Anti-doping controls for the 2026 Tour de France began weeks before the peloton rolls out Saturday in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
The International Testing Agency says it has already conducted more than 360 out-of-competition controls and will have more than 40 officials across the three-week race.<\/p>\n
The agency is also coordinating with Spanish and French police and customs authorities as the race starts in Barcelona before returning to France on stage 3.<\/p>\n
The strategy reflects how anti-doping has changed for the 2026 Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tour de France remains one of the most visible and demanding events in international sport from an anti-doping perspective,\u201d ITA director general Benjamin Cohen said.<\/p>\n
The ITA plans to collect more than 600 in-competition samples during the next three weeks in cycling\u2019s biggest race.<\/p>\n
As always, every stage winner and the yellow jersey wearer get tested automatically, along with a handful of randomly picked riders each day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a different world from the days of police raids and high-profile busts from decades ago.<\/p>\n
Cycling hasn\u2019t been free of doping controversy, but the last rider to return an in-competition positive during the Tour was Luca Paolini in 2015.<\/p>\n
How has anti-doping changed since then?<\/p>\n
Investigators now use intelligence-gathering and the Athlete Biological Passport to track riders\u2019 blood values over time and target tests when something looks off.<\/p>\n
The agency is also tracking more biological markers this year, including blood serum steroid profiles and hormone markers tied to human growth hormone abuse.<\/p>\n
The ITA \u2014 which now runs all anti-doping activities for the UCI \u2014 will continue storing selected samples for up to 10 years so they can be re-analyzed as testing methods improve.<\/p>\n
It also recently launched a two-year study looking at whether power data could become the next anti-doping tool.<\/p>\n
About 60 riders from four WorldTeams and one ProTeam are taking part in the study with the University of Kent and University College London.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain committed to protecting the integrity of the race and ensuring that all riders compete under the same rules and conditions,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
Some wonder if doping controls are keeping up with the peloton.<\/p>\n
The testing has changed dramatically, but not everyone believes the sport has.<\/p>\n
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