Cycling’s next anti-doping frontier? ITA study could make rider power data mandatory as Visma, Decathlon and Jayco AlUla join pilot

Cycling’s anti-doping authorities are testing whether riders’ power data can become part of the sport’s official intelligence system, with mandatory sharing potentially introduced for all professional men’s road riders if the project is validated.

The International Testing Agency has launched a two-year feasibility and pilot study into the use of professional cyclists’ power data as a supplementary anti-doping tool. Around 60 riders are already involved across five teams, including Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Decathlon CMA GCM Team, Team Jayco AlUla, Team Picnic PostNL and the Cofidis squad.

The project does not aim to prove doping through power files alone. Instead, it will assess whether long-term performance modelling can help inform targeted testing, sample retention, additional laboratory analysis or investigations.

If the study is validated by the ITA and approved by both the UCI Funding Committee and the UCI Management Committee, UCI regulations would be amended to require mandatory sharing of individual power data with the ITA for all professional men’s road riders.

Power numbers already shape how modern cycling is trained, raced and judged. Teams use them daily to monitor form and manage preparation, while fans, media and experts often lean on watts when debating standout performances in Grand Tours and major one-day races.

The ITA project now asks whether that same information can be used more formally. Researchers are looking at longitudinal performance profiles, focusing on how a rider’s output evolves over time rather than treating one exceptional ride as proof of anything on its own.

A key part of the work is identifying so-called “excess performances”, where an individual rider’s trajectory is assessed against wider trends, age profiles and other relevant factors. The model is designed to examine changes over time, not simply flag a single big number.

That distinction matters in a sport where power files can be shaped by race role, pacing, altitude, heat, drafting, equipment, calibration and device differences. For that reason, power data would sit alongside existing anti-doping tools rather than replacing the Athlete Biological Passport, targeted testing or laboratory analysis.

The riders currently involved are participating voluntarily, with the ITA stating that the project operates under data protection safeguards. Data shared with university research partners is pseudo-anonymised, with performance data accessed without rider identities.

Beyond the five teams already taking part, Uno-X Mobility, Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Team TotalEnergies have approved participation frameworks, with further discussions continuing with other teams.

“We are constantly looking at how to make the cycling anti-doping program smarter and more effective,” said ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen. “Power data has been part of the conversation in cycling for many years. It is one of the sport’s most widely used performance tools, yet until now its potential contribution to anti-doping has remained largely unexplored.”

If approved, the mandatory framework would initially apply to men’s professional road cycling. The same approach could later be considered for the UCI Women’s WorldTour, UCI Continental level and related sports such as triathlon.