The Movement for Reliable Cycling (MPCC) has expressed concern about the low number of anti-doping tests conducted in 2020 as a result of restrictions imposed by the coronavirus outbreak. According to the organization, this year's 12 doping cases in all men's and women's cycling events is close to the normal level of testing data for the past five years, suggesting that there may be more undetected doping than in previous years.

According to the MPCC, the 12 positive doping cases in cycling (9 road (including 2 WorldTeams), 1 BMX, 1 mountain bike, and 1 track) were recorded between January 1, 2020 and October 1, 2020.

The Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) reported a 90% decrease in out-of-competition inspections in the first two months of the COVID-19 epidemic compared to the same period in 2019.

In May, UCI President David Lapartient had put the figure as high as 95 percent: "The anti-doping situation is quite severe and with many countries closed, it has been quite difficult to continue the testing program.

"Compared to normal, we were able to implement less than 5 percent," Lapartiento told the media, including Cycling News.

However, the CADF announced in September that testing had returned to normal levels before racing resumed in late July after the coronavirus "shutdown."

"The global coronavirus outbreak was a serious obstacle to the anti-doping fight this year. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), through its Director General Olivier Niggli, acknowledged a few days ago that the pandemic may have created "holes" in the anti-doping programs of some countries.

"In all sports, the number of cases is logically lower than in previous years. There is one notable exception: athletics, where almost 100 cases have been revealed through the first three quarters of 2020 (81 cases for the full year of 2019)."

"Within the same period, cycling had to deal with a dozen cases (two within WorldTeams) - a lower number than the same period last year, but still very close to the data of the last five years. This last observation is a source of great concern for the MPCC, given the low number of inspections in 2020.

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