The president of cycling's governing body has said that it is a good thing that doping questions are being asked about performances at Tour de France, as he said more should be invested in anti-doping research.
In an interview with French newspaper La Telegramme, David Lappartient, the president of the UCI, said that he is in charge of a "robust anti-doping program". There have been no doping positives at this year's race, but climbing speeds are faster than ever.
"Like Captain Haddock's sticking plaster, it always sticks to us a little: as soon as performances seem unattainable, suspicions of doping arise," he said. "In absolute terms, it's rather good that everyone is asking the question. In any case, we are mobilised: the stakeholders in cycling, mainly the UCI, invest around 10 million euros per year in the fight against doping. We have a very robust anti-doping program.
"The only thing we don't control, and this is true for all sports, is the capacity of laboratories around the world to analyse samples. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) needs to invest even more in research."
Lappartient was asked why some performance-enhancing drugs had not been banned yet, either by the UCI or WADA. That includes the painkiller tapentadol, which the UCI was revealed to be monitoring last month. It has previously been ahead of WADA in banning tramadol.
"We don't have control over the list of banned products," Lappartient explained. "When tramadol was banned, it was for prevention purposes. We had demonstrated a danger: risk of falling asleep, loss of reaction faculties. The risks are the same for tapentadol. I am ready to ban it, I want to do it. If WADA doesn't do it, I want us to do it. But to ban it, we have to be able to detect it. Today, the ways to measure it are not quite ready."
Lappartient was also about ketones, which are used by many teams in the pro peloton, but the use of which is criticised by some, including the Movement for Credible Cycling.
"The study we funded is progressing, but it is a scientific study, with researchers from international laboratories, publication processes, so it takes time," he said. "We should have the results next year."
Substances like ketones, and carbon monoxide breathing, are not banned, but Lappartient said that riders were dissuaded from using them.
"This is what we tell the riders and the teams," he said. "For example, carbon monoxide, I can understand that they need it as a measuring tool. But we must not misuse it and use it for other reasons."
