Dane Jonas Vingegaard, double winner of the Tour de France, wants the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to ban the use of carbon monoxide which, when diverted, improves runners’ performance.
Does carbon monoxide, used by certain teams, represent a danger? In an interview given to Mondethe Dane Jonas Vingegaard has officially positioned himself against the repeated use of this until now dangerous but legal product. While admitting to having inhaled it several times for medical examinations.
“My team uses carbon monoxide to measure blood volume and total hemoglobin mass,” explains the 28-year-old runner. “We inhale the monoxide for the first time, before completing an altitude training course. -Here, we repeat the operation to calculate our maximum oxygen absorption capacity.
A diverted product
During the 2024 edition of the Tour de France, the specialized site Escape collective had revealed thatat least three teams had resorted to inhaling carbon monoxide for medical purposes. However, in the event of repeated use, the product can be diverted to create artificial hypoxia by recreating the effects of an effort at altitude, which could be compared to a doping practice.
-The double winner of the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023 says stop this “unfair” practice: “Some teams divert its use by regularly inhaling low doses of carbon monoxide, which causes a significant gain in performance in their races. The World Anti-Doping Agency should ban it.”
On December 12, the International Cycling Union (UCI) called on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to comment on this subject. The UCI could also make decisions regarding carbon monoxide at its next steering committee, which is due to meet January 31 and 1is next February.
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