Opioids are typically associated with the deadly fentanyl overdose epidemic. Yet at the highest level of international pro cycling, competitors often numb their pain with a controversial opioid called tramadol despite dangerous risks.
On January 1, 2019, the international cycling federation added tramadol to its list of banned substances in the sport. It is the first time in the history of the Union Cycliste Internationale that it has banned a substance allowed in competition by the embattled World Anti-Doping Agency. Tramadol was placed on WADA's monitoring list in 2012, but has still not been banned.
In 2017, WADA's monitoring program found that 61% of the positive samples for tramadol among all sports occurred in cycling. In total, 548 samples from cyclists revealed the presence of tramadol at significant levels.
The persistence of tramadol use among cyclists was part of what persuaded UCI to make the move.
"A ban on tramadol should not need discussion," says Xavier Bigard, the UCI medical director. "The UCI (ban) is strictly for medical reasons, to keep athletes in cycling healthy."
