While his performances in the Tour de France have sparked disbelief, the International Testing Agency (ITA) is convinced that time is on his side…
Compared to previous years, there was much talk about doping during the last Tour de France. As a result of the incredible performances given by Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Wingeård, the two men planned to climb the record in incredible passes, while the mark was held by runners who were icons of doping such as Lance Armstrong, Jan Ulrich or Marco Pantani.
However, once again, no positive controls were observed during the three weeks of visits. And this is despite the efforts of the International Control Agency (ITA), which has been appointed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) to control it. , We did over 600 tests. Blood and urine tests confused. Not to mention upstream biological passport tests. No other sport like cycling, ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen has also been profiled in the column of the Swiss magazine L’Illustre. Compared to other programs we manage, the amount of money put in by cycling families, the UCI, race organisers, teams and the cyclists themselves is unparalleled in the world. Athletes can be tested up to ten times in a week. This doesn’t happen anywhere else. ,
When I hear that Pogacar and Wingegaard have been exceptional, I want to say: ‘Wait, we’ll say that in ten years.’
However, Ita has a surprise. Regardless, Benjamin Cohen takes care to recall the importance of the presumption of innocence. “ITA will never admit that there is a problem on the basis of exceptional performance, He assured. You shouldn’t even get into the discussions at the Café du Commerce, where they say: ‘Oh my God, they’re all drunk.’ We had Roger Federer in Switzerland who performed exceptionally well, I never heard anyone say: ‘He’s so high, is he doped?’ ,
“Don’t think that we haven’t wondered whether athletes might have techniques that allow them to evade restraints, Still the boss of ITA assured. For this, we can keep samples for up to ten years, a period during which advances in analysis methods can be made. Remember the 2012 London Olympics? Eight years later, there were more than 60 positive athletes in that time who were negative. So when I hear that Pogacar and Wingegaard have been exceptional, I want to say: ‘Wait, we’ll be saying that in ten years.’ ,