AFP reports: UCI to include Tramadol in banned substances list from 2019

Sep 30 2018 01:37 am CET

Photo by Jonathan Roorda / CyclingPub.com

The Union Cycliste Internationale has included Tramadol in the list of doping substances. The cycling governing body took the decision after considering it for several months and several requests from teams and experts.Tramadol is an opioid pain medication that is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. The medication is on the monitoring list of the World Anti-Doping Organisation (WADA) but it's not forbidden.After experts and teams have been pressing the UCI on the matter, the governing body has decided to ban the medication from 2019, reports the French news agency AFP. The use of this substance has been linked to feelings of dizziness that may cause crashes in the peloton.The UCI has taken the decision independently from the WADA. "We asked WADA to work together with us," said UCI's president David Lappartient to AFP. "But I got the feeling that their support on this matter is not too big.""It is a substance that is not forbidden by the WADA but it is in its monitoring list. Globally is a problem that is increasing. 2/3 of the detected Tramadol comes from random checks on cyclists."The riders that take the substance are less susceptible to pain, which makes it easier to push themselves to the extreme. The Movement for a Credible Cycling (MPCC) has an imposed a ban on Tramadol for the teams and riders that have decided to be part of it.