Opiate-based painkiller 'ten times stronger than Tramadol' not banned, worries cycling's authorities

An opiate-based painkiller "ten times" stronger than Tramadol, which is yet to be banned, is raising concerns within the UCI and the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), according to a report by Swiss newspaper Le Temps.

Tapentadol was raised at a meeting of the Professional Cycling Council last month, according to Le Temps, with cycling's governing body, the UCI, apparently worried about its use within professional cycling.

The UCI asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at the end of last year for Tapentadol to be added to its monitoring programme, with a view to eventually banning the substance altogether, a request that was reportedly approved. It was previously on WADA's monitoring programme from 2013 to 2016.

It is similar to the process followed in banning Tramadol, which was widely used in cycling before it was banned from 2019, before it was actually on WADA's banned list. It was banned by WADA in January this year.

Tramadol was found to increase time trial performance by 1.3% in "highly trained" cyclists, according to a study in 2023. Tapentadol is reportedly "ten times stronger".

The drug was developed by  German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal in the 1980s, before being approved in the US in 2008 and in Europe in 2010. It is a Class A drug in the UK, in the same category as morphine and heroin.

The painkiller was discussed in the Professional Cycling Council meeting on May 29. Le Temps quoted the minutes of the meeting: "The UCI expressed their concerns for a new substance called Tapentadol, which may possibly be used as a replacement for Tramadol. More analysis is needed but if used it is believed to be ten times stronger than Tramadol"

The MPCC's president, Roger Legeay, told Le Temps that his organisation has written to WADA to call for the prohibition of Tapentadol, as it similarly opposed Tramadol before it was banned

"It took us twelve years to get Tramadol banned. This time, we hope that the authorities will be quicker," Legeay said.

"Healthy athletes have no need to resort to therapeutic products of this nature. Furthermore, it should be stressed that analgesics reduce or eliminate pain, which is a performance-enhancing factor."

MPCC teams were not allowed to use Tramadol even before it was on the UCI's banned list. Only eight of 18 men's WorldTour teams are part of the MPCC: Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Bora-Hansgrohe, Cofidis, Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, dsm-firmenich PostNL, EF Edcuation-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ and Intermarché-Wanty. Four Women's WorldTour teams are members: dsm, FDJ-Suez, Human Powered Health and Uno-X Mobility.