Designer drugs are God
 

The Tour de Dope rolls on..

So EPO is a designer drug?

My title was sarcasm. I recently heard an NPR report about just how difficult it is to detect doping in athletes these days because of the infinite numbers of "designer doping compounds" that are out there. The NPR reporter on the doping story said that testers have to have the appropriate test(s) for the specific doping drug being used, and that is getting harder every year to keep up with cheaters as "designer" variations are constantly under development.

Epo
 

EPO will fall by the wayside soon Amgen will quit making it completely soon. I work in the dialysis industry. (the bread and butter customer of EPO..due to the fact that ALL dialysis pts are on EPO or the newer Aranesp). EPO use in the medical industry is really tapering off due to the next Generation of medication called Aranesp. (darbepoetin) Aranesp works MUCH MUCH better at rasing HCT of our pts and it only needs to be taken once per week as opposed to every Treatment with EPO. Aranesp stays in the system (designed that way on purpose to make it work better and longer) 3 times longer than EPO.

Aranesp IS HIGHLY detectable. Cyclists will not be able to use it...it is easy to detect and detectable levels stay in the system for weeks instead of days.

The Tour de France is still the greatest cycling race on the planet. Regardless of what we consider inappropriate, the race will always have a romance associated with it that can't be eclipsed. I feel sorry for the people that get hung up on the fact that someone tested positive for something that we've deemed inappropriate for a bicycle race.

Not a doping advocate, just someone who likes to watch the race.

Michael

Why not just add another jersey - best clean rider. Make it pink or something.

He'd test positive following the jersey awarding in Paris...

Keep the faith that bicycle racing will clean up its pee and blood as it will not be instant as it took years to get in it will take years to get out.

Even in the current state, it's still the cleanest sport on the planet. I loved to see this level of testing on any other sport, especially the other massive world sport, soccer \ football. Hell half the Chinese swim team just got dumped for doping.

Can you even imagine basketball :eek:

Or that quintessential American sport baseball with the record book full of chemically enhanced achievements.

Agree

Yes perhaps, but that "other" race on the cobblestones has its storied history as well.

Fair enough. Myself, I try not to get hung up on Atlanta's bad air quality since most residents just look toward the sky and say, "what problem"?

Roger that. I love baseball, but will not got a MLB game, even if someone else is paying. Most American pro sports have a drug screening program that is a joke. But MLB takes the cake with theirs, plus the two strikes.

At least cycling is testing & going public with the results. Even though they are still using that French lab.