"It's rare for a great rider of his level to speak out and take a stand" - Marc Madiot praises Jonas Vingegaard after calls for Carbon Monoxide ban

The topic of Carbon Monoxide and its potential misuse in the peloton continues to cause discussion. One of the most outspoken opponents of the controversial method has long been Groupama - FDJ boss Marc Madiot and the Frenchman has been left delighted by Jonas Vingegaard's recent comments calling for a ban.

"Some teams divert its use by regularly inhaling low doses of carbon monoxide, which causes a significant gain in performance of their riders. This is not fair and the World Anti-Doping Agency should ban it," Vingegaard reportedly told Le Monde recently, although Team Visma | Lease a Bike themselves has since questioned the quotes, calling them "clearly a misinterpretation and confusion between languages," to Ekstra Bladet.

Nevertheless, Groupama - FDJ boss Madiot remains to delighted to see the topic thrust into the spotlight once again by such a prominent pro rider as the two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard. "That's very good, I would like to congratulate him because it's rare for a great rider of his level to speak out and take a stand, especially in this area," the experienced French team boss says in conversation with Eurosport.fr. "And the fact that he spoke out, I think that's good. Whether he used it or not, that's not the problem. What matters is that people don't use it anymore or don't use it. I appreciated his speech."

"It must be banned, I have been saying so for several months. I sent a message to David Lappartient who had read it at the World Tour general meeting. Let's be smart: if we all say together, we'll stop this thing, that's it, period," Madiot continues, certain that the UCI will indeed move to ban the usage of carbon monoxide. "Lappartient will put it in the regulations to prohibit it. He will put it in the regulations: it is forbidden to use it. There is a general assembly of the UCI in Liévin, we will talk about it. Control is something else. But first of all, it is forbidden, officially forbidden. Then there is the ITA (International Testing Agency, ed.) which conducts investigations and goes into the field. So they can also intervene, but David Lappartient told me that he was going to ban it."

"I'm sorry but you don't make cyclists breathe gas, it's nonsense. No and no, that's it. Imagine if we let this kind of thing happen. The public sees the guys on TV and in the evening they know that they're going to breathe carbon monoxide, it's a lethal gas!" Madiot concludes. "What message are we sending? That's why I'm telling you that what Vingegaard did was right. I prefer Vingegaard speaking out to the silence of others."