'We're 100% against this' - Adam Hansen outlines CPA's power data passport stance

CPA president Adam Hansen has said that the riders’ union is firmly opposed to efforts to introduce a power data passport in professional cycling. 

On the eve of last year’s Tour de France, the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced that it was developing a “longitudinal performance monitoring tool based on power data from men professional road cyclists.”

Speaking to the Domestique Hotseat podcast, Hansen revealed that riders from four teams are currently involving in voluntary testing for the programme. He highlighted his concerns about the development, which he believes to be very different to the existing biological passport.

“What they’re testing this year is power data,” Hansen said. “The riders have to submit all the power data, and then they’ll go through it all. If they see things that are irregular, then they'll do more target testing or maybe in the future this could also mean a sanction [in itself]. 

“Now they’re only testing it this year with four teams and the CPA’s position is very clear: we’re 100% against this and so are the riders.

“Ok, it’s only a test. it’s only voluntary, but my question is, ‘What happens if the rider does not submit his power data?’ And they [the ITA] are like, ‘Ah, but it’s just a test.’”

In Hansen’s view, there are practical issues with the power data, ranging from missing or malfunctioning powermeters to variables such as altitude to the thorny question of how to interpret the data received. 

“With your blood, it remains very consistent, so the biological passport is not a bad idea,” Hansen said. “The problem with the power data is how do they know what the riders are doing? What if your coach tells you to ride 80% for three weeks and then he says tomorrow you’re going to ride 120% for a shorter period. Without knowing the training programme given by the coach, how do they know what the rider is doing? And they’re creating baseline for the athlete off that easy zone, but that’s not the true baseline.

“And if your Garmin falls off, which happens sometimes, and you can’t upload your files, or if your Garmin’s flat, does that mean you can’t go training? There’s so many factors where a rider just won’t have his training data – and if he can’t submit it, is that a missed control? 

“Because a missed test is very severe, and this just adds to the extra stress for the athletes. To me, it’s just getting too much. And that’s why you see these younger guys are just burning out. They can't survive.”

Listen to the full Hotseat podcast with Adam Hansen👇