PARIS: Cycling is a pioneer in the fight against doping yet it is unfairly treated, said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.

More than 500 tests will be carried out during this year's race, which starts on Saturday from Monaco, he told Reuters in an interview.

"In this field, cycling is a precursor," he said, noting that the sport was the first to carry out blood tests in 1997 and a detection test for the blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) in 2001.