Doping: cycling between fears and vigilance for recovery

Since the start of confinement, cyclists have been furnishing the absence, sharing their training sessions on social networks and even opposing each other during virtual races, as was the case during the recent Tour of Flanders and currently on the Tour de Switzerland (178 kilometers divided into five stages). They are also impatiently awaiting the decision allowing them to get out on the roads to relaunch their season and prepare for the Tour de France, postponed by two months (August 29-September 20). Not without some concerns. Romain Bardet, leader of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, summed up a few days ago before the suspense regarding the postponement of the Tour was lifted: “There are a lot of related questions that come to mind. We know that fairness is a big concern as a sportsman, we know that there are no doping controls at the moment: for an event of this magnitude, will sporting fairness be respected? We no longer have any longitudinal tracking, we no longer have anything, this is worrying. "

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Roger Legeay, president of the Movement for a Credible Cycling (MPCC) summarizes: "The majority of the activities being stopped, the anti-doping activity is stopped, even if the leaders and in particular the World Anti-Doping Agency say:" Don't worry, we continue, we continue at 5%… ”Given the confinement, unannounced checks are difficult. From the moment there is a competition objective and there are fewer controls, there will be a real problem because of technical difficulties not allowing to go to remote places, distant countries. "And Roger Legeay recalled:" The current priority is health. But when the competition will resume, there should not be more suspicion. We will have to strike hard for everyone. This will be valid for cycling. As with all sports. "

"The problem with sport is that many believe that the light is off and that we are going to press the button and that it will come back on"

Faced with the confined situation, the contractual and psychological fragility of certain runners who may be tempted to resort to doping, Roger Legeay indicates: "The only certainty that we currently have is that we will not run before the month of June. There is no point in cheating in this case, maybe I am naive. There may be people who will take advantage of it, say to themselves: “I will be ready when it comes back” - we can clearly see how comfortable they are with outdoor training when it is important to lead by example and stay confined - but it will be on the sidelines. When there is visibility on the calendar, it will change everything. "But he foresees a resumption of activity and a resumption of progressive doping controls:" In the business world, all the actors understood that the resumption would be taking time. The problem with sport is that many believe that the light is off and that the button will be pressed and that it will come back on. It is not going to happen like that. It will take a lot of time, whether in deconfinement, gestures, blood tests, good health tests, the mask… In our sport, it is not easy, there is proximity, there is many steps before returning to normal. We will discover them as we go along. "

"When it's good, we say it, when it's less good, we say it too. It's the truth"

And cycling, after having registered an increase in doping cases in 2019, wants to be vigilant, as the president of the MPCC underlines: “Cycling has always been pointed out. We are whistleblowers. We try every three or six months to make a photocopy of the situation. When it's good, we say it, when it's worse, we say it too. It's the truth. It is a question of credibility, therefore of transparency. Faced with the rise, we said: “Vigilance, don't give up, let's keep going, let us know about the new methods.” It is worrying, there have been more procedures, even if we are not the sport most concerned. We don't put anything under the carpet. It is an ongoing battle. "

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