"I solved the carbon monoxide problem in my team in 30 seconds" - Marc Madiot says cycling shouldn't need to wait for WADA to take action against controversial practices

Groupama - FDJ boss Marc Madiot has long been vocal in his criticism of the use of carbon monoxide in the peloton. With the UCI now officially moving to ban the rebreathing method, the Frenchman cycling teams should regulate themselves when it comes to potentially controversial things such as carbon monoxide usage.

"As a team boss, I solved the carbon monoxide problem in my team in thirty seconds. Thirty seconds to tell my riders and my management: 'We will never touch that'," explains the 65-year-old on the talk show Bistrot Vélo. "We don't need the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to solve this problem. I don't expect anything from WADA. On the other hand, I expect much more from my colleagues."

World leading teams such as Team Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates - XRG were among the reported users of carbon monoxide rebreathing. Despite being confident of his own moral compass being enough to regulate potential controversies, Madiot is less sure about his rivals' teams. "If we count broadly, taking the 'World Tour' and the main 'Conti Pro', there are twenty-five of us team bosses," he notes. "Can the other twenty-four managers - and I know that there are some who say this - say the same thing?"

According to Madiot, there should be a quite simple resolution for teams, like there has been at Groupama - FDJ. "We are the employers, we can order our employees not to use carbon monoxide in any way and in any form whatsoever," he concludes firmly. "How are you going to explain to the public, on the evening of the Tour de France stages, that there may be people who use carbon monoxide?"

As mentioned, the UCI recently took the step to move towards banning the use of carbon monoxide for rebreathing. "To protect the health of riders, the UCI Management Committee approved a ban on the repeated inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). The ban will come into force on 10 February 2025," announced the sport's governing body in a press release.