The Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible (MPCC) has sought to clarify its cortisol controls, after four teams quit the organisation in protest over the tests. The MPCC is keen to stress that there is no minimum standard level for cortisol, a stress hormone, and that the test is designed to protect a rider’s health rather than detect potential doping.

‘There is no normal lower figure’, read the 2014 MPCC cortisol testing document. ‘This depends on the apparatus and kit used. Irrespective of the apparatus, it is compliant with the rules validated by the accreditation and satisfies legal obligations. Each time the apparatus is used will be specified, together with the figures for the normal lower and upper limits.’

It is understood that this statement is intended to highlight that people’s cortisol levels are different, and that ‘safe’ upper and lower limits vary depending on the person, and the apparatus used. ‘In the event that plasma cortisol levels are below normal (that is to say, below the lower limit of the apparatus performing the test), the cyclist will be required to rest’, continues the document. ‘He will not be permitted to start the next stage. He will be allowed to return to racing after at least eight days rest, once his plasma cortisol level has returned to normal.’

The MPCC also released statements from Dr. Jonathan Ownby, a endocrinologist. His statement argues that only testing cortisol levels in the morning is not sufficient, and that low cortisol levels can indicate external administration of glucocorticoids, which can lower natural cortisol levels, which can seriously damage the health of riders. A second statement from endocrinologists Martin Duclos, Yves Le Bouc, and Michel Guinot supports the view that the external administration of a glucocorticoid can reduce the secretion of cortisol, leading to lower cortisol levels that can cause adrenal insufficiency (AI), which would be a dangerous condition for a professional road cyclist.

Since 2009, 1,467 cortisol tests have been carried out, resulting in eight cases involving the MPCC. Four of these MPCC cases occurred during 2015, as the above infographic shows. Lamper-Merida quit the MPCC in in March after having issues over Chris Horner’s cortisol levels in 2014. Bardiani-CSF and Team LottoNL-Jumbo both quit the MPCC in June this year after issues involving cortisol levels. Team LottoNL-Jumbo argued that George Bennett had been unjustly pulled out of the Giro d’Italia, alleging that the MPCC’s cortisol tests are not accurate. Bardiani-CSF ignored the MPCC’s request to not enter a rider in the Giro d’Italia due to low cortisol levels. Astana was suspended from the MPCC on 6 July after it allowed Lars Boom to start the Tour de France, despite low cortisol levels.