The controversial "power passport" is already underway: Visma and four other teams are participating in the anti-doping trial

Power data is already being sent to anti-doping organizations. The International Testing Agency (ITA) has confirmed that around 60 riders from five professional teams, including Visma Lease a Bike, are participating in the trial studying the creation of a “power passport” to complement anti-doping controls in cycling.

Anti-doping power data could eventually become mandatory for all professionals

Just five months ago, the project generated strong opposition within the professional peloton. Adam Hansen, president of the Professional Cyclists' Association (CPA), stated at that time that riders were “100% against” the idea of power data becoming a new tool in the fight against doping.

Now, that proposal has taken another step forward. The International Testing Agency (ITA) has confirmed that five professional teams are actively participating in the study analyzing whether power data can be used to complement current anti-doping control systems. Among them is one of the most important teams in the peloton, Visma Lease a Bike.

Visma, Decathlon, Jayco, Picnic, and Cofidis are already part of the project

According to ITA, around 60 riders from Visma Lease a Bike, Jayco AlUla, Picnic PostNL, Decathlon CMA CGM, and Cofidis are participating in this two-year research program.

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Additionally, Uno-X Mobility, Tudor Pro Cycling Team, and TotalEnergies have already approved the participation frameworks and could fully join the project soon, while discussions continue with other teams.

The study is being developed in collaboration with the University of Kent and University College London to determine whether power data can provide useful information to current anti-doping systems, including the biological passport.

It does not seek to detect positives, but to identify suspicious patterns

ITA insists that the goal is not to sanction riders based on their watts or to turn power data into a direct anti-doping test.

In the official statement released this week, the agency explains:

“Its purpose is not to establish violations of anti-doping rules through performance data, but to assess whether certain patterns or performance evolutions could, in the future, help guide specific control strategies, decisions on sample preservation, additional laboratory analyses, or investigations.”

The philosophy is similar to that of the biological passport: to observe an athlete's evolution over long periods to detect behaviors that warrant a deeper investigation.

ITA has also explained that the system will primarily focus on data collected during competitions and that the analysis will study how each rider's performance evolves over the years.

First phase with historical data

The project is still in a preliminary phase. During the first year, researchers are analyzing historical data from riders to check if it is possible to build a reliable model.

Only if the results are sufficiently solid will it move to a second phase using real-time data from the current seasons.

Researchers are studying complex issues such as differences between power meters, calibration errors, rider specialization, race dynamics, or the relationship between training and competition data.

One of the central concepts of the study is the so-called “excess performances”, that is, performances that deviate from the expected evolution of a rider when compared to athletes with similar characteristics and ages.

ITA defends the project

Benjamin Cohen, the ITA's director general, defended the initiative this week and reminded that power data has been part of the anti-doping debate in cycling for years.

“Power data has been part of the conversation in cycling for many years. They are one of the most used performance tools in this sport, but until now their potential contribution to the fight against doping has barely been explored.”

Cohen added: “Thanks to the commitment of riders, teams, and recognized experts, we now have the opportunity to assess that potential through a structured scientific process and determine if it can significantly complement anti-doping tools in the future.”

A project that continues to generate rejection among riders

The confirmation that several teams are already participating in the trial comes just a few months after Adam Hansen's harsh criticisms on the Domestique Hotseat podcast.

At that time, the CPA president was blunt:

“The CPA's position is very clear: we are 100% against this, and so are the riders.”

Hansen particularly questioned what would happen if a rider could not submit their data due to technical failures, synchronization errors, or problems with devices, in addition to warning about the difficulty of interpreting power data in isolation in a sport where multiple physiological and training factors come into play.

For now, ITA insists that this is solely a scientific feasibility study. However, the agency itself acknowledges that if the results are satisfactory and subsequently receive UCI approval, the regulations could be modified to make the submission of power data mandatory for all male professional cyclists.

What seemed like a theoretical proposal a few months ago is now being tested with WorldTour riders. The question now is whether those millions of data generated by power meters will eventually become a new piece of the anti-doping system in professional cycling.