TT and Ventoux stage-Top 20 on GC to be tested on start line

aurelio_-_banned

Wouldn't that be a great idea? Perhaps then we could all believe in the drama that unfolds and be sure (as long the UCI weren't doing the testing that is...) that no one had taken their haemocrit up to 58% or so for the big day, safe in the knowledge that they could always claim ‘dehydration’ if any after-stage test found something amiss.

Won't happen of course!

Kléber

You got my hopes up there. A start line test, as opposed to those 6am wake up calls the riders "complain" about would be so much more effective, it requires no extra technology or expense.

takethehighroad

Kléber wrote:

You got my hopes up there. A start line test, as opposed to those 6am wake up calls the riders "complain" about would be so much more effective, it requires no extra technology or expense.

I'm sorry, but they've every right to complain at that time. Can you imagine if that happened to a footballer? The drug testers would be laughed out of their job!

aurelio_-_banned

Kléber wrote:

You got my hopes up there.

Sorry about that!

Question is, why don't they do this, or do we know the answer to that already?

iainf72

aurelio wrote:

Question is, why don't they do this, or do we know the answer to that already?

Because it's pointless.

T-Mobile blood doping : Days before important stage
Kohl's confession : 2 days before important stage
Ullrich evidence : Day before important stage

Even the Disco "evidence" from Vaughter / Andreau IM indicates transfusions were done day before important stages.

How's that for a theory then?

Kléber

Iain, the morning tests are too predictable as they allow riders a long time to make themselves present for the tests, time in which some riders have been known to delay and hook up to a saline drip which then takes time to go away. Testing them on the start line would give them less chance to take evasive measures.

The better idea though would be to introduce total body haemoglobin testing, that's the next step.

skavanagh.bikeradar

And for everyone's sanity both should be done at the biggest races as soon as possible. Fairer for everyone.

iainf72

Kléber wrote:

Iain, the morning tests are too predictable as they allow riders a long time to make themselves present for the tests, time in which some riders have been known to delay and hook up to a saline drip which then takes time to go away. Testing them on the start line would give them less chance to take evasive measures.

Wouldn't the only effect of doing start line tests be everyone would use saline drips. They wouldn't really do much other than make sure you dilute yourself down and basically doing the early morning checks has the same effect.

Kléber

Possibly, yes. But imagine a stage like today's or especially a TT: riders would be awash with saline and not getting half the performance enhancements they wanted.

iainf72

Quite.

But you could achieve that by just doing the early morning tests. Moving the location of the test isn't going to change anything. Just doing the tests is enough.

I wish there was some proper information on how it worked.

Agree completely on the total body haemoglobin testing

mididoctors

Kléber wrote:

The better idea though would be to introduce total body haemoglobin testing, that's the next step.

can you explain the how total body haemoglobin testing differs

cheers

Kléber

See here:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/584104

Basically, you can use saline or plasma expanders to fool the haematocrit test but the TBHC test can't be fooled by these methods.

mididoctors

Kléber wrote:

See here:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/584104

Basically, you can use saline or plasma expanders to fool the haematocrit test but the TBHC test can't be fooled by these methods.

cheers

paulcuthbert

So are you guys implying that all riders in the peloton are doping, but covering up with the use of saline drips?

And also, why is this an issue now? So far we've had a clean tour. No positive tests. No dopers. No problems. With the exception of Valverde- but I guess that's still not 100% proven...

richard wants a baum

paulcuthbert wrote:

So are you guys implying that all riders in the peloton are doping, but covering up with the use of saline drips?

And also, why is this an issue now? So far we've had a clean tour. No positive tests. No dopers. No problems. With the exception of Valverde- but I guess that's still not 100% proven...

Yeah because Kohl was totally caught during the tour... oh wait . Valverde is 100% proven his only arguing how the italians got there hands on his blood. You cant botch a DNA positive test. I dont thiyn there saying everyone dopes just a percentage Dont know whether changing the time of the tests will do a hell of a lot, the riders will just adjust what the do. I wonder if we will get a annoucement in the next week that the UCI have some passport news (that we will either never get or it will be some useless bit of PR spin).

paulcuthbert

That's a fairly negative stance on the issue you've got there. But everything you've said has been taken on board.

I have faith in cycling. If I can ride my bike in all weather and love it without getting paid a nickel, then i'm sure getting paid hundreds of thousands for it is just wonderful. Why anyone would give that up for a few extra seconds over a rival by doping is just beyond my understanding. Dopers are stupid- and I really can't see that a large percentage of 200-odd professionals in the peloton would really be that stupid to mess it up for themselves when they've got it really, really good!