State of the Peloton 2025

[Devil's Elbow]

It was pretty obvious that something clinic-related was up when it became clear nobody wanted to comment on his absence.

Also, biopassport irregularities starting in early 2022 only leading to a provisional suspension at the end of 2025 is bizarre.

 

[Tim Cahill]

"The abnormal values purport to the ears 2022, 2023 and 2024"

I have a little knowledge of the passport but could be wrong on this if someone wants to correct. Could it be that the values remained reasonably consistent throughout these years ergo didn't appear to raise any abnormal/inexplicable readings, the when he went to RB he no longer had access to whatever it was he was doing and the values returned to normal, thus allowing them to properly contextualise the values either side of his Movistar stay?

My understanding is that the passport is more geared towards noticing naturally inexplicable fluctuations So if the baseline values are of a doped rider, and they aren't pushing the gear too far, then it would only be noticeable once they stop doping rather than when they started. So as long as you are on something when the first tests are done, then as long as you stay doped throughout the year then you are hard to catch using this method?

Where’s Rob Stannards legal guy get him back here.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Thank god they finally nailed the guy who once finished in the top 80 in a GT.

Well at least it means RB BORA have fewer riders who will fight for leadership next year.

 

[houtdffan]

I could see the UCI press conference going like this

UCI: "These suspensions show that we will catch and punish you, no matter who you are. Even if you finish 95th in a GT, you are not a sacred cow and will be caught"

Reporter: "What about the aliens who smash all climbing records from the peak EPO era?

UCI: "NEXT QUESTION!"

 

[Tim Cahill]

UCI intern finally getting round to sorting through a stack of old papers

UCI statement on António Carvalho Ferreira

www.uci.org

Unexplained abnormalities in... 2018

 

[Ilmaestro99]

UCI intern finally getting round to sorting through a stack of old papers

UCI statement on António Carvalho Ferreira

www.uci.org

Unexplained abnormalities in... 2018

He was *** in 2018 aswell, uci dealing with the pressing issues as usual

 

[Rob5091]

Sounds like WADA have come up with something new if guys are getting busted for stuff in 2018.
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...eloton-with-another-doping-related-suspension

 

[Rob5091]

After the big bust in the USA of basketball players & the mob, Velo wonders if pro-cycling can go down that route ...
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/cycling-gambling-scandal/
(Stop laughing at the back!!)

 

[KoopaCycling]

Before 2023 i think the sport was in a good place. Not a perfect place by all means, but better than what came before. Now though, these performances have me thinking we'll see another Festina affaire, Armstrong debacle, ... sooner than later. That the peloton has regressed. The modern goat looks incredible iffy to me. When i see remco trying to close the gap, i'm just hoping against my better judgement he's on the right side of the fence.

It kinda feel surreal. On the one hand I want remco to be as competitive as possible. On the other hand i rather see him fall short then follow in what I believe the modern goat is doing.

 

[AmRacer]

Before 2023 i think the sport was in a good place. Not a perfect place by all means, but better than what came before. Now though, these performances have me thinking we'll see another Festina affaire, Armstrong debacle, ... sooner than later. That the peloton has regressed. The modern goat looks incredible iffy to me. When i see remco trying to close the gap, i'm just hoping against my better judgement he's on the right side of the fence.

It kinda feel surreal. On the one hand I want remco to be as competitive as possible. On the other hand i rather see him fall short then follow in what I believe the modern goat is doing.

If Pogi wasn't there, Remcos autumn would have been unheard of.

 

[Rob5091]

I suppose in a way this just about sums up 2025. What the heck was he thinking?
https://www.uci.org/pressrelease/uci-statement-concerning-artyom-proskuryakov/6mjwEZJ9PkWepQWzZvnz0u

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that Azerbaijani rider Artyom Proskuryakov has been notified of an Adverse Analytical Finding for Methamfetamine (D-) and its metabolites* in two samples collected – as a result of intelligence-led-testing – during the 2025 UCI Road World Championships (Men Junior road race) on 23 September 2025.

"intelligence-led-testing" is an interesting phrase. Someone tipped them off then?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

An interesting read on weight reduction obsession in the sport and medical consequences, much discussed here after the Tour Femmes.

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/reds-cycling

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Look, I'm not saying it's okay, but I have to say that choosing meth as performance enhancement would enliven the peloton, for sure. https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cyc...ethamphetamine-at-rwanda-world-championships/

 

[aphronesis]

Look, I'm not saying it's okay, but I have to say that choosing meth as performance enhancement would enliven the peloton, for sure. https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cyc...ethamphetamine-at-rwanda-world-championships/

You want a more hyped up, on edge peloton?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I suppose in a way this just about sums up 2025. What the heck was he thinking?
https://www.uci.org/pressrelease/uci-statement-concerning-artyom-proskuryakov/6mjwEZJ9PkWepQWzZvnz0u

"intelligence-led-testing" is an interesting phrase. Someone tipped them off then?

And he didn't even make the top 40 in the junior ITT. Richard Ashcroft has once again been proven right; the drugs still don't work.

 

[aphronesis]

Although Ashcroft was likely on the other side of that arc.

 

[houtdffan]

"Cycling is still a better place than ever": Former Danish champion believes doping is mostly extinct in peloton

Will cycling ever come clean of doping? Probably no. But at the very least, it appears so that systematic doping is no longer haunting the beautiful sport. However individuals can still end up being p...

cyclinguptodate.com

nothing to see. The whole peloton is clean!

 

[Rob5091]

As 2025 winds down and thoughts turn to 2026, a voice from the past (who drove us all mad with his shampoo ad), Marcel Kittel speaks,
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...marcel-kittel-on-doping-in-the-modern-peloton

"I don't think cycling is clean now. Absolutely not. I would be very ignorant about the facts," the German warns. "There will always be people who will try to cheat the system. We have to make sure we protect what we have and the progress we've made, and make sure these are isolated cases and not a widespread doping system."

Considering how the peloton has peformed this year, his fears might be correct (faster, faster faster!)

 

[houtdffan]

Cycling's blood flow restriction boom – what's proven, and what isn't

New research, new tech and new partnerships are pushing blood flow restriction training from rehab niches to the frontline of performance innovation. Cyclingnews investigates whether it's a breakthrough or just a buzzword

www.cyclingnews.com

There is no way this is safer than medically supervised EPO use

 

[proffate]

I have tried blood flow restriction. It's more common in weight training than endurance sport. It's perfectly safe and seems to be supported by research (but it didn't help me). The idea in weight training is that you can get the same adaptation with lower weight, and reduced fatigue/soreness. Therefore I thought it would be ideal to help enable weight training coupled with cycling without suffering from soreness on rides. I don't know if it did anything but I got bored of it eventually, and found other ways to effectively cross train without soreness interfering with riding. I would therefore lean to the side of this being a nothingburger, just another fake miracle of modern training to explain away the increasing level of the peloton.

edit: then again I was probably doing it wrong, don't have a team of trainers following me around

 

[Rob5091]

As the end of 2025 drags nearer, some words from former head of WADA, David Howman, who says the cheaters are winning ...
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-drugs-cheats-in-sport-are-escaping-detection

“Let’s be honest and pragmatic … intentional dopers at elite level are evading detection,” Howman told the Wada’s World Conference on Doping in Sport in South Korea. “We are not effective enough nowadays in catching cheats. We have great education programmes which help but they don’t impact the intentional rule-breakers in elite sport. ... “We must all do better to support our clean athletes by catching the dirty ones, especially those at the pinnacle of sport,” he added. “Let’s resolve to strengthen our anti-doping system as we strive for cleaner, fairer and more credible sport.”

Credibility in pro-cycling was probably lost not long after the first Tour de France. But there's more!
https://sports.yahoo.com/doping-wada-bowed-money-over-principle-ex-director-201853914--spt.html

"WADA has gone from being an organization that cared about clean athletes to one that cares about international federations that have not been able to stage events in Russia: it's money over principle. That is a quite a difference, quite a swing, from what WADA once was."

Not only bad at doing their job, but bowing to big bucks ... damn! who'd have thought it.

 

[CXXC]

Recently there seem to have been many high profile sanctions in athletics which is a complete contrast to cycling . I can't imagine that this is a refection of just how 'cleans' our preferred sport is .
So why should I see such a perceived difference? a lack of pursuit of dopers or better team support from medical staff to avoid detection in cycling?.
The Bio Passport is used in both sports so how come athletics seem to utilise data more effectively to highlight dopers?

 

[Rob5091]

Recently there seem to have been many high profile sanctions in athletics which is a complete contrast to cycling . I can't imagine that this is a refection of just how 'cleans' our preferred sport is .
So why should I see such a perceived difference? a lack of pursuit of dopers or better team support from medical staff to avoid detection in cycling?.
The Bio Passport is used in both sports so how come athletics seem to utilise data more effectively to highlight dopers?

In cycling the ITA does the testing and sends the samples of to the labs. The UCI then decides what to do if something "anomalous" turns up.
In athletics the Athletcis Integrity Unit does the same job as the ITA. Instead of World Athletics deciding what to do, for first instances, a 47 member Tribunal decides instead,
https://www.athleticsintegrity.org/disciplinary-process/first-instance-decisions

The independent Disciplinary Tribunal hears and determines all first instance disciplinary cases under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the World Athletics Integrity Code of Conduct. The Disciplinary Tribunal is chaired by Charles Hollander QC and it currently has a panel of 47 tribunal members from 31 different countries covering all six areas recognised by World Athletics. hears and determines all first instance disciplinary cases under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the World Athletics Integrity Code of Conduct.

The Athletics Integrity Unit also seems more "pro-active" with a "Blood steriod passport" as well as the ABP. Also USADA's use of caught athletic dopers allowed to race to gain info on networks and other dopers is something that seems unlikely in pro-cycling. (Interestingly, the original Reuter's article has been withdrawn, even though "Reuters stands by the accuracy of the reporting ...)

 

[houtdffan]

Anti-doping group MPCC calls on UCI to 'stop the escalating medicalisation of the sport,' citing ketones and Tapendatol use

MPCC criticises UCI's recent statements and requests governing body 'take action against the expansion of the so-called grey area'

www.cyclingnews.com

UCI still tolerating Tapendatol, despite banning Tramadol.

Classic UCI, ban a drug when something 10X better hits the market, and keep the better one legal

 

[Rob5091]

Anti-doping group MPCC calls on UCI to 'stop the escalating medicalisation of the sport,' citing ketones and Tapendatol use

MPCC criticises UCI's recent statements and requests governing body 'take action against the expansion of the so-called grey area'

www.cyclingnews.com

UCI still tolerating Tapendatol, despite banning Tramadol.

Classic UCI, ban a drug when something 10X better hits the market, and keep the better one legal

Quality control by UCI?