The Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) announced that testing had returned to normal levels before racing resumed in late July.

As of June, the number of tests had dropped by about 90% in the first two months following the closure of COVID-19 (open in new tab); from January to the end of August, the CADF collected only half of the samples collected in the same period in 2019, the organization said.

Many players complained about the lack of testing during the COVID-19 lockdown (open in new tab), including Tom Dumoulin, Romain Bardet, and Thibaut Pinot.

"From January 1 to August 31, 2020, more than 5,000 samples were taken," a statement released by the CADF to Reuters reads.

"This is half the number of samples taken during the same period in 2019, which is explained as being due to the cancellation of many UCI events in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

"Furthermore, in 2020, 80% of these samples were collected outside of competitions. Furthermore, for the period from May to August, CADF conducted the same level of testing in 2020 as in 2019, despite a significant decrease in out-of-competition testing following the announcement of the pandemic.

"This indicates that the CADF's out-of-competition inspection program in cycling has returned to normal."

Back in April, Pinot said he had not been inspected since October 2019, but his brother and Groupama-FDJ coach Julien told Reuters that he had not been inspected since the week following the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Dumoulin said he had not been inspected in months, despite filling out a daily presence form, and Bardet said it had been "an eternity" since he was last inspected.

UCI President David Lapartiento revealed in May that the COVID-19 outbreak had reduced anti-doping testing in cycling by 95%; in June, the CADF confirmed that testing had dropped by 90% and that when racing resumes, riders to be tested " He added that he had gathered a "priority list.

In 2021, the CADF will be absorbed into the new Cycling Department of the International Testing Agency (ITA), a multisport agency created by the IOC (open in new tab). This move was made after a protracted political battle between the CADF and the Lappartient.