A few days ago, the MPCC anti-doping movement published a statement about the status of Tramadol for next season and claimed that it had been banned by WADA. MPCC member teams accept regulations that are tougher than WADA’s own rules. 

"Tramadol will be added to the list of substances prohibited in competition from January 1, 2016. This was a long standing request by MPCC to WADA", Sporza quotes Lotto-Soudal doctor Servaas Bingé as saying. "At the request of the MPCC WADA has done two to three years of investigation into the use of Tramadol and its link with the large number of crashes.

"Based on that examination, it indicates that Tramadol is still used occasionally. We can not deny that a medication with a sedative side effect increases the risk of falls. WADA puts the product from next year on the doping list and hopes that the number of crashes decreases."

However, WADA has denied the informastion. "Tramadol has been included in the Monitoring Program since 2012. The number of samples containing tramadol is significant and the very large majority of them originate from cyclists. These figures, however, are the result of less than 2 years of monitoring. Therefore, before considering further reviewing the status of tramadol, the List Expert Group has decided to monitor its use for another year to collect more reliable data. In parallel, the Expert Group recommended to WADA to further discuss this issue with the cycling authorities as well as from the physicians treating the riders to try to better understand the reasons for using and the risks of abusing tramadol."