The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that ketones do not meet the criteria to be added to the list of prohibited substances, despite the UCI's current recommendation and the Movement for Credible Cycling's (MPCC) call for their ban.

A WADA spokesperson confirmed to Cyclingnews that ketones have never been placed on WADA's watch list, but that their use is being discussed by the List Expert Group.

"'Ketones' are not on WADA's banned list and are not in our monitoring program. However, the ketone status has been discussed by the WADA List Expert Group and is not considered to meet the criteria to be banned.

To be added to WADA's banned list, a product must meet two out of three criteria. That is, it "enhances or has the potential to enhance sports performance," "poses an actual or potential health risk to athletes," or "is contrary to the spirit of the sport."

Speaking to L'Équipe (open in new tab) earlier this week, UCI medical director Xavier Bigard said that "there is no scientific evidence that ketones enhance performance," adding that adding ketones to the list of prohibited substances is "complicated."

UCI announced in September that it would not recommend the use of ketones pending concerns about potential side effects and the commissioning of scientific studies on the properties of ketones. According to Bigard, a call for proposals is expected to be issued by the end of this year.

Cycling News understands that WADA is aware of the UCI's scientific studies and will reconsider the use of ketones if new information regarding their properties becomes available.

A number of riders from the MPCC team have raised concerns about the use of ketones this year, including Thibaut Pinot, Arnaud Demaret, Guillaume Martin, and Romain Bardet. Bardet told Cycling News this week, "I don't know if ketones are right or wrong, if they constitute doping or not, but their use contributes to the feeling that it is done in a gray area, and it is hurting cycling's image."

Meanwhile, MPCC President Roger Lejay disputed the notion that ketones do not improve performance, noting that more and more athletes are using them. He asked, "Why use ketones if they don't improve performance?

WADA confirmed that it received a letter from the MPCC last winter asking that ketones be added to the watch list.

Deceuninck-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma are among the few World Tour teams to publicly confirm their use of ketones. 'Julien Alaphilippe said at the 2019 Tour de France (opens in new tab). 'It's like taking a gel during a race. It's part of my nutrition plan and I work with a nutritionist. It's a supplement."

Davide Formolo told Cycling News that MPCC members are not the only team to refrain from ketones, saying that ketones are not used by UAE Team Emirates, which includes Tour de France winner Tadey Pogachar.

"We as a team do not use ketones. 'From what I've read in the papers, ketones are for fueling, but I don't know if that makes a big difference.'