The Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) has suggested that the number of doping cases in cycling during 2019 has increased sharply compared to the previous six years. Using its credibility barometer, the organization has determined that the number of incidents has nearly doubled in one year, and has issued a warning.

"Since we created the reliability barometer six years ago, cycling numbers have never been more alarming," the MPCC wrote in a statement on its website.

"A year ago, we wrote that the doping data for cycling did not suggest a medium-term trend, unlike other sports where increasing numbers of cases were revealed year after year.

"This year we note a clear disconnect with the recent past. This sharp increase was observed equally in men's and women's cycling, whether track cycling or road cycling (all things considered). Cycling, which had continued to plummet on the list of sports most affected by doping, rose again from 13th to 5th place in just one year"

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Athletics topped the list with 81 doping incidents, followed by weightlifting with 78, baseball with 61, and American football with 42. Cycling was fifth with 32 cases (26 for men and 6 for women). Of these 32, 24 were road cycling, four were MTB, three were track, and one was BMX.

In 2019, the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Agency raided a clinic in Erfurt, Germany, following the Nordic Ski World Championships, resulting in an "Operation Adelrath" ("bloodletting" in English) investigation into a blood doping ring.

As part of that investigation, there were seven known cases of cyclists (six men and one woman), including Georg Preidler and fellow Austrian Stefan Denifle, who confessed their involvement in Operation Adelrath.

"This police operation, conducted in close collaboration with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) investigators, alone cannot explain the surge in the number of violations," the MPCC said in a statement.

"Furthermore, we are reminded that doping can fly in the face of all teams, including those committed to the MPCC, and we are working closely with the MPCC to ensure that all teams are given the opportunity to take action against doping.

The MPCC, an association of teams, riders, races, and sponsors working together to oppose doping in professional cycling, said there are two hypotheses used as explanations for the increase in doping cases in 2019: first, a renewed interest in doping, second, more targeted doping testing.

The MPCC recently asked the UCI to implement blood testing closer to the start and finish of races to combat what they describe as "doping mafia protocols" that operate outside of normal team formation. They suspect that athletes are somehow evading detection by giving blood transfusions in the morning and taking blood samples immediately after the race.

The association's request for improved blood testing was prompted by information provided by Pridler after Operation Adelrath.

The MPCC also asked the UCI to conduct more out-of-competition blood testing when riders are away from the race and potentially taking blood for future transfusions. They also called for testing the plastic of blood samples for potential transfusions and to investigate the use of the supposedly banned performance-enhancing substance AICAR (an experimental drug) powder in the drinks at the end of stages.

The UCI said it "fully shares the MPCC's concerns" in response to the Adelas operation and vowed to explore new anti-doping strategies.

"The International Cycling Union (UCI), which is regularly recognized by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other organizations for its commitment to the fight against doping, fully shares the MPCC's concerns.