The UCI asks anti-doping to ban the use of carbon monoxide to enhance performance

Given the insistence of the MPCC to ban the use of carbon monoxide inhalation technique, the UCI has chosen to ask the AMA for a clear statement on this issue while also asking teams and riders not to use these methods.

Controversy continues over the use of carbon monoxide inhalation in cycling

Last summer, a new controversy arose regarding performance enhancement in cycling when it was revealed that some cycling teams like Visma or UAE had been using carbon monoxide inhalation techniques. In reality, carbon monoxide re-inhalation, a diagnostic method designed to measure certain blood values with absolute precision, which teams would have used to fine-tune and achieve greater efficiency in their altitude training.

However, voices soon emerged indicating that carbon monoxide inhalation could also be used to artificially improve blood values in the same way that EPO or blood transfusions were used in the past, leading to the outright rejection of this technique by the Movement For Credible Cycling, which began pressuring the UCI to ban it.

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Now the UCI has chosen to partially remove the responsibility of making a decision, something they did not do, for example, in the case of Tramadol, which they unilaterally banned, and have requested a statement from the AMA regarding carbon monoxide inhalation despite the fact that, according to the well-known website Escape Collective, who uncovered the use of this methodology, there is no evidence that it is being used to enhance performance and the teams involved claim that they only use carbon monoxide re-inhalation to monitor the effects of their altitude concentrations in collaboration with the company Detalo that is developing this technique for medical purposes alongside the teams.

The UCI has also asked teams not to seek performance enhancement using carbon monoxide inhalation, a technique that could pose serious health risks since, let's not forget, carbon monoxide is a toxic gas for the body. However, it admits that medical use in a controlled environment could be acceptable.