Providing an accurate means of measuring key blood values such as haemoglobin (a protein that facilities the movement of oxygen in red blood cells), several pro squads have confirmed that they use CO rebreathers to track their riders’ progress during red blood cell boosting altitude training camps.
UCI (The International Cycling Federation) feels that the method is accpetable but Vingegaard encourages WADA to ban it.
"My team uses carbon monoxide to measure blood volume and the total amount of haemoglobin. We inhale carbon monoxide once before going to altitude training camp. At the end of the camp, we repeat the procedure to calculate our maximum absorption capacity in relation to oxygen", says Jonas Vingegaard to the French newspaper Le Monde from the team's training camp in the north from Alicante.
"But some teams abuse the method by regularly inhaling small doses of carbon monoxide, which leads to a significant performance improvement. It's not fair and the World Anti-Doping Agency should ban it", says Vingegaard.
In the article, Jonas Vingegaard does not elaborate on which teams he refers to. It was the media Escape Collective who revealed that several teams and riders used the method during this summer's Tour de France