Ancora sul doping nel ciclismo

Agghiacciante testimonianza riportata in un commento di questo post: un medico della US Postal (squadra che fu anche di Armstrong) spiega la tecnica utilizzata per dopare gli atleti e ingannare i controlli: si mettevano via riserve di sangue con ematocrito al 60% durante una sessione lontano dalle competizione. Durante il Tour i controlli avvenivano solo tra le 7 e le 8. Dopo quell'ora poteva essere iniettato negli atleti il loro super-sangue, per poi toglierlo la sera per farli dormire al sicuro da eventuali infarti. Quoto la parte più interessante:

Prentice Steffen, ex-doctor at US Postal said the following to L'Equipe in an interview on October 6, 2005. I quote Steffen :

"Before going to the start of the Tour, the riders of certain teams, during their training camps, took EPO (which disappears from the urine within three days, even 12 hours when small doses are used) and took their hematocrits up to around 60. Then a doctor withdraws their blood, saving it in special containers, to lower their blood parameters into the accepted range (50) so that they pass without difficulty the medical controls before the Tour. Then, as the teams well know, during the race the vampires (2) can arrive any day but always between 7 and 8 in the morning. After that time, there is no more testing and the riders were able to reinject their own blood. They were racing the stage with an enormous advantage- their hemotrocrit in the 55 to 58 range during the race- then in the evening at the hotel, someone again withdraws their blood so that they sleep without risk (3) and, especially, they escape the possible tests the next morning.

L'EQUIPE:

This practice was used every evening during the three weeks of the Tour?

STEFFEN:

No, just for important stages in the mountains or maybe for a time trial. It's so simple to do and there's no risk of being caught unless the police intervene. The blood was shuttled by motorcycle in a refrigerated compartment... "