JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Tests for banned substances will be more stringent than ever for the upcoming Winter Olympics, the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) president said on Tuesday.

Athletes will undergo 1,269 pre-competition tests - over 400 more than the Vancouver Games - while total tests will increase by almost 300 to 2,453, said the IOC's Thomas Bach.

"We shall be smarter and tougher in our fight against doping than at any previous Olympic Winter Games," he told delegates at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg.

Bach, who replaced Jacques Rogge as Olympic chief in September, supported more stringent bans for athletes caught doping.

"I strongly argued for a lifetime ban, even for a first doping offence," he said, adding that he eventually realised such bans were unworkable.

Global sports leaders will this week ratify a revised anti-doping code that doubles bans for intentional doping culprits from two to four years.

This automatically excludes them from the next Olympics.