicated details of those programs on Wednesday morning, three days before the peloton rolls out of Florence in Italy.

Here’s a breakdown of what the testing involves.

UCI: ‘We can guarantee the fairness of cycling competition’

According to the UCI, the examinations for technological fraud will see technical commissaires visit the team buses to test all of the bikes being ridden at the start of that stage.

Magnetic tablets will be used, with more detailed post-stage checks to be carried out on a selection of machines.

These will be quickly tagged after the finish, and will include those bikes of the stage winner, of the leaders of the various classifications, of a number of randomly-selected competitors and also of any rider who has given rise to suspicion, including from incidents picked up by the UCI video commissaire.

Post-stage checks will be conducted using portable non-intrusive X-ray inspection technology, as well as a number of other tools. Portable backscatter and transmission technology will feature.

The UCI has said that a new non-intrusive inspection tool will be added to the previous checks, with further details of this being apparently kept undisclosed after the conclusion of the race.

In addition, it said that suspect bikes may be dismantled if the need arises.

“The plan put in place by the UCI to fight against technological fraud at the 2024 Tour de France sends out a very clear message to anyone who might be thinking of cheating: it is impossible to slip through the net,” said UCI Director General Amina Lanaya.

“With the combination of checks on all the bikes used at the start of each stage and checks on numerous bikes at the finish, based on criteria linked to performance on the one hand and any form of suspicion on the other, and all using the most modern detection tools, we can guarantee the fairness of cycling competition and protect the integrity of the sport.”

Last year’s Tour saw a total of 997 bike checks carried out, with no cases of technological fraud detected.

The UCI has appealed for anyone with information on possible technological fraud to report those concerns confidentially on the UCI SpeakUp platform.

‘One of the most comprehensive anti-doping programs to date’

In addition to close scrutiny of the bikes of the Tour, those riding them will also be monitored.

The International Testing Agency will continue the work it started in 2021, when it took over from the UCI in conducting the anti-doping measures in the sport.

“At the ITA, our commitment to protecting the integrity of sport is unwavering. For the 2024 Tour de France, we are implementing one of the most comprehensive anti-doping programs to date,” stated ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen.

“By taking advantage of advanced technologies, such as the endocrine module of the Athlete Biological Passport, and working closely with the French and Italian authorities, we aim to ensure a level playing field.”

This year’s Tour will be the fourth overseen by the ITA, and will incorporate an intelligence-led testing plan. A risk assessment will be used to pinpoint the riders to test, with their biological passports, the new endocrine module monitoring hormones, and information gathered to the ITA or passed to it by external authorities or via tip offs all to play a part.

The ITA will carry out a total of 400 out of competition tests in the month prior to the start of the race, and will collect approximately 600 blood and urine samples during the competition. The yellow jersey and stage winner will be amongst those tested each day.

“Thanks to the increased resources provided by cycling stakeholders, we have strengthened our testing, intelligence and scientific capacities,” said Cohen.

Indeed anti-doping measures have ramped up since 2022, when the UCI, UCI WorldTeams, UCI ProTeams, UCI WorldTour organisers and men’s professional road cyclists agreed to a progressive 35% budget increase.

This will see the fund increase to 10 million euros to the end of 2024.

This has contributed to a 10 per cent increase in tests, with a total of 15,200 samples collected in 2023 compared to 13,800 in 2022. The ITA has placed a deliberate emphasis on out-of-competition doping controls.

A selection of samples from this year’s Tour will be retained for potential reanalysis over the next ten years, enabling retrospective re-examination down the line.

Cohen said this was an important step.

“Our rigorous, intelligence-led approach will not only preserve the spirit of fair play during the Tour de France, but will also deter riders from doping in the future, thanks notably to the storage and re-analysis of samples.

“This is a crucial step in our ongoing mission to foster a clean and fair competition environment for all riders.”

As with technological fraud, the UCI said that a confidential way of reporting information or suspicions can be made.

Doping concerns can be lodged on REVEAL, the ITA’s platform.

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Pogacar says he understands speed of Tour raises doping suspicions

Saint-Gervais (France) (AFP) – Tadej Pogacar on Monday echoed his Tour de France rival Jonas Vingegaard on the question of doping, saying he understood "people asking the question" because "we ride fast."

Issued on: 17/07/2023 - 18:48 Modified: 18/07/2023 - 02:11

Pogacar trails Vingegaard by 10 seconds after a series of ferocious battles on the most demanding ascents. On the way up some traditional climbs, they have broken speed records.

On Monday's rest day, Pogacar gave a press conference and the topic of doping came up.

"I get this question every year at the tour," the Slovenian said. "I don't see any difference than other years.

"We ride fast, every stage, we go full. I understand people asking question because of what happened in the past people are worried and I completely understand."

On Sunday, after both men beat Chris Froome's record up Le Bettex, the final climb of the stage, Vingegaard, as race leader, faced the media and doubts.

"I fully understand and we have to be sceptical because of what happened in the past or it will just happen again," said the Dane.

"Yes we are going fast and beating records so it's a good thing that fans ask questions about that."

Cycling has been plagued by doping over the years and not least at the Tour de France.

Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven titles for doping, while fellow American Floyd Landis and Spaniard Alberto Contador also saw titles taken away because of illegal drug-taking.

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• Tour de France

How doping works in cycling, explained by a physiologist and former pro rider

We talked to an expert to learn more about how today’s cyclists cheat — from EPO, to salbutamol, to ... uh ... poop doping.

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Athletes cheat. And one of the best ways to cheat is to take banned substances to give your body a boost.

And there’s no sport and sporting event so inextricably linked to cheating as cycling and the Tour de France . Lance Armstrong is the face of cycling’s doping problem, but in truth the sport was cheating long before Armstrong, and in all sorts of creative ways . That legacy will undoubtedly continue long into the future. Don’t be surprised if you start hearing the term “poop doping” on a regular basis someday.

As for the present, well, you may have heard of Chris Froome, a man approaching Armstrong-ian levels of yellow jersey success who has also become embroiled in a doping scandal. Froome was found with twice the permitted level of salbutamol, an asthma medication, in his system during last year’s Vuelta a España, and was briefly banned from the Tour before being cleared five days before the start of the race .

The point being, cheating in sports is not going away any time soon, nor is it getting any easier to comprehend. To help explain, SB Nation spoke to Dr. Stacy Sims, an environmental exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Sims was a pro women’s cyclist who later went on to work with men’s pro cycling teams like Saxo and Dimension Data during the Tour de France, advising team chef Hannah Grant on rider nutrition.

Sims understands cyclists’ bodies perhaps as well as anyone can. She answered our questions cycling’s love affair with erythropoietin (better known as EPO), how asthma medication would help a rider — and, yes, if poop doping is really a thing.

EPO is the big thing. What advantage does EPO give you? And how does EPO work?

Dr. Stacy Sims: EPO is the hormone that is released in the kidney when you have a low partial pressure of oxygen. And you can naturally produce it by doing some dehydrated activity in the heat, or you go to altitude, and it’s your body’s drive to need more red cells, because red cells are responsible for picking up and delivering oxygen. So the idea behind taking EPO is to increase that red blood cell production, because with increased red cells, you have increased oxygen carrying capacity, and increased oxygen delivery capacity.

The idea behind lots of people using it is that it is a really fast way for red cell development. But the flip side to that is, if you get too many red cells in your blood and your blood becomes too viscous, then it actually can’t move through the body, which is why they have that cutoff of 50 [percent volume red blood cells to total blood volume].

So your hemoglobin and your hematocrit levels are tightly monitored. We look more at your hematocrit, because it’s your red cell count. And when it starts approaching that 50 mark, and 50 and beyond, that’s a tipping point for someone doping, and it is a health hazard, because if you get too much of that hematocrit, your blood just doesn’t go where it needs to go and it can’t function properly.

Is it possible to get past that 50 mark naturally? Has there ever been anyone who has been able to do that naturally?

SS: It depends on when you test them. If you test someone when they’re dehydrated, like after a max test or something, and they’re sitting around 47 to 48, then you’ll see that they’re 52 because they’ve lost a lot of the water out of their blood, so their blood is concentrated.

There are some anomalies. Cyclists, again, it’s really hard to tease out because of the incidence of doping. I would love to be able to have a clean team and really, as much as people say they are, you have your doubts. But it is possible.

It has an aspect of living in altitude, and having a high testosterone level. Then your body will compensate and produce more red cells just because it needs that for the oxygen, and the testosterone is a drive for producing EPO.

In what ways does doping throw off long-term studies on grand tour riders? And are riders who use EPO likely to have long-term problems?

SS: I think if they use EPO, then they will. Just from the aspect of having a really high hematocrit level, and you have to look at cardiovascular incidences of “sticky cells,” so there’s a higher amount of stuff in the blood — so you have your red cells, and your platelets, and fractions of cells — and if they are under this constant load of exercise and high sugar, then their vessels aren’t as compliant. So longer term, you can have some disorder with regards to vessel compliancy, so they become very stiff, they don’t have as much nitric oxide response, so their blood pressure is off and they’re dealing with high blood pressure.

You can end up with some vascular disease. So the longer term consequence of having that artificially high production of red cells can have a huge impact on overall cardiovascular and total vascular health.

Chris Froome was caught last September with excess Salbutamol in his system. That was new to me. How does excess asthmas medication help a rider?

SS: It is a bronchial dilator. I’ll take it back a step — the whole buzz about beet juice being a vasodilator, increasing blood circulation to the muscles without as much work, it’s the same idea of using clenbuterol or another type of asthma inhaler, where it increases the surface space of the bronchials so you have more oxygen transfer. So effectively with every breath, you can intake and transfer more oxygen to the cells. So again, it’s all about that oxygen delivery.

Is this something that has been common in cycling for a long time? Why don’t we see this happen more?

SS: I think a lot of people use the TUE [Therapeutic Use Exemption] as an excuse. Especially undercards of testosterone or asthma medication, people start to really question the harder drugs of like growth hormone and that kind of stuff. The common medications that are prescribed that can also be ergogenic, if you have a TUE, then it’s almost a carte blanche to use it regardless.

And I think that can be kind of why people are not necessarily bringing it to the table, so to speak. Because there are some people who legitimately need asthma inhalers, and there are some people who have Low T. Low T can be mitigated with energy availability and nutrient timing, and making sure you are on par with your intake, people don’t want to take the time to do it, they’d rather just take the drug.

The same with pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, that was taken off [the permitted substance list] because it was such a powerful stimulant, and such a powerful vasodilator. People can get it over the counter in cold medications, and they’re like, ‘Woah, this is such a significant ergogenic aid, we need to take it off.’ So there are some things that come up.

That’s where this health and performance line comes into play, because you have physicians who are like, ‘We need it for health,’ and then you have people who are monitoring for performance going, ‘Well, actually it enhances performance, are you sure?’ But they can’t necessarily question the physician.

Can I get your opinion on poop doping, and have you been looking into that at all?

SS: Into what doping?

Poop doping. There was a researcher who looked at the gut biomes of professional road racers and compared them to amateur cyclists and found that the best riders had this certain bacteria in their gut, and she posited that you could —

SS: — essentially change your gut microbiome and dope to — yeah.

I mean, in theory it seems like it would work. But in practice, there are so many other factors. We put it kinda also in the epigenetic aspect where you can take in certain things and cause a genetic expression, either over or under expression, and that may or may not enhance performance. This is the same with gut microbiome. I mean, seven days of one type of exposure will completely change a microbiome. So not only do they have to take the probiotics or the actual bacteria that mimics what the pro rider has, they also have to live the lifestyle, they have to be exposed to the same bacteria every day that’s on the counters and the sinks. They have to be exposed to the same food that’s grown in the same soil.

Again, in theory, probably. But in practice, I think it’s much more complex than what she’s talking about.

So you think it’s probably unlikely that someone riding the Tour de France this year is poop doping.

SS: [Laughs] Right.

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• Tour de France ›

Has Pro Cycling Cleaned Up Its Act?

Tour de france.

The 111th edition of the Tour de France , which starts on Saturday, June 29, promises to be an exciting one. For the first time ever, the Tour’s “Grand Depart”, its grand departure, will take place on the Italian peninsula, with riders facing a hilly first stage from Florence to Rimini before continuing to Bologna and Turin on the second and third stage, respectively. Due to the Olympics that start in Paris on July 26, it’s also the first time ever that the La Grande Boucle (“The Big Loop”) won’t finish in the French capital and the first time since 1974 that the final stage won’t end on the iconic cobblestone of Champs-Élysées. Instead cycling fans will be treated to an individual time trial on the final day of this year’s tour, re-inserting sporting jeopardy to a stage that has been more of a parade for the designated winner in recent decades. With four favorites, including defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and two-time winner Tadej Pogačar in the peloton, the race’s organizers will be hoping for a lot of sporting headlines over the coming, hopefully scandal-free, three weeks.

As the following chart shows, the Tour de France and professional cycling as a whole appear to have cleaned up their act, with the share of participants found guilty of anti-doping violations dropping continuously over the past two decades. Given the sport’s history, you don’t have to be a cynic to at least put an asterisk to these numbers, however. Too often have allegedly clean champions later been found guilty of doping as anti-doping agencies caught up with the latest performance enhancing drug of choice. Looking at the data compiled by French website cyclisme-dopage.com is sobering to say the least. It reveals that the Tour de France winner in 44 of the last 56 years has been found guilty of doping at some point in his career, many of which having retroactively been stripped of their Tour wins.

Description

This chart shows the share of Tour de France riders that have been involved in a doping case at some point in their career.

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• Tour de France stage 12 Live - A flat finish suited to the sprinters once again

Jonas Vingegaard reveals details of single missed anti-doping test

'I don't take anything, and I don't think that the rest of the peloton does either' says Dane, who missed test in 2019

Jonas Vingegaard has revealed that he has a missed anti-doping test on his record, saying that it's "definitely something I think about afterwards to make sure it doesn't happen again."

The double Tour de France winner spoke extensively about cycling's history, anti-doping, and testing in an interview with Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. He said that "it's a shame" that the sport is suffering from the numerous doping scandals of the past, while also acknowledging Jumbo-Visma teammate Michel Hessmann's ongoing case.

Speaking about his missed test, which he says occurred in 2019, Vingegaard spoke about the circumstances that led to it, while noting that he has been tested around 60-70 times during the 2023 season.

"I had left my mobile phone in the kitchen, and then our doorbell didn't work. They tried to call me, and it was clear that it was impossible to answer," he told Ekstra Bladet . "Of course, it's not cool. But then they came two days later.

Jonas Vingegaard won't be surprised if he's left out of Danish squad for Paris Olympics Jumbo-Visma rider Michel Hessmann's B-sample tests positive for diuretic German authorities investigate Hessmann after positive doping control Jumbo-Visma to 'look ourselves in the mirror' after Hessmann anti-doping case

"You get tested there, but of course, it's not great to have a missed test hanging over you. It's definitely something I think about afterwards to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"I don't think it's that difficult," he added, referring to complying with the Whereabouts system where riders have to provide daily timeslots to be available for testing. "You always have to remember it. It's a hassle, but when I'm just at home, it's not so difficult."

Vingegaard said that the increased amount of testing in modern cycling is "a good thing". However, he noted that riders claiming they always test negative "rings hollow", given that the same claims were made in the EPO-fuelled years of the 1990s and 2000s.

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"It's a good thing to be tested all the time. It helps in a way. All your tests are negative, but in a way, it rings hollow because 20 years ago they were tested too," he said.

"Somehow riders can still cheat, so I don't want to just say – as they did in the old days – that I am the rider who is tested the most. I don't test positive. They did something back then, and people will definitely believe that riders will do it again."

Vingegaard also spoke about Michel Hessmann , the German rider who is facing a ban of up to four years from the sport after testing positive for a diuretic in an out-of-competition test back in June.

"I don't know how it got into his body," he said . "But I think every cyclist's biggest fear is that you get it through some food or something you eat, and that way test positive without your intention has been cheating, but you still get it into your body."

Hessmann faces a long spell away from racing after his B-sample came back positive earlier this month. If he can prove that he tested positive due to a contaminated supplement or food, then a potential four-year ban could be reduced to two years.

His team has pledged to " look in the mirror ourselves – are we doing everything right?" in the wake of the case.

The 22-year-old's case is one of strikingly few positives that emerge at the top level of cycling nowadays. The UCI's provisional suspensions and sanctions lists are packed with lesser-known riders from the lower rungs of the sport in Asia, South America, and Portugal testing positive for EPO and steroids.

Cycling at WorldTour level, then, appears to be cleaner than ever with fewer doping busts and positive tests scandalising the very elite of the sport.

"I think it is a shame that we are suffering from what happened 20-30 years ago," Vingegaard said .

"I don't want to hide it, but because it has happened, I still think it's important to talk about the past. Because if you just sweep it under the carpet, then it's clear that people might still not care if everyone cheats.

"If you talk about it, there's a better chance that you won't cheat, I think. Maybe it's a way to prevent it from happening in the future.

"I don't take anything, and I don't think that the rest of the peloton does either. Since I can win the Tour de France twice without taking anything, I also believe that everyone else doesn't take anything either."

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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees How to Watch guides and works on The Leadout newsletter throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix and their favourite published article is from the 2024 edition of the latter: 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix

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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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Global Sports Highlights: Doping Reports, Tour de France Triumphs, and Tensions in Tennis

This summary encapsulates current sports news, including the ioc's trust in wada amid doping scandal, biniam girmay's tour de france victory, jasmine paolini making history at wimbledon, andre de grasse's olympic readiness, formula one's 2025 plans, vincent hancock's olympic ambitions, chicago cubs' win against baltimore orioles, colombia's copa america triumph marred by chaos, sean burroughs' fentanyl-related death, and russia compensating athletes barred from the paris games..

Following a recent string of sporting events around the globe, significant updates have emerged. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed their unwavering support for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) despite allegations involving 23 Chinese swimmers. An independent report confirmed there was no mishandling of cases.

In cycling, Biniam Girmay made history by securing the 12th stage of the Tour de France, maintaining Slovenian Tadej Pogacar's lead in the overall standings. Girmay's victory marks his third win in this year's Tour, solidifying his place as a standout competitor.

In a nail-biting tennis match, Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final, defeating Donna Vekic in a thrilling semi-final. On the athletics front, Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse is gearing up for the Paris Olympics, hoping to peak at the right time to add to his medal tally.

Formula One announced its schedule for the 2025 season, highlighting a continued commitment to sprint races. Meanwhile, Vincent Hancock aims to make history at the Paris Olympics as the first shooter to win the same event four times.

In baseball, the Chicago Cubs triumphed over the Baltimore Orioles, thanks to pitcher Shota Imanaga's stellar performance. The Copa America saw Colombia advance to the final, but post-match tensions with fans marred the victory.

Tragically, former MLB player Sean Burroughs died of fentanyl intoxication, with authorities ruling the death accidental. Lastly, Russia has compensated athletes barred from the Paris Olympics, reflecting ongoing tensions in international sports politics.

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Deseret News archives: Tour de France began in 1903, and has survived world events, doping scandals

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

The 2024 Tour de France started its annual cycling marathon through the beautiful European countryside on Saturday, and the headline in the Deseret News blared:

“ The Tour de France started. Does anyone in America care? ”

Good question. In 1903, the answer was easy.

On July 1, 1903, the first Tour de France began. The race ended on July 19; the winner was Maurice Garin.

Here in Utah, the front page of the Deseret News touted a popular race, but it wasn’t in France. And it wasn’t for cycling.

The J. Gordon Bennett Cup auto race at Bally Shannon, Ireland, was won by Camille Jenatzy of Belgium. That made the front page of the Deseret News. Sports coverage that day in 1903 included reporting on the July 1 bicycle races at the Salt Palace track. Johnnie Chapman was the start of the night, winning the main event.

The Tour de France has had an interesting history, and it was proposed by the newspaper L’Auto to boost paper sales. And unfortunately, doping has been around as long as the race.

In the early years, Tour riders were accused of consuming alcohol and ether to dull the pain. A century later, Lance Armstrong was America’s link to the race — think the “Tour de Lance” years — but then allegations of doping toppled the once legendary cyclist.

And world events have impacted the race.

On June 28, 1914, a pack of cyclists set off from Paris on the 12th Tour de France. Hours later, an Austrian archduke stepped out in Sarajevo and was assassinated in the street, igniting the carnage of World War I.

The 1914 Tour was the last before a five-year suspension due to the war. Of the 145 riders that day, 15 of them, including three Tour champions, would die in the fighting.

In all, an estimated 45 cyclists who had raced in pre-war Tours were killed in the 1914-1918 war, according to cycling historian Jean-Paul Bourgier. The race was also not held from 1940 to 1946 due to World War II.

“ Tour de France marks World War I centennial ”

“ Tour de France looks at past, future ”

“ Tour de Lance once again Tour de France ”

“ Confessions of a Tour de France addict ”

“ Cavendish honors D-Day after Utah Beach Tour de France win ”

“ 5 questions with cyclist David Zabriskie ”

“ Armstrong aiming at history ”

“ France by bicycle ”

Of interest, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain have all won more than five tours. Armstrong was stripped of his titles. Last year’s winner was Jonas Vingegaard.

Earlier Monday, Eritrean Biniam Girmay won the third stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish as Mark Cavendish missed out on his first opportunity to break Merckx’s record for career stage victories. Biniam became the first Black African rider to win a stage on the Tour de France.

Cycling great Mark Cavendish breaks Tour de France record with 35th career stage win

Sport Cycling great Mark Cavendish breaks Tour de France record with 35th career stage win

The cycling world has congratulated sprinter Mark Cavendish on his record 35th Tour de France stage win. 

The man they call the "Manx Missile" was too quick for his rivals at the end of stage five, with his victory breaking the record he had shared with Eddy Merckx. 

What's next?:

The 39-year-old Cavendish says he will continue trying to win stages to add to his record.

Mark Cavendish says he will not stop hunting for more Tour de France stage wins after finally breaking the record he shared with Belgian great Eddy Merckx on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old sprint king blew away his rivals in the fifth stage of this year's race, his legs pumping him to the front of the bunch before he roared over the line with arms aloft at the end of a 177 kilometre ride to Saint-Vulbas.

Cavendish had been stuck on 34 Tour de France stage wins since 2021 after not being selected in 2022 and then crashing out of the race last year after narrowly failing to break the record in Bordeaux because of a mechanical problem.

But the Astana-Qazaqtsan rider's decision to postpone his retirement was fully vindicated as he underlined his standing as one of Britain's greatest sportsmen.

Former teammate Geraint Thomas was one of the first to congratulate Cavendish, known as the "Manx Missile" for his native Isle of Man.

"It's unbelievable, I am super happy for him. It is great he has the record alone and is not sharing it with anyone," former Tour de France winner Thomas said.

"I said to him, 'mate, if you win this stage just drop your bike and walk away' — but he was like, 'If I win the first one, I'll want to win more'.

"So he's definitely going to hang around, isn't he."

Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme added: "Everyone has a smile today, even Eddy Merckx!"

Back to business after celebrations, Cavendish says

Once the dust had settled on his record-breaking feat, Cavendish, who was watched by his wife Petra and children, said it would be back to business as usual.

"First and foremost I'm trying to enjoy it and secondly try to be successful again because that's fundamentally our job and I love this race," he told reporters.

ABC Sport will be live blogging every day of the Paris Olympics from July 27

"I always have loved this race. I love this race when I ride, I love this race when I watch it and I'll always give it 100 per cent so we'll continue to do that and we'll continue to try and win bunch sprints."

It was the 165th career victory for Cavendish and his win came 16 years after his first Tour de France stage win in 2008 — an astonishing time span in a brutal sport.

"Mark's long and storied career, his passion for the sport and his tenacious pursuit for excellence make him a real inspiration for the next generation of bike riders looking to follow in his footsteps," British Cycling's performance director Stephen Park said on Wednesday.

"He is one of our country's truly great sportsmen and sporting personalities, and it has been a privilege to have watched him reign supreme for all these years."

According to Cavendish's first cycling coach back in his native Isle of Man, he was always destined for greatness.

"When I began coaching Mark as a young boy, I always knew he would go on to achieve amazing things," 74-year-old Dot Tilbury said. 

"After this victory there can be no doubt that he is the greatest sprinter of all time."

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Pogacar wins mountainous 14th stage of Tour de France to extend overall lead over Vingegaard

Two-time champion Tadej Pogacar has surged ahead on the last climb to win the mountainous 14th stage of the Tour de France and extend his overall lead over main rival Jonas Vingegaard to nearly two minutes

SAINT-LARY-SOULAN PLA D’ADET, France — Two-time champion Tadej Pogacar surged ahead on the last climb to win the mountainous 14th stage of the Tour de France and extend his overall lead to nearly two minutes on Saturday.

The elite climbers’ duel between Pogacar and the two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard finally came when Pogacar peeled away with about five kilometers (three miles) left.

“I love racing on instinct,” Pogacar said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but I love it that way.”

Pogacar caught up with and overtook his UAE Emirates teammate Adam Yates, while Vingegaard was initially dropped but showed good composure to limit the damage.

The Dane crossed the line 39 seconds behind the Slovenian Pogacar, who completed the 152-kilometer (99-mile) trek in just over four hours.

“Let’s keep this positive energy so we can win more,” Pogacar said. “I was feeling really good today.”

Remco Evenepoel of Belgium was third and dropped to third overall behind Vingegaard.

“I stayed with him a little but he rode faster and faster and I was dropped,” Evenepoel said. “The pace was very high.”

After about two hours riders reached the first of the day’s two big “hors catégorie” (beyond category) climbs — a 19-kilometer (12-mile) grind up the Col du Tourmalet, one of the race’s most famed Pyrenean climbs.

The second HC climb to the finish at Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet was shorter at 10.6 kilometers (seven miles) but with a steeper gradient.

Irishman Ben Healy attacked first but was caught by Yates, who set up Pogacar for his 13th stage win of his Tour career.

“Thanks to all the team, especially Adam,” said Pogacar, who won his second Tour in 2021.

Time bonuses for the victory added four valuable seconds and extended Pogacar’s lead over Vingegaard to 1 minute, 57 seconds.

“It’s a good lead, but you never know,” Pogacar said. “There is a long way to go.”

Evenepoel was 2:22 behind Pogacar heading into another big mountain stage on Sunday.

A group of 10 riders formed a breakaway in Saturday’s stage, moving four minutes ahead of the yellow jersey group approaching the Tourmalet ascent.

But with Nils Politt riding tempo for Pogacar’s team, the breakaway soon shredded to five riders, including Healy.

Approaching the final climb, Healy attacked and the four others could not follow.

Healy had a chance to win his first Tour stage and a second in major races following a stage win at the Giro d’Italia last year. But those hopes ended when Yates, followed by Pogacar, overtook him.

Their attack seemed to surprise Vingegaard, who beat Pogacar to win Stage 11 on Wednesday, and it looked like he would lose significantly more time. But a strong response from the Team Jumbo Visma rider helped him stay within one minute of Pogacar.

Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay, who has won three stages, retained the best sprinter’s green jersey.

Sunday’s 15th stage — which falls on Bastille Day, France’s national day — features four big climbs before an even harder grind up to Plateau de Beille.

Monday is the second rest day of the three-week race, which this year finishes in Nice rather than Paris because of the Olympic Games . ___

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Do you speak cycling? Tour de France lingo features fries, potatoes and lanterns

FILE - The peloton passes a field with sunflowers during the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.4 kilometers (110.9 miles) with start in Muret and finish in Saint-Lary-Soulan Col du Portet, France, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

FILE - In this July 25, 2018 file photo, Britain’s Chris Froome, right, and Britain’s Geraint Thomas climb Montee de Peyragudes pass during the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race in Saint-Lary-Soulan, Col du Portet pass, France. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - In this Aug.29, 2020 file photo, the pack rides along the beach of the Promenade des Anglais during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156 kilometers (97 miles) with start and finish in Nice, southern France. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - Australia’s Michael Storer, a domestique, a rider who works for the benefit of the team, collects water bottles at the team car during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 202.5 kilometers (125.5 miles) with start in Rodez and finish in Carcassonne, France, Sunday, July 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - The pack of riders makes its way during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 182 kilometers (113 miles) with start in Dax and finish in Nogaro, France, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

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As Tour de France riders continue their three-week odyssey , some are wondering which cyclist will emerge as the race’s new “patron.”

And, of course, who will be the “lanterne rouge” when the race reaches its finish in Nice on July 21.

Before that, some top contenders will probably “go through the window.”

“Baroudeurs” will launch solo raids, “punchers” will be on the attack and some riders might be tempted to “turn the lights on.”

Make any sense? Probably not, unless you’re a dedicated fan accustomed to hearing cycling jargon.

Here’s a quick glossary to some of the Tour’s more significant and colorful French expressions.

ALLUMER LES PHARES: “Turning the lights on” — Used to describe a rider suspected of taking doping substances before a stage, hence the strange flash in his eyes.

AVOIR LA FRITE: “Having the french fry” — A classic expression used to describe a rider in great shape, capable of making big moves, and responding to others’ attacks.

BAROUDEUR: “Fighter” — A rider capable of launching long-range attacks and staying ahead of the chasing peloton.

CHASSE-PATATES: Literally, to “chase potatoes.” It’s used to describe a rider who attacks after the breakaway group at the front has already pulled away. He then finds himself sandwiched between two groups.

CHAUDIERE: “Hot water heater” — A doped rider.

DOMESTIQUE: “Servant” — A rider dedicated to helping his team leader. The most talented of the domestiques often go on to become leaders in their own right. Or sometimes team leaders can be relegated, as was the case in the 2018 Tour with four-time champion Chris Froome relegated to a “super domestique” role in aid of teammate Geraint Thomas, who won that year.

FLAMME ROUGE: “Red flame” — The triangular red banner hanging over the road signaling the final kilometer of each stage.

GRAND TOUR: — The term used to describe the three major three-week stage races: the Tour, the Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta.

GRUPPETTO: “Small Group” — An Italian word describing the group of cyclists dropped by the main pack riding together at the back of the race. In French, they are called the “autobus.”

LANTERNE ROUGE: “Red Lantern” — The last rider in the overall standings.

LE PATRON: “The boss” — The most influential rider in the peloton who often has the decisive word on any issues that arise.

PASSER PAR LA FENETRE: “Going through the window” — This expression describes a rider getting dropped and losing ground very quickly after a rival, or the peloton, accelerates.

PUNCHEUR: “Puncher” — A rider who can open up a big gap quickly on hilly terrain.

SOIGNEUR: “Rider’s aid” — Someone in charge of taking care of a rider’s every need: Massage therapist, finish line care, etc.

SUCER LA ROUE: “Suck someone’s wheel” — Used to describe a rider refusing to go in front and protect a rival from the wind, staying just behind instead and conserving his energy.

SUIVEUR: “Follower” — The term used to describe journalists and other workers who follow the Tour.

More Tour de France coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/TourdeFrance

Tour de France anti-doping measures explained

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There are 23 days until the start of the Tour de France, but still a host of issues to have to be resolved if the race is to avoid the controversy that has dogged the previous three editions.

Yesterday (Wednesday, June 10), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and French anti-doping agency (AFLD) hosted a joint press conference to announce a significantly increased testing programme for this year’s Tour de France.

UCI president Pat McQuaid also sought to clarify several issues that are looming on the horizon and Pierre Bordry of the AFLD explained the testing procedure for the 2009 Tour de France. The press conference, held at a Novotel in Paris, around the corner from a road named after Henri Desgrange, the founder of the Tour de France, was attended by current race director Christian Prudhomme.

Here, Cycling Weekly explains where each of the key bodies stands on each issue, and looks at what may happen between now and the start of the Tour in Monaco on July 4.

Scroll down to read more on the biological passport, Alejandro Valverde, Tom Boonen, Bernhard Kohl and the 2009 Tour de France anti-doping effort.

BIOLOGICAL PASSPORT Where do we stand?

Pat McQuaid said that the UCI would inform ‘a certain number of riders’ early next week that their biological passport data showed anomalies. He refused to confirm how many riders. Once the riders have been informed, their teams and national federations will be told.

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Does that mean they will be banned?

Not immediately. Mr McQuaid said that the UCI would not be able to provisionally suspend the riders on the basis of the biological passport, so it will be up to the teams to decide whether to withdraw the riders from competition.

What if one team withdraws their rider, but another doesn’t?

That could happen, and it could be divisive. Certain teams may seek to challenge the biological passport’s authenticity. However, if a team were to withdraw a rider from racing, or suspend them, the rider could challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Can riders be banned as a result of the biological passport at all?

They can. There is provision within the rules, but it’s a longer process than a clear anti-doping code violation such as a failed test. First the rider’s national federation would have to decide whether there is a case to answer. There is a precedent. Ivan Basso was banned for blood manipulation – removing blood. If it could be shown that certain blood values had decreased, and the only way they had decreased was because blood had been removed from the system, that would be an anti-doping code violation. But that process will take time.

How come Antonio Colom has been provisionally suspended then?

The Katusha rider was targeted for specific testing because of irregular blood values detected by the biological passport. Colom was positive for EPO after an out-of-competition test taken in early April. That is an anti-doping code violation.

In the meantime isn’t there going to be a bit of a witch hunt?

There could be, yes. When the UCI names the suspect riders, their teams will come under pressure, particularly from the media. ASO may decide to bar those riders from the Tour, and there could be a challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It’s going to be a busy three weeks.

ALEJANDRO VALVERDE Valverde is banned from racing in Italy for two years, the Tour’s 16th stage goes into Italy, so presumably he’s also barred from the Tour? Who stands where on this?

The UCI has requested that CONI [the Italian Olympic Committee] sends the full documents regarding Valverde’s suspension. CONI had 30 days to deliver, and that deadline is up today (June 11). McQuaid said the UCI’s lawyers will study the documents and if they conform to the WADA code, the two-year ban will be globalised, meaning Valverde will not be able to race anywhere.

How long will that take?

McQuaid said a matter of days – four, five, or six – but said the issue would not drag on.

Isn’t Valverde appealing the CONI decision?

Yes, he’s taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but there is no date for a hearing yet, and so it may not be resolved before the Tour.

So what has ASO said?

Prudhomme has said that unless the CONI decision is overturned, he would be uncomfortable with Valverde starting the Tour. Caisse d’Epargne suggested pulling Valverde out of the Tour before the stage that goes into Italy, but Prudhomme has said that is unacceptable. The French Minister for Sport has said that Valverde is not welcome, although the rider is currently racing in France at the Dauphiné Libéré, so once again there’s a lack of consistency.

The UCI says Boonen can race, but the French Minister for Sport says he can’t, what’s going to happen?

Technically, the UCI is correct. Boonen tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition test in April. Cocaine is not on the WADA list of substances when detected out-of-competition, so Boonen cannot be suspended.

But last year Boonen stayed at home?

Yes, the Tour’s organisers and Boonen’s Quick Step team agreed to leave the rider out because they felt his presence would have compromised the image of the sport. But this year, Quick Step appears less willing to leave its prize asset on the sidelines and is pushing the issue.

Where do the UCI and ASO stand?

McQuaid stood by his statement that Boonen’s actions had damaged the sport’s image and said that the UCI disciplinary panel would be proceeding with a case against him, most likely for bringing the sport into disrepute. That case is not going to be heard before the end of June. ASO tentatively welcomed Boonen to the Tour, on the basis that no anti-doping rule has been broken. But the French Minister for Sport said it was unacceptable for Boonen to ride the Tour, even though the Belgian is currently racing on his turf at the Dauphiné Libéré.

BERNHARD KOHL The Austrian gave a strong interview to French newspaper L’Equipe but he appears to be back-tracking.

The eye-grabbing line in Kohl’s interview was that he alleged that most of the top ten in last year’s Tour de France were doping, a comment he now denies making. He’s threatened to sue the newspaper.

What has the UCI said?

The UCI has invited Kohl to their headquarters in Aigle to discuss his comments and to see what he can add to the anti-doping effort. McQuaid said he strongly disagreed with some of Kohl’s comments.

Bet the riders who finished in the top ten aren’t too happy either

As McQuaid said: “If I was Carlos Sastre, Christian Vande Velde or some of the other riders in the top ten, I’d be very angry.” Cedric Vasseur, head of the riders union, has threatened to sue Kohl.

ANDREAS KLODEN He was named in the independent report into the Freiburg clinic, but nothing seems to be happening. What’s going on?

Cycling Weekly was told by Swiss Cycling that Anti-Doping Switzerland is investigating the case.

But Kloden’s German?

Yes, but he rides under a Swiss licence.

What stage is the investigation at?

The UCI referred us to Swiss Cycling. Swiss Cycling referred us to Anti-Doping Switzerland and Anti-Doping Switzerland has not made any comment at this stage.

Aren’t riders under investigation supposed to be pulled out of racing?

According to the old ProTour ethics charter which was drawn up by the teams. That agreement no longer exists because certain teams refused to acknowledge it.

TOUR DE FRANCE TESTING PROGRAMME How many tests will there be?

ASO gave the UCI a list of about 300 riders from the 21 teams selected for the Tour who would be likely to start the race. A testing programme based on these riders has been underway for a number of weeks.

Around 50 riders are being specifically targeted for extra, extremely detailed testing, although McQuaid stressed that did not mean there were 50 suspect riders. He said the riders that were being most closely monitored where the favourites for the overall, the most likely stage winners as well as some who were being targeted as a result of their biological passport data.

At the pre-race tests, taken a day or so before the race, two samples will be taken so that in the event of a positive, a B sample will already be available for analysis.

During the Tour, around 300 to 400 tests would be carried out, with up to 10 riders tested after each stage.

In addition to that there would be other tests in the morning and evening.

Are they looking for anything specific?

EPO, insulin growth factor and human growth hormone.

What about signs of blood transfusions?

Blood transfusions of another person’s blood (homologous) can be detected. It is harder to detect a blood transfusion using a rider’s own blood (autologous) but not impossible. The UCI’s Dr Mario Zorzoli said that the biological passport showed signs of blood being removed and of red cells being injected.

Will samples be stored for future analysis?

Yes. And McQuaid said that testing is underway now on samples taken at the 2007 and 2008 Tours.

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Sports journalist Lionel Birnie has written professionally for Sunday Times ,  Procycling  and of course Cycling Weekly . He is also an author, publisher, and co-founder of The Cycling Podcast. His first experience covering the Tour de France came in 1999, and he has presented The Cycling Podcast with Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe since 2013. He founded Peloton Publishing in 2010 and has ghostwritten and published the autobiography of Sean Kelly, as well as a number of other sports icons. 

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