As each stage finishes, samples taken from between six and eight riders will be helicoptered back to Paris for rapid testing using gas and liquid chromatography and mass spectrometery
Agilent Technologies and France's Paris-based Laboratoire National de Depistage du Dopage (LNDD) have reported their readiness to meet the drug-testing challenges of the Tour de France, which will begin in the French west-coast village of Fromentine on Saturday 2 July 2005.
With media interest building worldwide around this year's race, LNDD will provide 24-hour turnaround on the test results of 180-plus samples taken from race leaders and other competitors selected at random.
As each stage finishes, the samples will be helicoptered back to Paris from more than 20 locations around the race route for rapid testing.
"Doping chemists have become very clever at devising new agents.
"That is why LNDD needs to use the most current technology and tools that will operate at the highest levels of accuracy," said Professor Jacques de Ceaurriz, director, Laboratoire National de Depistage du Dopage.
LNDD relies on high-precision equipment provided by Agilent - gas and liquid chromatographs and mass spectrometers that provide a chemical fingerprint for each of the banned substances on the regularly updated list provided by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Drug testing in sports is now a global industry: in 2004, the 32 Wada accredited doping control laboratories processed almost 170,000 samples.
Agilent's testing equipment is used intensively in all of the 50 doping control centres worldwide.
These facilities provide support to key sporting industry bodies and competitions including the International Olympics Committee, Fifa World Cup Football, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympics, the USA National Games, the East Asian Games, the Pan American Games as well as the Amaury Sport Organisation and the International Union of Cycling for the 2005 Tour de France.
"Drug testing in sports is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest attempts to cheat the system," said Stuart Cram, worldwide business development manager for Agilent's life sciences and chemical analysis business.
"We continue to develop faster, more sensitive, more accurate instruments and methodologies for scientists in the testing labs, who really have to perform in the spotlight - just like the athletes themselves".
Between six and eight riders will be tested each day of the Tour.
Two samples will be taken from each rider.
A positive result from any sample will be double-checked against the second.
Samples will be coded and secured from tampering by a well established 'chain of custody' process.
When completed, all results will be passed on to the race authorities.
In addition to providing support for the Tour de France, LNDD supports the drug-testing needs of French regional sporting competitions and of international sporting competitions that take place on French soil.
On average, it processes some 9,000 samples each year and provides support to competitions taking place in Luxembourg, Monaco and Tahiti.
