The International Testing Agency (ITA), the body that conducts drug tests on professional cyclists on behalf of the UCI, has responded to questions from Cycling Weekly about the treatment of Valentina Cavallar, who yesterday took to social media to say that she had been subjected to tests immediately after the death of her mother last month.
The 25-year-old, who has been riding for SD Worx-Protime this season, said she was visited by ITA officials on the day in question, in September, and tested in a room next to where the body of her very recently deceased mother lay.
In the post, Cavallar decried the lack of discretion shown by authorities, and implied that the emotional trauma caused by this event and the way it was handled had played a part in her decision to take some time away from racing.
The Austrian stepped back from racing for “personal and family reasons” after withdrawing from the Tour de France Femmes and subsequently suffering the loss of her mother.
"Riders, especially at international level, are subject to testing regardless of their participation in races in order to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable anti-doping program," explained Marta Nawrocka, Head of Communication at the ITA, responding to questions about the timing of the testing. "This includes both in- and out-of-competition testing."
"In this particular case, the doping control officer was not aware of the athlete’s personal circumstances upon arrival. Once these became apparent, the officer sought to handle the situation with sensitivity and respect, completing the procedure as promptly as possible and in accordance with the applicable anti-doping regulations.
"We fully recognise that this was an exceptionally distressing situation for the athlete and that regulatory compliance alone does not address the human dimension of such circumstances," Nawrocka continued.
"According to the information gathered by the ITA since the rider’s Instagram post of yesterday, Ms Cavallar and her family cooperated fully with the procedure, and no concerns or requests to postpone or discontinue the control were raised at the time or afterwards.
“Faced with an exceptionally sensitive situation, the DCO, with the rider and her family’s support, endeavoured to pursue the procedure as discreetly, respectfully and swiftly as possible.
“We fully recognise that undergoing a doping control in these circumstances has added to her distress experienced at an extraordinarily painful time. We have been in touch with the rider directly and apologised."
The UCI is well within its rights to ask professional riders to supply details of their movements and locations between 6am and 11pm, whether they're competing in a race or not, on the understanding that the ITA can test them at any time.
Out-of-competition testing (OOCT) was heralded as one of the biggest breakthroughs in anti-doping efforts when it came into action in 2004, and athletes involved in all recognised Olympic sports have to conform with OOCT under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, not just cyclists. Testers can take blood and/or urine samples and refusing one can result in the same penalty as a positive test.
In exceptional circumstances, if they have permission from WADA, the ITA they can also target cyclists outside of those hours, as happened during this year's Tour de France, when multiple riders including leader (and eventual winner) Tadej Pogacar and two-time champion and best-placed challenger Jonas Vingegaard were both tested in the middle of the night.