(Florence) Around 600 blood and urine samples will be collected during the Tour de France which starts on Saturday from Florence as part of the anti-doping program led by the International Testing Agency (ITA).
The International Cycling Union (UCI), which has delegated controls to this independent body since 2021, also announced on Wednesday “a new inspection tool” against technological fraud, the details of which will only be revealed after the Tour which will arrive on July 21 in Nice.
Among the new features, the ITA will integrate an endocrine module capable of indicating the use of human growth hormone, said Olivier Banuls, head of body controls, in an interview with AFP.
“The endocrine module was launched by the world anti-doping agency in 2023. We have been able to deploy it throughout the last few months and it will be implemented for the first time as part of the Tour de France,” he said. -he explains.
Even before the race, the ITA will have carried out some 400 out-of-competition checks in the month leading up to the start. The samples will be sent mainly to the anti-doping laboratory – accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) – in Lausanne, Switzerland.
At each stage, the yellow jersey and the stage winner will be tested. A selection of samples will be kept for possible reanalysis within 10 years.
The UCI, teams and race organisers had strengthened the ITA’s means of action in 2022 through a progressive budget increase of 35% – to reach 10 million euros – by the end of 2024.
“We have a professionalization of the system, but also a change in mentalities,” notes Olivier Banuls in this regard. The position of cycling has evolved a lot in the right direction. There is a very important awareness of the importance for athletes to protect their sport. But that does not prevent us from remaining vigilant at all times. »
Concerning tapentadol, a powerful painkiller that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recently placed in its “monitoring program”, Mr. Banuls believes that we will have to wait until “the end of the year to know to what extent this substance has been used.” “We will then let the experts assess whether it should ultimately be considered a banned substance, which is not the case today. »
To detect possible technological fraud, a UCI commissaire will be present, before each of the 21 stages, in the team buses to check all the bikes used at the start using magnetic tablets.
After the stage, checks will be carried out on the bikes of the stage winner, riders wearing a leader’s jersey (yellow, green, polka dot and white), several randomly selected riders and “any rider arousing suspicion ”, using “handheld non-intrusive X-ray inspection technologies.” If necessary, the bike will be dismantled.
In 2024, “a new non-intrusive inspection tool will be added to the arsenal”, and “further information on this will be communicated in due course after the 2024 Tour de France”, added the UCI in a press release .
“The system to combat technological fraud put in place by the UCI for the 2024 Tour de France sends a very clear message to anyone who might consider cheating: it is impossible to slip through the cracks,” said assured the general director of the UCI, Amina Lanaya.
During the last Tour de France, 997 bicycle checks were carried out, and no cases of technological fraud were detected.