Originally Posted by Smoothie104

In 2000 US Postal was filmed throwing away empty vials of injectable Actovegin. Here the basic timeline:

Postal denies throwing away anything etc.

It was not a banned substance, and Team Captain Lance Armstrong said he had never heard of it, and was unable to pronounce it. Calling it Acto something etc...

Later it is revealed that the Team did bring it into France with them, Team Manager Mark Gorski (see notes at bottom) said it was for treating skin abrasions, and to treat a staff member who had diabetes (skin ulcers) There are two holes in this story, 1st nycomed made a cream for the skin abrasions, but postal was tossing out vials of injectable solution. 2nd the Alleged diabetic was never identified.

No one really knew what it was for, even the manufactures was vauge, it apparently helped oxygen uptake in tissue, but some said yes, some said no, some mentioned that plenty of racers give doctors money for stuff that does nothing. Maybe its placebo etc.... Its not approved by the USDA for use on humans anyway.

But Thanks to Postals sloppy disposal, it was added to the banned substance list, then debated over, and almost removed, becuase no one really knew what it was.

Then some Olympic Swimmers were caught with it, but they werent diabetic, and they didnt get road rash.

Then it turned up more often in cycling raids, Jesus Manzano mentioned it in his tell all as well. But by then, everyone was worried about EPO etc..

Lance puts in his book that its not a doping product.

And now today, when you type Actovegin into google, you find out that it in fact does speed up oxygen absorbtion, elevates the utilization of glucose, and decreases the formation of lactic acid. It is prescibed now for people who don't get enough oxygen flow to their brain, cerebral hypoxia.

I'd say thats a doping product of substantial worth.

If its not illegal (becuase its unknown) is it doping?


(Gorski was a member of the 1984 Olympic Cycling team, which openly blood doped, as it was unethical, but not illegal at that time. Gorski won gold in the 1000m Sprint, whether he transfused or not, I have no idea)