This is the new “secret” weapon, used in the peloton by large teams. The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced Thursday that it would propose to its steering committee “to prohibit for medical reasons the use of carbon monoxide” repeatedly by runners.
“This decision will be taken by the executive body of the federation at its next meeting, which will be held in Arras, France, on January 31 and February 1,” the body said in a press release.
This initiative marks a further step by the UCI after asking the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at the end of November to “take a position” on this legal but potentially controversial technique, used in the past by riders like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard .
During the last Tour de France, the specialized site Escape collective revealed that at least three teams – UAE, Visma and Israel PT – had resorted to the inhalation of carbon monoxide which makes it possible to measure the mass of hemoglobin and therefore extension of the benefits of altitude on the body. The site explained that if used repeatedly, the technique could be diverted to create artificial hypoxia by recreating the effects of effort at altitude, which could be similar to a doping practice.
A gas that can cause side effects on health
Tadej Pogacar’s UAE team denounced this Tuesday a “sensationalist” article speculating on a twenty-year-old technique that would be “very complicated” to misuse. She also indicated that she would no longer use it, the tests carried out over a period of 18 months having been conclusive.
“Carbon monoxide is an odorless toxic gas which is regularly the cause of domestic accidents,” the UCI recalled on Thursday. Inhaled at low doses and under strict safety conditions, this gas is used in medicine as a tracer to measure pulmonary diffusion of oxygen or total hemoglobin mass. Inhaled repeatedly in unmedicated conditions, it can, however, cause side effects such as headaches, a feeling of fatigue, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, breathing difficulties, or even loss of consciousness. »
“These side effects on health and the total lack of knowledge of the long-term effects of repeated inhalations of carbon monoxide would justify, according to the UCI, a ban on the use of this gas for medical reasons,” added the body. However, its use in a medical environment, by competent medical personnel and in the strict context of evaluating the total hemoglobin mass would remain authorized. »
