International Testing Agency Launches Pilot to Use Power Data for Anti-Doping in Pro Cycling

The International Testing Agency (ITA) has officially launched a two-year feasibility and pilot study to determine if professional cyclists' power data can be used as a supplementary anti-doping tool.[1][2]

Approved by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Funding Committee, the initiative represents a major shift in how the sport monitors performance and targets its testing resources.[1][6]

Currently, 60 riders across four UCI WorldTeams and one ProTeam have voluntarily joined the study.[1][5]

Participating squads include heavyweights like Team Visma-Lease a Bike, Decathlon-CMA CGM, Team Jayco-AlUla, Picnic-PostNL, and Cofidis.[4][5]

The core mechanism under investigation is "longitudinal performance modeling."[1][3]

Researchers from the University of Kent and University College London are analyzing how a rider's power output naturally evolves over their career.[1][6]

The goal is not to issue anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) based solely on a high power file.[3][5]

Instead, the ITA aims to identify "excess performances"—individual trajectories that deviate significantly from expected age-adjusted baselines.[2][5]

If the model flags an abnormal spike in sustained power, it will act as an intelligence trigger.[3][6]

This data will direct targeted blood and urine testing, inform sample retention decisions, and guide deeper laboratory investigations.[1][5]

Power data—measured in watts—has been the defining metric of professional cycling for two decades.[1][6]

Mechanics optimize bikes for it, coaches design training blocks around it, and fans debate it during Grand Tour mountain stages.[5][6]

ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen noted that while power data is the sport's most widely used performance tool, its potential for anti-doping has remained "largely unexplored."[2][4]

The pilot study mirrors the philosophy behind the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), introduced in 2008.[3][6]

Rather than catching a prohibited substance in a single test, the ABP tracks blood variables over time to detect the physiological effects of doping.[1][3]

A "Power Data Passport" would apply this same longitudinal logic to mechanical output.[3][5]

However, translating raw watts into a reliable anti-doping metric presents significant scientific hurdles.[5][6]

Power files are highly sensitive to external variables. A rider's output can be skewed by their specific race role, pacing strategies, drafting dynamics, altitude, ambient heat, and even the calibration of different power meter brands.[5]

The two-year pilot is specifically designed to determine if these confounding variables can be accurately filtered out to create a scientifically robust and operationally meaningful model.[1][2]

There is transparent uncertainty regarding rider acceptance. Adam Hansen, president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) riders' union, has previously stated that the organization is "100 percent against" mandatory power data sharing.[2][5]

Critics cite concerns over data privacy, the proprietary nature of training metrics, and the risk of false suspicions generated by inaccurate power meter calibrations.[3][5]

If the feasibility study proves successful and earns approval from the UCI Management Committee, the landscape of the sport will change.[1][5]

UCI regulations would be amended to make power data sharing mandatory for all professional men's road riders.[1][5]

For now, the sport watches closely as the ITA and its academic partners attempt to turn the peloton's most guarded performance secret into its most powerful integrity tool.[1][6]