Every time a news story related to doping emerges, in our or other sports, one of the observations that spontaneously arises among many cycling enthusiasts is: certainly, no one is more controlled than cyclists...

On Friday, during the ACCPI-LCP-FCI course for neo-professional riders, we didn't miss the opportunity to approach Carmel Chabloz and Lucas Combebias from the ITA agency, which handles anti-doping controls for UCI and numerous other sports federations, including volleyball and FIA for example.

Intercepted at the exit of the Coni Lombardia building in Milan, after their valuable and in-depth explanation to the 24 neopros present on the functioning of the Adams system, the two ITA staff members responded to our question "Is it true that cycling is the sport with the most anti-doping controls of all (a high-level rider easily reaches ten annual tests, not to mention more) and is the only one where athletes themselves partially pay for their own controls?"

"Certainly, the UCI's is the most extensive anti-doping program among all the sports we handle. Then there are very important disciplines like athletics and tennis that we don't cover, and there we can't make comparisons. But among the sports we handle at ITA, the most extensive program is definitely the UCI's, which since 2023 has been investing ten million euros annually in anti-doping and is the only one where the riders themselves (through 2.7% of their prizes, ed. note) contribute!"