The only thing that could really help a Cyclist during the race would be blood doping (taking you own blood and reinjecting later to up the red blood cell %) or taking that stuff that pumps up your red blood cell count.

They specifically test for this, but blood doping can never be stopped. They can just set a threshold level for what the maximum red cell count should be. So we might assume that everyone does this.

Anything else (stimulants, etc) that a cyclist might take would be caught in the UCI drup screens. (Lance was screened regularly as the leader. The team was also screened about 2/3 throught the race this year.)

Even then, these would only be used in the off season to build a base or allow more time on the bike without getting into an overtrained state.

This might not be true of sprinters who need explosive strength, but cyclists who contend for overall victory in the TOUR cannot afford ANY extra weight.

Christ...you try hauling #155 up the side of a 4000 foot mountain climp at 15-18 mph. Add 20# and see how much slower you go! Most of the people on this board would have a hard time holding 20 mph on flat ground!

Being a world class road cyclist is all about having a great aerobic ability and the ability to recover FAST from breif spurts on Anaerobic activity. You have to be able to turn Oxygen and blood sugar into mechanical energy very efficiently and for a long time. Brute strength, muscle mass etc are not important.

The reason Lance kicks ass is he has the same lungs, heart, legs and awesome ability to turn Oxygen and blood sugar into energy he had before he got sick. Except now he has 20# less upper body mass.

The basis for the "investigation" of US Postal seems to the second hand statements that they looked like they were doing drugs DURING the tour. I the investigation is pointless, because drug tests were done during the race and turned up zero. I am not saying US Postal riders never have used in their careers. I am just saying that they would not be using (stimulants, EPO ect) during the tour because drug use has been so heavily scrutinized in cycling for the last few years and they would, with certainty, be caught.

But what the hell are those amps (235 doses of EPO, 82 doses of GH + testo) for what they found from some Festinas physiotherapist. Do you really believe that they were for this masseurs personal usage?

And talk about them using only winny and anavar are BS. Testo and other only for mass and power drugs, have allways been there for endurance athletes also.

------------------
"I used to be a diabetic 'till i kicked it."
-Jerri Blank responding to the bruises on her arm

"May all of your showers be golden." - Jerri Blank

1st of all I am not saying they (USPS / Armstrong) don't/haven't used. Can't say they have either. Only they can answer that question.

What I am saying is that there is no fucking way they were using anything DURING the TOUR itself other than blood doping. (The only reason they MIGHT have even considered BD is that you can't really catch it)

The UCI has done a huge turnaround on drug testing because of the Festina thing (and some other drug problems) a few years back. Everyone knew that cycling was under harsh scrutiny because the Tour's reputation was damaged in the previous two years. The UCI "vampires" (drug testing teams) were crawling all over everyone. Towards the end of the race they pulled a suprise test on USPS and all of those tested passed. Lance got tested throughout most of the Tour because he was leading.

Now there is an "investigation" because someone claims they saw USPS personnel moving some "plastic bags" around. Sounds like strong enough evidence to disregard the clean drug tests that everyone submitted and cast doubt on Lance's and USPS's accomplishments.

What this is really all about is those Frogs are pissed that an American (and one who refuses to speak French when they want him to at that!) worked them so completely! Lance's performance at Hautacam and in the last time trial were simply beyond what anyone thought was humanely possible...So now they just want to tear him down...he must have been cheating... I guarantee that if Lance were French he would be a National Hero and such charges would never even be voiced! It is all pretty pathetic considering what Armstrong went through.

****************************************

By the way...I have an interesting theory that relates to Armstrong and also Greg Lemond.

Is it a coincidence that they both came back so strong from life threatening events?(cancer for Lance and shotgun wound for Lemond)

Road Cycling (specifically stage racing) is a sport that (at the elite level) is really not very good for you. You guys think BB is tough. Try riding 165 miles and 14,000 vertical feet in 9 hours. Then doing it agin, and again, etc. Cyclist's bodies are so tuned at the elite level that their immune systems get completely depressed...a simple cold during a race becomes pneumonia or worse almost immediately. Look at those guys at the end of the tour...they look like walking death! It is a sport that (in my opinion) probably takes years of your life.

I think it is interesting that Lemond and Armstrong both suffered serious medical conditions that resulted in significant wasting away of body mass (Lemond dropped to 135 from 165...his BF went from something like 6% to 15% at the same time!)

Yet after recovery, they both came back and gave some of the best performances ever in modern cycling.

I am not suggesting that elite level cyclists take a year off, starve themselves and drop 30#, then try and come back...but then again, can there be something to forcing your body to go through such a major state of degradation and then recoving?

When I watched that stage (on ESPN 2?) I was travelling on business. I couln't sleep so I flipped on the TV in my hotel room right at 11:00 pm and there was the recap of the days stage (Hautacom..). As I watched I could not believe what I was seeing. I was so amped I could not get to sleep until 3:00 am.

The next day in the paper there was the little blurb "Armstrong finishes 2nd in stage...takes yellow jersey" like it was just another day at the races...ho hum. Very very few people here in the US understood just how exceptional that performance was.

flesche_man,

The trick is, like in any sport; don't let them catch you. Usually the best wins in the Tour de France, but there are only 5 or 6 possible winners. That's way some guys did win the Tour 5 times.

------------------
Jeff

NAC,
That's harsh dude. You have to compete
to cheat. Most (many?) of the dudes on this
board don't compete for anything but the
girlfriends of all of the pencil necked
weenies. Your point is well taken, however.
The price of entry into most sports is some
level of drug use.