Cycling\u2019s anti-doping watchdog is targeting a 2028 rollout for a new \u201cpower passport\u201d that would use riders\u2019 performance data to help guide drug testing, ITA head of testing Oliver Banuls told Velo<\/em> in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n Cycling already uses blood, urine and intelligence to target drug cheats.<\/p>\n By 2028, officials also hope to add power files to that list.<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t be used to sanction athletes,\u201d Banuls told Velo<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be used to direct our anti-doping strategy \u2014 target testing, reanalysis, gap analysis, long-term storage analysis, intelligence investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n The sometimes-controversial project recently started a two-year study to determine if power data could become anti-doping\u2019s next tool.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is that at the end of the study, if there is proof of evidence, we can go towards the inclusion of the power data and the sharing of power data in the UCI regulations by 2028,\u201d Banuls told Velo<\/em>.<\/p>\n The biological passport \u2014 introduced nearly two decades ago \u2014 tracks blood and steroidal markers.<\/p>\n Similarly, this would track power data and watch out for long-term shifts that don\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single rider is monitoring his data. The coaches, the head of performance, everybody is using power data,\u201d Banuls said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt that for the ITA it was a strong element to add to the arsenal of tools that we have at our disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than red-flagging one monster ride, Banuls said it\u2019s about tracking how a rider\u2019s power numbers evolve over time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose is getting the full picture,\u201d he said. \u201cA sprinter won\u2019t have the same patterns as a climber or a rider fighting for the general classification.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what a new two-year study with the University of Kent and University College London is working on.<\/p>\n The idea of a power passport been around for years, but Banuls said the technology wasn\u2019t ready.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started this discussion back in 2015, but it was too premature,\u201d he said. \u201cIt took 10 years to open the discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n Banuls said the study will also look at practical issues, like consistency of data across different brands, how data can be accurately stored and transferred, and if power numbers could be manipulated.<\/p>\n Researchers are already analyzing historical race and training files from more than 60 riders across five professional teams, with more teams expressing interest in joining the project.<\/p>\n Live data collection begins next year and then researchers will present their findings to the project\u2019s advisory panel, Banuls said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been some push back from some within the peloton, but there are conversations among all the key stakeholders.<\/p>\n \u201cThe riders\u2019 union understands it\u2019s a feasibility study. They understand the purpose of the project. They understand the challenges around the project,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir concern is more from a regulatory point of view. \u2018What if it becomes mandatory?\u2019 \u2018What if a rider doesn\u2019t share his data?’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s far too early to say what will happen in the future. Now the purpose is making sure we are able to set up this model.\u201d<\/p>\n Banuls stressed that the power passport would not become another method of sanctioning riders directly.<\/p>\n Instead, a sudden or unexplained shift in a rider\u2019s long-term performance profile could trigger new testing or back-testing of stored samples.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still the old-school \u201cadverse analytical finding\u201d that catches most drug cheats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t be a revolution,\u201d Banuls said. \u201cIt will be a great evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/anti-doping-watchdog-targets-2028-rollout-for-cyclings-power-passport\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Z8D_2220.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated July 5, 2026 05:52AM Cycling\u2019s anti-doping watchdog is targeting a 2028 rollout for a new \u201cpower passport\u201d that would use riders\u2019 performance data to help guide drug testing, ITA head of testing Oliver Banuls told Velo in an exclusive interview. Cycling already uses blood, urine and intelligence to target […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2027896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2027896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2027896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2027896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2027896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Adding power data to anti-doping microscope<\/h2>\n
Cycling\u2019s new anti-doping frontier<\/h2>\n