Guillaume Martin: The big question is this grey area of ketones

Guillaume Martin has added his voice to the call for action on ketone use in the peloton, joining fellow French riders Romain Bardet and Arnaud Démare in raising concerns over the so-called 'miracle drink'.

The teams of all three riders, Cofidis, DSM and Groupama-FDJ, are members of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) who agree to not use ketones to aid performance. Meanwhile, non-members are free to use the product which is currently legally permitted by the UCI.

For Martin, he is hopeful that heavy doping no longer exists in cycling but that grey areas such as the use of ketones need to be straightened out to make the peloton more of a level playing field for everyone.

"I don't think, and hope, that there is heavy doping in cycling right now," Martin told Cyclism'Actu, "but the big question is more about these grey areas because ketones are not something that are banned today. The question is, should they be? Personally, I do not take them and my team is part of the MPCC, which prohibits their use. 

"Moreover, even before the MPCC took position, I had forbidden myself to take them. So I am obviously in favour of banning them for reasons of fairness. Afterwards, it's up to the UCI to position itself. I don't have all the evidence or all the scientific data on the effectiveness or real danger of ketones."

In the weeks leading up to this summer's Tour de France the MPCC criticised the lack of progress being made by cycling's governing bodies on determining an official stance on ketone use.

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"These questions of doping or two-speed cycling come up often in conversations," Martin continued. "Me, I forbid myself to think about it. Already there is nothing I can do about it, and then I have nothing that allows me to say anything. 

"Personally, I just want to focus on my job and what I'm doing. There is one important thing in life, and that is the presumption of innocence. I assume that until something is proven about someone, I am not going to judge or attack them. So I focus on myself, I don't pass judgment and I try to do my best."