Power Passport: A New Tool to Combat Doping in Cycling

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is currently trialling a new longitudinal performance monitoring tool based on power data from male professional road riders, known as a “power passport,” which aims to detect potential doping through irregularities in athletes’ power output data.

The scheme was quietly announced a few days before the start of the 2025 Tour de France and requires athletes to submit all their power data for scrutiny by the International Testing Agency (ITA). According to Adam Hansen, head of the professional riders’ union (CPA), riders are “100 per cent against” the use of such a system.

Hansen expressed these concerns while speaking on the Domestique Hotseat podcast, stating that while the scheme is being trialled on a voluntary basis, he sees numerous unresolved issues. These include the potential for power meters and bike computers to malfunction or run out of battery mid-ride, as well as the natural variation in riders’ training plans and power output throughout a season.

“This just adds to the extra stress for the athletes. To me, it’s just getting too much,” Hansen said, highlighting the psychological burden the system could place on riders already under pressure.

The ITA believes that data from power meters could help target potential cheats, with Hansen noting that if irregularities are detected, it could lead to more targeted testing or, in the future, potential sanctions.

However, Hansen questions what would happen if riders fail to submit their power data—whether intentionally or due to technical issues such as a broken, lost, or dead bike computer—warning that this could be interpreted as a missed control.

Additional concerns raised by riders and team trainers include the impact of equipment changes (such as switching from Shimano to SRAM cranks), altitude training, and indoor versus outdoor training, all of which can introduce variances into a power profile that might be mistaken for doping signals.

Hansen, who is president of the CPA riders group, fears that requiring riders to submit training files would add further pressure to a peloton already pushing toward burnout, especially if riders cannot upload data due to technical failures.

The UCI’s anti-doping crackdown has already led to a handful of suspensions in the past six months, but the power passport concept remains controversial among professionals who argue it lacks sufficient context to provide a reliable picture of an athlete’s performance.

As of April 23, 2026, the trial of the power passport system continues amid significant resistance from the professional cycling community, which maintains that the technology is not yet robust enough to serve as a credible anti-doping tool.