"Some teams divert its use" - Jonas Vingegaard calls for ban on Carbon Monoxide inhalation over fears of rivals using it for performance enhancing

Cycling
Sunday, 19 January 2025 at 11:00
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Ever since June, the topic of Carbon Monoxide inhalation has revolved around the top cycling teams as a dark shadow of doubt. It's possible use for performance enhancing worries the sport's fans and authorities, as some teams such as Team Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates - XRG have confirmed their use - but for different reasons. However Jonas Vingegaard himself has come out to request this to be banned over the concern that rivals may be using it for performance enhancing.

*NOTE: The veracity of the quotes initially shared by Le Monde may not have portrayed accurately the words of Jonas Vingegaard. Hence, we ask you to first read this article in order to get the full context of what may have happened, and we apologize for any confusion our own may have caused.

But this is a topic where a lot remains in the shadows. Visma, UAE and Israel - Premier Tech are the three teams who were reported to use it, but it has always been argued that it's used as a tool to measure fitness gains during altitude training camps.

In words to Le Monde, the Dane explained once again how the Dutch team claims to use it: "My team uses carbon monoxide to measure blood volume and total hemoglobin mass. We inhale the monoxide a first time, before doing an altitude training camp. At the end of it, we repeat the operation to calculate our maximum oxygen absorption capacity," or as it's more commonly known, the VO2Max.

However, such statement relies on confidence, which for many fans is not too high taking into consideration the incredible climbing performances from several riders in the peloton over the last few years, including Vingegaard himself. The UCI is currently pressuring the World Anti-Doping Agency to make a decision on the use of carbon monoxide, over the obvious risks it can potentially carry to the riders that use it.

Taken in small doses, it has been highly suggested that it could improve the riders' ability to increase their VO2Max, increasing the body's ability to turn oxygen into energy, and so be able to put out more power. Vingegaard himself has been asked about this subject several times since the Tour de France, but he hints at being concerned over the misdoing of rivals who may take advantage of the method.

"Some teams divert its use by regularly inhaling low doses of carbon monoxide, which causes a significant gain in performance of their riders," he states. And the Dane outright supports the ban of his method over these concerns. "This is not fair and the World Anti-Doping Agency should ban it."

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