New figures from the Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible show a continued decline in professional positives, but the integrity body warns of rising concerns at Continental and amateur levels.
Professional cycling recorded 20 doping cases in 2025, marking a continued decline from recent years, according to figures published by the Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible (MPCC).
The total represents a decrease from 29 cases made public in 2022 and contributes to what the organisation describes as a broader stabilisation in anti-doping outcomes at the top tier of the sport.
Cycling was ranked tenth among sports globally for doping and sports fraud cases last year, according to the MPCC’s annual ‘Credibility Figures’, placing it behind athletics, weightlifting, and tennis.
While the data suggests that professional cycling is no longer among the most affected disciplines, the MPCC cautioned against complacency. The body reiterated that the sport must remain vigilant, particularly as anti-doping scrutiny shifts from headline-grabbing positives at WorldTour level to emerging risks lower down the pyramid.
Continental level under scrutiny
Of the 20 professional cases recorded in 2025, nine occurred at ‘continental level’, effectively cycling’s third division. The MPCC highlighted this concentration as a point of concern, arguing that the integrity of elite competition depends on clean development pathways.
The organisation also referenced wider amateur-level enforcement. In Colombia, 25 riders were serving bans or provisional suspensions as of mid-December 2025, more than half of whom were competing in amateur or semi-professional structures. The cluster underscores ongoing disparities in anti-doping oversight between regions and tiers of the sport.
Ensuring that professional cycling remains credible, the MPCC argued, requires sustained attention to its grassroots structures, particularly as athletes are identified and recruited at increasingly younger ages. The professionalisation of training, nutrition and performance monitoring at junior levels has accelerated, raising governance questions around supervision and medical practices.
WorldTour biological passport case
Despite the overall downward trend, 2025 saw the suspension of a WorldTour rider for the first time in two years. The athlete, who was not affiliated with the MPCC and competed for a team outside the movement, was sanctioned following anomalies detected through the biological passport system.
The biological passport, a cornerstone of cycling’s anti-doping framework, monitors athletes’ blood values over time to identify suspicious variations rather than relying solely on direct positive tests. Its continued use has been central to cycling’s efforts to rebuild credibility following high-profile scandals in previous decades.
‘Grey areas’ and medicalisation
Beyond traditional doping cases, the MPCC renewed its concerns about what it describes as “grey areas” in performance enhancement. The organisation has previously taken public positions on substances and practices not initially covered by anti-doping lists but deemed problematic from a health or ethical perspective.
Tramadol, once considered a permissible pain-management tool within the peloton, was campaigned against by the MPCC before eventually being added to the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). More recently, the movement has criticised the widespread use of certain painkillers and raised questions about ketone supplementation.
In 2025, the repeated inhalation of carbon monoxide was prohibited by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), with WADA extending the ban across all sports from 2026. The MPCC cited this development as evidence that early intervention on emerging practices can translate into formal regulatory change.
Although relatively few WorldTour riders have tested positive in recent seasons, the organisation stated that the absence of cases should not be interpreted as proof that the elite level is entirely free from risk. Instead, it argued for continuous evaluation of anti-doping effectiveness, particularly as medical and performance technologies evolve.
The MPCC’s annual update also touched on broader issues linked to what it terms “credible cycling”, including rider health, race safety and the rapid growth of women’s cycling. The organisation referenced the financial commitments required to sustain anti-doping controls, including budgets allocated to the International Testing Agency, which oversees testing in professional races.
For stakeholders across teams, race organisers and national federations, the figures provide a data point in an ongoing governance narrative. After decades in which cycling was synonymous with doping scandals, the sport’s relative position among global doping statistics has shifted.
