Tadej Pogačar has likened the frequency of his anti-doping testing regimen to routine grocery shopping, describing the checks as a standard part of his professional cycling routine. Speaking about the constant oversight governing modern cycling, the three-time Tour de France champion noted that testing has become deeply embedded in his daily life as an athlete competing at the elite level.
The Slovenian star, who races for UAE Team Emirates, addressed the mechanics of anti-doping controls during a media appearance, offering an unvarnished look at the logistical reality of life in the peloton. According to cycling regulations overseen by the International Testing Agency (ITA) and national anti-doping organizations, elite riders must submit detailed whereabouts information daily and remain accessible for out-of-competition sampling 365 days a year.
“It has become as common as going to the supermarket,” Pogačar remarked when discussing the steady stream of testers arriving at his home or training camps. The remarks highlight an administrative reality that defines the sport’s upper echelon, where blood and urine samples are collected with high regularity regardless of whether athletes are actively competing in UCI WorldTour events or resting in the off-season.
Cycling remains one of the most rigorously tested sports globally, operating under the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) framework introduced by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The ABP tracks biological markers over time rather than relying solely on single-sample threshold tests, requiring riders to provide frequent biological data points to establish a longitudinal profile. For a rider of Pogačar’s stature—having secured multiple Grand Tour victories, monuments, and world titles—the frequency of controls scales directly with his calendar of victories and top-tier status.
The anti-doping apparatus in professional cycling involves unannounced visits from independent collection officers at all hours. Riders must log their exact locations for a designated 60-minute window every day, and failure to be present or reachable during that window can result in a missed test. Three missed tests or filing failures within a 12-month period constitute an anti-doping rule violation carrying potential suspensions.
As Pogačar prepares for his upcoming racing schedule, the logistical cadence of blood vials, urine containers, and digital whereabouts updates remains an uninterrupted parallel to his physical preparation on the bike. The system, designed to protect the integrity of the sport, operates as a silent machinery running continuously behind the scenes of every podium ceremony and breakaway.
Worth a look
