In Blood Stepped: The History Of Blood Doping In Sport

[fmk_RoI]

Coe's 800 WR survived 16 years and 6 of those include EPO assaults. Coe ran his outside the main circus in Florence. A significant train ride from Ferrara admittedly.

Is it a fact or just an article of faith that Coe transfused?

 

[sniper]

Good point buckle.

 

[Tienus]

van den Hoogenband at Panasonic in 1985:
We have the knowledge to do what Moser and Conconi did we just need the funding for it.
He thinks Bert Oosterbosch is a likely candidate in his squad for the hour record.
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=hoogenband+kuipers&coll=ddd&identifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089&resultsidentifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089

 

[sniper]

Coe's 800 WR survived 16 years and 6 of those include EPO assaults. Coe ran his outside the main circus in Florence. A significant train ride from Ferrara admittedly.

Is it a fact or just an article of faith that Coe transfused?

pointless question, with all respect.
A bit like, is it a fact that indurain used epo?
No it's not a fact but its a plausible assumption that can be used to further the debate and stimulate new thoughts, as buckle nicely shows here.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

van den Hoogenband at Panasonic in 1985:
We have the knowledge to do what Moser and Conconi did we just need the funding for it.
He thinks Bert Oosterbosch is a likely candidate in his squad for the hour record.
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=hoogenband+kuipers&coll=ddd&identifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089&resultsidentifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089

Stephen Roche, Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon were also on the potential Hour list around this time.

 

[fmk_RoI]

pointless question, with all respect.
A bit like, is it a fact that indurain used epo?

With all due respect, Coe and Indurain do not compare. There is a consensus view on Indurain - opinion not fact - based on much evidence. Coe - a certain sector chooses to believe in blood. Not a consensus view.

 

[Gregga]

pointless question, with all respect.
A bit like, is it a fact that indurain used epo?

With all due respect, Coe and Indurain do not compare. There is a consensus view on Indurain - opinion not fact - based on much evidence. Coe - a certain sector chooses to believe in blood. Not a consensus view.

Which evidence against Indurain apart from a vague stuff from Thomas Davy ?
Consensus is that his performances can only be explained by blood manipulations... just like Coe's

 

[Aragon]

Re: Re:

This cultural digression may seem silly, but to me it matters, it helps understand the silence on the subject from cyclists happy to talk about other forms of doping but not - publicly, privately they are different - of blood transfusions.

I agree that there are different stigmas and taboos in different eras (and cultures), and this could've contributed to the (un)willingness to confess blood doping involvement, but other reasons could've also caused the information blackout of blood doping regarding 1970s and 1980s. In addition to the questions of sport ethics, the administration of donated blood for performance enhancement is suspicious, but even with autotransfusions, there could've been many factors contributing to the silence. In an unfinished manuscript, I actually have considered why blood doping has remained so secretive and came to the following conclusions:

- First, there is available no doping test data on blood doping, as the method was not technically banned until mid-1980s and even after the ban, it took a while before mandatory hematological data was collected from athletes.

- Secondly, as the method is simple and straighforward, there should've been very little technical discussion about the method among athletes nor even between athletes and doctors. Blood doping operation is actually a very small conspiracy, of which only a very limited amount of people know. There hasn't existed a black market of blood products where dealers and users have known identities of their customers and fellow users nor have any athletes shared their blood doping products, information, or recommendations on specific brands with their teammates.

- Thirdly, the method is used only rarely, at most only a handful times during the career of a sportsman. EPO-era changed this a little, and while athletes and cyclists weren't caught red handed while injecting themselves with EPO, actual ampoules were found (Festina).

- And finally, as athletes are not capable in administering the transfusions themselves, there could've been an issue of favoritism in the operations. For those who have been selected to the ”inner circle” of blood dopers, it could've been easier to remain silent about being there than to discuss about the issue even with own teammates.

One could also add that because there is a cluster of people involved, one cannot really bust only himself in isolation, even if one truly wanted. This same holds with doctors and other team members. Imagine what happened if doctor X confessed administering blood transfusions to cyclists in 1980s. Every cyclist he was involved with would be at least under suspicion from that point onward (compare to the clients of Ferrari/Conconi).

I actually had specifically the John Gleaves' brilliant article in my mind in connecting the LA and ban, but couldn't remember the AIDS-fear (as well as the Donati-connection). In our era of armchair researchers with easy access to newspaper databases, all honour to a researcher who actually meets subjects (Borysewicz) to interview them.

 

[buckle]

Coe's 800 WR survived 16 years and 6 of those include EPO assaults. Coe ran his outside the main circus in Florence. A significant train ride from Ferrara admittedly.

Is it a fact or just an article of faith that Coe transfused?

Of interest is that Kratochvílová ran an equally ridiculous time in the women's version. This was within 2 years of Coe which suggests that the programs for this event were particularly effective in the early 80's. One assumes blood doping was involved but in combination with poor testing, steroids and hgh.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Of interest is that Kratochvílová ran an equally ridiculous time in the women's version. This was within 2 years of Coe which suggests that the programs for this event were particularly effective in the early 80's. One assumes blood doping was involved but in combination with poor testing, steroids and hgh.

So we've now got Coe using HGH as well as transfusions? In 1981? With the help of Dr Who?

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re: Re:

I agree that there are different stigmas and taboos in different eras (and cultures), and this could've contributed to the (un)willingness to confess blood doping involvement, but other reasons could've also caused the information blackout of blood doping regarding 1970s and 1980s. In addition to the questions of sport ethics, the administration of donated blood for performance enhancement is suspicious, but even with autotransfusions, there could've been many factors contributing to the silence. In an unfinished manuscript, I actually have considered why blood doping has remained so secretive and came to the following conclusions:

For sure, yes, it's a combination of factors. Cultural influences, that only answers a bit of the question (if it answers any)

- First, there is available no doping test data on blood doping, as the method was not technically banned until mid-1980s and even after the ban, it took a while before mandatory hematological data was collected from athletes.

True, but you have riders taking about other health management practices that aren't banned. Not dismissing this, not dismissing any of these, for some, yes, this can explain.

- Secondly, as the method is simple and straighforward, there should've been very little technical discussion about the method among athletes nor even between athletes and doctors. Blood doping operation is actually a very small conspiracy, of which only a very limited amount of people know. There hasn't existed a black market of blood products where dealers and users have known identities of their customers and fellow users nor have any athletes shared their blood doping products, information, or recommendations on specific brands with their teammates.

The off-the-record anecdotal evidence for the 80s though is quite interesting. For me, today, the picture looks like in the the 70s, for all sports, it was very limited, in the 80s skill sets spread more. Not to everywhere, by no means, but wide.

- Thirdly, the method is used only rarely, at most only a handful times during the career of a sportsman. EPO-era changed this a little, and while athletes and cyclists weren't caught red handed while injecting themselves with EPO, actual ampoules were found (Festina).

I think this is true, that riders weren't banging in blood bags every other week throughout the season, that if they were doing it - if they were in that class of rider capable of winning and not just being an équipier - they were doing it for targeted events.

- And finally, as athletes are not capable in administering the transfusions themselves, there could've been an issue of favoritism in the operations. For those who have been selected to the ”inner circle” of blood dopers, it could've been easier to remain silent about being there than to discuss about the issue even with own teammates.

I think this is true - as I've said, my view is that, as it spread in the 80s, it spread wide but was not something for everyone. Even in the teams that did it, only some riders got the benefit.

One could also add that because there is a cluster of people involved, one cannot really bust only himself in isolation, even if one truly wanted. This same holds with doctors and other team members. Imagine what happened if doctor X confessed administering blood transfusions to cyclists in 1980s. Every cyclist he was involved with would be at least under suspicion from that point onward (compare to the clients of Ferrari/Conconi).

For some, maybe, yes. But how many tell us where they got their testosterone, cortisone, EPO from? Even in 'conventional' doping there are shadowy figures, the entourage, who escape without being named. For some, for sure, this explains: there's a class of rider would not name such people, and of those people themselves, few have the need to boast publicly (even in the age of soigneurs, it's only a handful who ever spat in the soup).

I actually had specifically the John Gleaves' brilliant article in my mind in connecting the LA and ban, but couldn't remember the AIDS-fear (as well as the Donati-connection). In our era of armchair researchers with easy access to newspaper databases, all honour to a researcher who actually meets subjects (Borysewicz) to interview them.

You may enjoy Mark Johnson's Spitting in the Soup for that then, he certainly has done the leg work, talking to people like Borysewicz. The rest...I'll offer a clearer opintion when I finish it.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

van den Hoogenband at Panasonic in 1985:
We have the knowledge to do what Moser and Conconi did we just need the funding for it.
He thinks Bert Oosterbosch is a likely candidate in his squad for the hour record.
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=hoogenband+kuipers&coll=ddd&identifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089&resultsidentifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089

We have the knowledge...to present the whole quote and not just paraphrase selectively. This is from June 1985, a couple of weeks after the IOC had met in Berlin to ban blood doping. The speaker is a saw-bones by the name of Cees Rein van den Hoogenband, working at the Sint Annadal Ziekenhuis in Maastricht, adviser to a couple of football clubs, chair of the Judo fed's medical committee and part of a team of medics advising Peter Post at Panasonic:

"Er wordt vreselijk veel gepraat over de begeleiding van Francesco Moser. Maar wat hij en die professor Conconi hebben gedaan zouden wij in Nederland moeiteloos ook kunnen. De medische wereld heeft in ons land know how genoeg. Maar de sport wil er geen geld voor uittrekken. Stel, dat ons gevraagd wordt om Bert Oosterbosch naar een werelduurrecord te sleuren. Dat kost tonnen, maar we zouden veel voor hem kunnen doen. Niet, dat we in het laboratorium een kampioen kunnen maken. Het gaat meer om de nuttige aanvullingen."

You can conclude all sorts from that. Can you conclusively say that the speaker is saying we at Panasonic have the tech to blood dope? Nope. (Especially nope if you read what precedes that bit.) Can you conclusively say that the speaker is pitching the idea of Bert Oosterbosch doing the Hour? Stephen Roche tested for the Hour, prepared for it on the track. Bernard Hinault (Antoine Vayer suggests) tested for the Hour on multiple occasions. Laurent Fignon, he even got a bike built by Gitane. Oosterbosch, from that quote, how committed was anyone to the idea of him doing it? Anyone know?

Of interest in the article is Van den Hoogenbad suggesting riders at the Tour should be taking on calories by IV: in the 1990s, that led to the Intralipid affaire, PDM's bad fish episode washed away by David Walsh (among others).

And the good doctor on the issue of doping?

"Daar geloof ik niet in."

Well he would say that, wouldn't he...

 

[fmk_RoI]

Which evidence against Indurain apart from a vague stuff from Thomas Davy ?

If you seriously believe that the only evidence against Indurain is Davy then that only proves the low evidentiary threshold some have. IIRC there is a whole thread dedicated to the Spaniard. Educate yourself.

 

[Aragon]

On the issue of prevalence of transfusions in 1980s, Here is a somewhat interesting story told to the Italian left-wing newspaper L'Unità by Italian cyclist Luigi Giovenzana:

http://archiviostorico.unita.it/cgi-bin/highlightPdf.cgi?t=ebook&file=/archivio/uni_1988_03/19880312_0026.pdf

If I follow his story correctly, Giovenzana tells the following:
- He was offered autotransfusion and after turning down the offer, he was thrown out of the national 100k quartetto
- He also has the impression that "everyone" started taking autotransfusions around Los Angeles Olympics.

While the story is about Olympic level cycling and not necessarily totally true on the day-to-day professional cycling world, the story (if true) is one of the handful of published first-hand revelations about blood doping use in the cycling world before rEPO.

 

[fmk_RoI]

On the issue of prevalence of transfusions in 1980s, Here is a somewhat interesting story told to the Italian left-wing newspaper L'Unità by Italian cyclist Luigi Giovenzana:

http://archiviostorico.unita.it/cgi-bin/highlightPdf.cgi?t=ebook&file=/archivio/uni_1988_03/19880312_0026.pdf

If I follow his story correctly, Giovenzana tells the following:
- He was offered autotransfusion and after turning down the offer, he was thrown out of the national 100k quartetto
- He also has the impression that "everyone" started taking autotransfusions around Los Angeles Olympics.

While the story is about Olympic level cycling and not necessarily totally true on the day-to-day professional cycling world, the story (if true) is one of the handful of published first-hand revelations about blood doping use in the cycling world before rEPO.

Someone with local kowledge can confirm but as with CONI and athletics fed (I think I'm right saying athletics) Italian cycling fed required bowing to Conconi on national duty.

 

[buckle]

Of interest is that Kratochvílová ran an equally ridiculous time in the women's version. This was within 2 years of Coe which suggests that the programs for this event were particularly effective in the early 80's. One assumes blood doping was involved but in combination with poor testing, steroids and hgh.

So we've now got Coe using HGH as well as transfusions? In 1981? With the help of Dr Who?

Growth hormone was available in '81. How do you explain why doped athletes are not getting near the '81 and '83 times? It requires a huge leap of faith, in this the most corrupt sport in the World, that two Europeans within a couple of years of each other, run times never remotely challenged by their own ethnic group in the first instance and by nobody on the planet in the latter example, in nearly 35 years of trying. These bizarre performances were achieved using a full on doping program consistent with the corruption of Coe himself as head of the IOC and in the other case with a Soviet style doping project.

 

[Aragon]

On the issue of prevalence of transfusions in 1980s, Here is a somewhat interesting story told to the Italian left-wing newspaper L'Unità by Italian cyclist Luigi Giovenzana:

http://archiviostorico.unita.it/cgi-bin/highlightPdf.cgi?t=ebook&file=/archivio/uni_1988_03/19880312_0026.pdf

If I follow his story correctly, Giovenzana tells the following:
- He was offered autotransfusion and after turning down the offer, he was thrown out of the national 100k quartetto
- He also has the impression that "everyone" started taking autotransfusions around Los Angeles Olympics.

While the story is about Olympic level cycling and not necessarily totally true on the day-to-day professional cycling world, the story (if true) is one of the handful of published first-hand revelations about blood doping use in the cycling world before rEPO.

Someone with local kowledge can confirm but as with CONI and athletics fed (I think I'm right saying athletics) Italian cycling fed required bowing to Conconi on national duty.

There have been more or less trustworthy allegations about the mandatory nature of the Ferrara-program circulating at least since early 1990s and by no means do I claim to provide any new information on the issue. Still the story is an interesting testimony, as practically no (Italian) cyclist has either admitted participating in the blood doping process, told about turning down an offer or even confirmed that the whole method was used by anyone at all.

To another subject, here is an interesting quote with a lead to follow. In the supplementary material to the 2000 Finnish documentary (I referred earlier in the thread), there is an interesting quote from Alessandro Donati:

I wouldn't be too certain that transfusions have ended altogether, even when EPO has pretty much replaced it. I think that there are cases when doctors are administering both doping methods. In the Italian police inquiry, where cyclists and particularly Tony Rominger were investigated closely, the officials got hold of a training calendar found from Dr. Michele Ferrari, according to which Rominger had donated blood during a training camp in South Africa.

No date nor any other information given, but there was some other rationale for the transfusion than the forthcoming EPO-test, as Rominger pretty much ended his career around 1997.

 

[Tienus]

Re: Re:

van den Hoogenband at Panasonic in 1985:
We have the knowledge to do what Moser and Conconi did we just need the funding for it.
He thinks Bert Oosterbosch is a likely candidate in his squad for the hour record.
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=hoogenband+kuipers&coll=ddd&identifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089&resultsidentifier=KBNRC01%3A000029789%3Ampeg21%3Aa0089

We have the knowledge...to present the whole quote and not just paraphrase selectively. This is from June 1985, a couple of weeks after the IOC had met in Berlin to ban blood doping. The speaker is a saw-bones by the name of Cees Rein van den Hoogenband, working at the Sint Annadal Ziekenhuis in Maastricht, adviser to a couple of football clubs, chair of the Judo fed's medical committee and part of a team of medics advising Peter Post at Panasonic:

"Er wordt vreselijk veel gepraat over de begeleiding van Francesco Moser. Maar wat hij en die professor Conconi hebben gedaan zouden wij in Nederland moeiteloos ook kunnen. De medische wereld heeft in ons land know how genoeg. Maar de sport wil er geen geld voor uittrekken. Stel, dat ons gevraagd wordt om Bert Oosterbosch naar een werelduurrecord te sleuren. Dat kost tonnen, maar we zouden veel voor hem kunnen doen. Niet, dat we in het laboratorium een kampioen kunnen maken. Het gaat meer om de nuttige aanvullingen."

You can conclude all sorts from that. Can you conclusively say that the speaker is saying we at Panasonic have the tech to blood dope? Nope. (Especially nope if you read what precedes that bit.) Can you conclusively say that the speaker is pitching the idea of Bert Oosterbosch doing the Hour? Stephen Roche tested for the Hour, prepared for it on the track. Bernard Hinault (Antoine Vayer suggests) tested for the Hour on multiple occasions. Laurent Fignon, he even got a bike built by Gitane. Oosterbosch, from that quote, how committed was anyone to the idea of him doing it? Anyone know?

Of interest in the article is Van den Hoogenbad suggesting riders at the Tour should be taking on calories by IV: in the 1990s, that led to the Intralipid affaire, PDM's bad fish episode washed away by David Walsh (among others).

And the good doctor on the issue of doping?

"Daar geloof ik niet in."

Well he would say that, wouldn't he...

"We have the knowledge to do what Moser and Conconi did" is a quote from van den Hoogenband, the journalist put it on top of the article. Hoogenband thinks that sport in general an cycling particularly make too little use of medical science. He also complains about the lack of funding for the sport. Ironically nowadays others complain for the lack of funding for doping control in the Netherlands. The Dutch olympic comittee is resposible for that and vd Hoogenband is head of their medical department. The Russians would probably be proud of him, there's a topic here:
viewtopic.php?p=1900929#p1900929

In the article vd Hoogenband is called an authority in cycling since eight years which means he was involved in the 70's. Harm Kuipers was also doing his thing at the university of Maastricht. I allready posted this article in which you can read he has knowledge and interest in transfusions in 1976.
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=hermens+kuipers+bloed&coll=ddd&identifier=ddd%3A011017610%3Ampeg21%3Aa0295&resultsidentifier=ddd%3A011017610%3Ampeg21%3Aa0295
Harm Kuipers speed skating career just smells like transfusions. He won the biggest thing (wc allround) in 1975 and received his M.Sc. in Medicine that same year.
Both Kuipers and vd Hoogenband have had there incidents as professionals in medicine. Pechstein demanded in 2009 that Kuipers resigned as head of the medical comittee of the ISU and she's got a point.
These two guys have got all links to panasonic deleted from google history.


There was never the intention to let Oosterbosch make an attemp on the hour record. It was only a suggestion from van den Hoogenband to make his point. I mentioned Oosterbosch because he is considered one of the first epo death.

 

[doperhopper]

Coe's 800 WR survived 16 years and 6 of those include EPO assaults. Coe ran his outside the main circus in Florence. A significant train ride from Ferrara admittedly.

Is it a fact or just an article of faith that Coe transfused?

Of interest is that Kratochvílová ran an equally ridiculous time in the women's version. This was within 2 years of Coe which suggests that the programs for this event were particularly effective in the early 80's. One assumes blood doping was involved but in combination with poor testing, steroids and hgh.

blood doping not even needed, the eastern bloc women sports strategy was to make them more masculine than 90% of todays male cyclists, and here you go (lots of them had substantial health problems because of that... well known and documented, even a "social phenomenon" that inspired several films)

https://www.google.fr/search?q=jarmila+kratochvilova&oq=jarmila+kratochvilova&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.5435j0j4&sourceid=silk&ie=UTF-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=xVLWV5XNDMGta9PUrIAN#gws_rd=cr&imgrc=NV7sHI-XeVkujM%3A

 

[sniper]

Insightful stuff on Panasonic, Kuipers and v.d. Hoogenband.
How was Breukink able to stay so close to Hampsten in the Giro of 1988?
Well, likely by doing the same thing Hampsten was doing.
One 'problem' when assessing this period is that this would also roughly be the time when EPO starts invading the propeloton.


On a complete side, this deleting stuff from google history is becoming a real thing.
Ca. one year ago I was reading up on the Dutch Dr. Castoings, him accusing Lemond of using EPO, and Rini Wagtmans (on behalf of Lemond) then threatening Castoings with a legal case if he didn't retract. I was finding a bunch of press releases and some discussion on cycling fora.
A few months later I searched again, and all the press releases had disappeared.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Growth hormone was available in '81.

The evidence for that, going against the general understanding of when HGH first began to be used, I - and much of the whole sports science community - would dearly love to see. So, please, do share, don't leave us in the dark.

 

[King Boonen]

Growth hormone was available in '81.

The evidence for that, going against the general understanding of when HGH first began to be used, I - and much of the whole sports science community - would dearly love to see. So, please, do share, don't leave us in the dark.

If I can guess the evidence what do I win..?

 

[gillan1969]

Re:

Insightful stuff on Panasonic, Kuipers and v.d. Hoogenband.
How was Breukink able to stay so close to Hampsten in the Giro of 1988?
Well, likely by doing the same thing Hampsten was doing.
One 'problem' when assessing this period is that this would also roughly be the time when EPO starts invading the propeloton.


On a complete side, this deleting stuff from google history is becoming a real thing.
Ca. one year ago I was reading up on the Dutch Dr. Castoings, him accusing Lemond of using EPO, and Rini Wagtmans (on behalf of Lemond) then threatening Castoings with a legal case if he didn't retract. I was finding a bunch of press releases and some discussion on cycling fora.
A few months later I searched again, and all the press releases had disappeared.

invade?

if these was an 'invasion' it was later

 

[fmk_RoI]

There have been more or less trustworthy allegations about the mandatory nature of the Ferrara-program circulating at least since early 1990s and by no means do I claim to provide any new information on the issue. Still the story is an interesting testimony, as practically no (Italian) cyclist has either admitted participating in the blood doping process, told about turning down an offer or even confirmed that the whole method was used by anyone at all.

I think it's very interesting. Much of the anecdotal evidence I've heard comes via former pros and from their pro days. But given the way sports feds in Italy worked with Ferrara, you would expect there to be evidence from there, such as produced by Donati.

To another subject, here is an interesting quote with a lead to follow. In the supplementary material to the 2000 Finnish documentary (I referred earlier in the thread), there is an interesting quote from Alessandro Donati:

I wouldn't be too certain that transfusions have ended altogether, even when EPO has pretty much replaced it. I think that there are cases when doctors are administering both doping methods. In the Italian police inquiry, where cyclists and particularly Tony Rominger were investigated closely, the officials got hold of a training calendar found from Dr. Michele Ferrari, according to which Rominger had donated blood during a training camp in South Africa.

No date nor any other information given, but there was some other rationale for the transfusion than the forthcoming EPO-test, as Rominger pretty much ended his career around 1997.

When the Hamilton story about Riis came out I did put the question to someone who had personal experience of both EPO and blood bags and he wondered about the effectiveness of such a belt and braces approach. Daniel Benson has twice queried Riis on the issue and he denies having used both blood and EPO in the 1996 Tour. But, as mentioned in the original articles, there is some evidence for transfusions being back in use before the end of the 90s and I do wonder if they ever really went away. Declined in popularity, for sure, but disappeared, as the general EPO history tells us?

On the issue of Rominger in South Africa. A link. And a more wide-ranging comment from Ferrari:

CN: But I understand from some riders that you have trained that you have a special way to work with riders, a humanistic approach that these riders found quite easy to deal with.
Dr MF: Well, when you talk about elite athletes, before all, your relationship has to be a friendly one, where the rider has confidence in you and you have a mutual trust established. Then, you have to spend a lot of time with the riders. I'll give you an example; for many years, with Tony Rominger, we used to take both of our families and go away for a month together in the winter time for training where it was warm; San Diego, South Africa. So my first step was to get to know well the riders I was working with as a person as much as I could. It isn't like the riders come into my clinic for a test and leave; we would spend a lot of time together. Some riders I got to know very well. To really get the best performance out of a top elite athlete, he or she has to trust their preparatore. You can't just go around in a white lab coat and give them a piece of paper that says "here's your program for the next month; come back and see me later."

 

[Aragon]

When the Hamilton story about Riis came out I did put the question to someone who had personal experience of both EPO and blood bags and he wondered about the effectiveness of such a belt and braces approach. Daniel Benson has twice queried Riis on the issue and he denies having used both blood and EPO in the 1996 Tour. But, as mentioned in the original articles, there is some evidence for transfusions being back in use before the end of the 90s and I do wonder if they ever really went away. Declined in popularity, for sure, but disappeared, as the general EPO history tells us?

I also considered the Hamilton's Bjarne-transfusion story at least unreliable and more like as an attempt by Bjarne Riis to convert Hamilton to use transfusions than necessarily as the truth. The story has its flaws, for instance the 1996 Tour had only one rest day whereas Hamilton claims that Riis received transfusion during both resting days.

Recent Danish inquiry on the CSC and Riis nevertheless took a look on the claims and came to the conclusion that Riis was at least very familiar with the method:

Bjarne Riis admits to the investigative group to have used blood doping once in his active career at Team Telekom. This happened according to Riis in connection with Tour de France in 1997. Earlier in the year, the blood was drawn at Riis’ home in Luxembourg and was re-injected at a hotel room – probably in the middle of the Tour in 1997. Riis does not remember exactly when. A doctor at Team Telekom assisted Riis with the blood doping.

Riis refuses to have used blood doping more that this time and similarly he repudiates that he should have done it in connection with his victory in Tour de France in 1996. He has told the investigative group that it was not necessary to use blood doping in 1996, but that EPO was sufficient. That he anyway tried blood doping in 1997 was, according to Riis, an experiment, which, however, did not give him the feeling of being stronger. Riis told the investigative group that for this reason he only used blood doping once.

Asked directly by the investigative group of the reason why Bjarne Riis did not give any information on blood doping at the press conference on 25 May 2007, Bjarne Riis has explained that he did not mention blood doping specifically as he did not find it relevant considering that he only tried it once. Therefore, his assessment was that on this basis it would not have any significance for the overall picture as he generally admitted the use of doping.

(p. 25-26)
http://www.doping.nl/media/kb/3493/Report_on_Doping_in_Danish_Cycling%201998-2015_ENGLISH_VERSION.pdf