Doping drug gives no edge to serious cyclists in study

[TomSea]

Doping drug gives no edge to serious cyclists in study
CARLA K. JOHNSON | AP | Published — Thursday 29 June 2017

The blood booster at the heart of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal does not improve real-world cycling performance, according to the most rigorous study yet of how the protein EPO affects athletes.

The results, published Thursday in the journal Lancet Haematology , may convince some to pay more attention to the harms of supposed performance-enhancing drugs by punching holes in the myths surrounding them, researchers said.

Dutch scientists staged a bike race up a mountain to study whether erythropoietin (EPO) lives up to its reputation, transporting a large group of avid cyclists to southern France in a tour bus and putting on a grueling day of cycling for them.

“It was hectic and stressful, but also a lot of fun and exhilarating,” said Jules Heuberger of the Center for Human Drug Research in Leiden, Netherlands, who led the effort and describes himself as “an active, fanatic cyclist.”

Previous studies of EPO in sports have been flawed, Heuberger said. Participants weren’t trained athletes, knew they were getting EPO, or testing was limited to short bursts of strength and endurance.

EPO is among more than 300 substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Cycling’s anti-doping unit is again gearing up for comprehensive testing at this year’s Tour de France, planning an average of eight tests per day, always including the race leader and winner of each stage, plus six others. The race starts Saturday in Duesseldorf, Germany.

Continued: www.arabnews.com/node/1122176/sports

I don't agree but if this proves to be true, it is rather significant.

[jmyrlefuller]

Yeah, it means, if Armstrong gained no competitive advantage from the doping, he has a strong case to get his awards back.

[TomSea]

This is an AP story despite the source link. Anyway, the last paragraph seems crucial:

Robin Parisotto, an Australian sports scientist who helped develop a test to detect EPO, said he commended the researchers’ motives. But scientists can’t ethically investigate high, dangerous doses with human subjects so it may be impossible to mimic real sports doping, Parisotto said in an e-mail. EPO does “provide a very powerful benefit” in shorter events such as 400-meter or 800-meter races, he said.
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So, the test subjects likely did not take 'dangerous' large doses.

[goodwithagun]

Thread highjack: I'm okay with pro athletes taking FDA approved supplements; aka, supplements that any person can legally purchase. Thanks to modern tech, there's no such thing as purity of the game. Additionally, I can use legal methods to "up my game" at work so why shouldn't pro athletes?