Conspiracy suggests WT teams abuse carbon monoxide inhalation to improve rider performances

In an exclusive and also rather worrying story, Escape Collective reveals that at least three teams, including the Visma | Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates and Israel - Premier Tech have access to an expensive device called a carbon monoxide rebreather, which allows for the precise dosing of carbon monoxide into the lungs. But it may have another use. To cheat doping.

An agressive approach called carbon monoxide inhalation steps into the scientifically new and much riskier realm of inhaling the lightly poisonous gas (carbon monoxide) for the express purpose of performance enhancement. A growing body of recent scientific research suggests CO inhalation can have a powerful impact on measures of aerobic capacity like VO2max, or maximal oxygen uptake.

The technique is not banned by WADA, although it appears to conflict with the agency’s rules around artificial manipulation of the blood. Currently, there is no hard evidence that any WorldTeams are using CO inhalation for performance gains. However it doesn't take long for conspiracies about the practice already being used for a long time now.

Mathieu Heijboer, head of performance for Visma, told Escape that "We have been working with Bent Rønnestad for a few years now to do measurement at the beginning and end of altitude camps." Rønnestad is a professor at Inland Norway University and an expert on altitude physiology; Heijboer emphasised the testing takes place only when Rønnestad is present; he does not stay for the full camp.

"Israel - Premier Tech’s sole use of the Detalo Blood Volume Analyzer is for testing purposes to measure the impact of altitude training," said a team spokesperson in an e-mailed reply to Escape‘s request for comment.

In a brief statement provided to Escape, UAE’s medical director Adriano Rotunno confirmed that the team also uses CO rebreathing for testing purposes. "It’s not a therapy; it’s a diagnostic tool that we use to essentially work out what our athletes’ physiology is," he said, adding that there is no performance enhancement to the measurement method.