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Kohl retires

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Mar 18, 2009
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stephens said:
I think I would prefer a world in which the winners would be those who prepared the best and were smartest in their training and racing tactics, and not those that were simply born with the biggest natural advantage. So I think I'd be tempted to support any sort of regulation scheme that allowed athletes to "fix", in a safe manner, any natural deficiencies they may have (anemia, asthma, whatever) to bring them up to at least a normal range and then let training and intelligence and guts take over from there to decide the winners.

Yes, but a normally low hematocrit of say 39% is not anemic. If you were anemic, then I would recommend addressing the reasons for the anemia and, if all else fails, then use a blood transfusion or EPO. However, both of these are temporary fixes. Correcting the underlying problem is not. But if you were born with a hematocrit in the high 30s or low 40s, then that's what you've got. Period. You're not anemic, but you don't have the same oxygen-carrying capacity as the guy next to you with 46% hematocrit. Tough titties. We weren't all created equal. I'd like to be faster and stronger, but I am not going to take drugs to make up for my inherent deficiencies. There are other ways to do this: tactics, chose an aspect of the sport which better suites your physiology (say sprinting), or chose a different sport that better suits your physiology. It is also not fair for the athlete with a natural hematocrit of 46%. Drugs shouldn't be used to make up for any inherent shortfalls of an athlete.
 
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stephens said:
I think I would prefer a world in which the winners would be those who prepared the best and were smartest in their training and racing tactics, and not those that were simply born with the biggest natural advantage. So I think I'd be tempted to support any sort of regulation scheme that allowed athletes to "fix", in a safe manner, any natural deficiencies they may have (anemia, asthma, whatever) to bring them up to at least a normal range and then let training and intelligence and guts take over from there to decide the winners.

Allowing people to "fix" things would result in people born into more favorable means dominating sport, leaving those who were not born fortunate enough (yet have more natural talent) excluded from the ability to compete. You might have an exception or two, but what you propose is the development of a super race, genetically superior predicated on their financial means. Ayn Rand would completely agree with your world, I don't. It is a sick, demented mindset that will only result in greater inequity. Then again, that is precisely what you want.
 
May 1, 2009
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Thoughtforfood said:
Allowing people to "fix" things would result in people born into more favorable means dominating sport, leaving those who were not born fortunate enough (yet have more natural talent) excluded from the ability to compete. You might have an exception or two, but what you propose is the development of a super race, genetically superior predicated on their financial means. Ayn Rand would completely agree with your world, I don't. It is a sick, demented mindset that will only result in greater inequity. Then again, that is precisely what you want.

So you disagree with insulin for diabetics and ventolin for asthmatics?

Just asking.
 
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boalio said:
So you disagree with insulin for diabetics and ventolin for asthmatics?

Just asking.

Um, no. Just in case you were not aware, the actual subject of my post was in regards to "fix"ing things in order to gain a performance advantage in SPORT. "Fix"ing your HCT to be comparable with others born with higher values is completely different than using a substance to open your airways so that you don't die from an asthma attack or using insulin instead of going into a diabetic coma because of hyopglycemia.

Can you not understand that?

Just asking.
 
Mar 19, 2009
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Your undoped hematocrit (normal crit) does not mean anything in relation to an advantage or disadvantage in 02 carrying capacity really. Somebody with a natural of 45% will not have a big "advantage" over another guy with a natural of 39%. However the guy with 39% can jack 20 points higher whereas the 45 starting dude can only go 14 points higher. Thats from a safety standpoint obviously.
 
This just out on the la Gazzetta dello Sport website:

"Ecco come si dopano i pro"
Bernhard Kohl vuota il sacco
Il corridore austriaco, positivo al Cera al Tour 2008, racconta all'Equipe i retroscena del suo rapporto col doping e di come certe pratiche siano all'ordine del giorno
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Bernhard Kohl è nato il 4 gennaio 1982. Ansa
PARIGI (Fra), 9 giugno 2009 – Si chiamano procedure professionali di dopaggio. E le seguono solo i migliori corridori per vincere le grandi competizioni ciclistiche. A descriverle nel dettaglio in un’intervista-confessione all’Equipe, l’austriaco Bernhard Kohl che lo scorso ottobre fu pescato positivo al Cera, l’Epo di nuova generazione, per i controlli effettuati al Tour de France segnato dallo scandalo Riccò. L’austriaco, sospeso per due anni, ha deciso di ritirarsi lo scorso 25 maggio e di collaborare con la polizia.

"Ho corso Il Tour '07 senza un vero protocollo di dopaggio. L'anno dopo ho deciso che meritavo il top del top"
PRELIEVI — Il protocollo di doping per un Tour de France inizia subito dopo la conclusione di quello precedente: “E’ la regola per ogni vero professionista – spiega Kohl -. Il Tour 2008 ho cominciato a prepararlo dal mese di agosto 2007”. Un circolo infernale: “Ho fatto tutto molto seriamente. Ad agosto ho fatto il primo prelievo del sangue destinato a essere poi utilizzato nel Tour dell’anno dopo. Un secondo prelievo a novembre. Ogni volta un litro. Il mio sangue poi è stato preparato, separando globuli rossi dal plasma, etichettato e congelato”. Dove? Di solito il laboratorio di appoggio era lo Humanplasma in Austria, poi coinvolto nello scandalo dei Giochi invernali di Torino. Scandalo che ha spinto il manager di Kohl, Stefan Matschiner, finito in carcere, a costituire un laboratorio fatto in casa: “Ho finanziato la mia parte con 20mila euro, altri atleti hanno fatto altrettanto. I macchinari sono arrivati agli inizi del 2007 e installati in un appartamento, il nostro quartier generale. Ma il Tour 2007 l’ho corso senza un vero protocollo di dopaggio. L’anno dopo però ho deciso che meritavo il top del top”.

"Le trasfusioni le facevo 48 ore prima delle tappe cruciali. Ci vogliono due giorni per ottenere effetti tangibili"
TRASFUSIONI — Le trasfusioni le praticava direttamente Matschiner, formato dallo Humanplasma: “Non è difficile, basta non sbagliare etichette”. Matschiner acquistava anche i prodotti dopanti in cambio di una commissione del 10% sui guadagni di Kohl che per il Tour 2008 prepara quattro sacche del suo sangue: “Solo quelle, il resto ho lasciato perdere per via dei numerosi controlli aleatori. L’Epo, l’ormone della crescita e l’insulina li ho presi prima del Tour non durante”. L’austriaco è riuscito a farsi tre trasfusioni: “La prima dopo la sesta tappa, la seconda prima dei Pirenei, l’ultima prima delle Alpi”. I controlli della polizia negli hotel? Si evitano: “Facendo sempre attenzione. Il mio manager ha fatto tre viaggi dall’Austria, mettendo ogni volta le sacche di sangue nel bagaglio registrato, già scongelato. Le trasfusioni si facevano tra le 18 e le 20, per massimo 20 minuti e non dare nell’occhio. Dipendeva dagli appuntamenti con i giornalisti. Se ero libero, Marschiner mi inviava un sms e andavo nella sua stanza”. Inefficienti i controlli dell’Uci: “La trasfusione di mezzo litro di sangue non crea variazioni sospette dei parametri sanguigni. Il mio manager mi iniettava anche dell’albumina per diluire l’ematocrito. E poi le trasfusioni le facevo sempre 48 ore prima delle tappe cruciali. Ci vogliono due giorni per ottenere effetti tangibili”.

"Tutti i primi dieci del Tour avrebbero potuto essere positivi. Ma hanno preso me. Non ho chiesto un secondo test, la pagliacciata era finita"
EPO — Kohl però è stato pescato a causa del Cera, l’Epo di terza generazione: “Eravamo certi che non fosse rilevabile. Il prodotto l’ho ottenuto da un altro corridore e me lo sono iniettato da solo. Ero tranquillo. Anche quando hanno scoperto Riccò mi sono detto che aveva sbagliato le dosi. Quando invece ho saputo che i controlli li avrebbero fatti anche dopo il Tour allora mi sono preoccupato. Ma mi sono detto che se beccavano me, beccavano tutti. Sono persuaso che i primi dieci del Tour avrebbero potuto essere tutti positivi. Ma hanno preso me, è andata così. Non ho chiesto un secondo test, la pagliacciata era finita”. Anche il passaporto biologico, promosso dall’Uci, finirebbe per favorire chi imbroglia: “Al limite, aiuterebbe i corridori a restare vicini ai loro valori che gli sarebbero comunicati regolarmente dall’Uci”.

ARMSTRONG — Kohl descrive l'ambiente ciclistico come "una sorta di organizzazione sociale che fa in modo che questo genere di cosa siano accettate da tutti", ma scagiona in parte i dirigenti del suo ex team Gerolsteiner: “Credo che il boss Hans Michael Holczer non sapesse nulla e nella squadra non c'era dopaggio sistematico, ma il dottore dubito che non avesse capito”. Intanto, in Francia, è appena uscito un nuovo libro che prende di mira Lance Armstrong che si appresta a tornare da protagonista al Tour. Eloquente il titolo: “Le Sale Tour”, lo sporco Tour (Ed. Seuil). Un libro che cerca di far luce sul sistema Armstrong e la strana alleanza con l’ex nemico, il gruppo Amaury che gestisce la Grande Boucle (ed è proprietario dell’Equipe) in nome delle nuove strategie nel mondo del marketing.

For those that don't read Italian, basically Kohl explains how he doped in preparation for and during the Tour 2008. And that he explains that there is an elite class of rider who dopes for a top ten ride at le Grande Boucle. It's a market, as I've always said. The best paid riders buy the best products and best treatments. Corporate style doping, where the CEO riders get the most outrageous end of the year bonuses, not necessarily because they've earned them, but because they're in a position of power. Period. Without doing so, a top 10 at the Tour is impossible. That's right, impossible. Not 50% impossible, not 99% impossible. 100% impossible.
 
Mar 10, 2009
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Mellow Velo said:

Just like with every medical experiment, you need some final and decisive clinical tests that prove the substance is working, before you 'administer it' to 'real' patients, when there is no leeway for mistakes anymore. The DL is the clinical test phase for TdF contenders....
 
Animal said:

Lots of interesting stuff there.

Kohl was not using anything other than transfusions during the TdF--except for CERA, which he and everyone else thought was undetectable.

He says that he needed to wait two days before a transfusion became fully effective. This contradicts speculation that riders transfuse in the morning between the time the vampires come and the race starts, and then dump the blood after the stage.

The UCI giving the riders their measured blood values makes me more convinced than ever that the biopassport is a fraud. Sure, riders can take their own measurements, bu tthe UCI is telling the riders exactly what values the UCI thinks they need to maintain.

During the Giro of either last year or the year before (I forget which) the UCI said it would not limit testing to just in the morning. This was an indication that they (probably Anne Gripper) suspected that riders were using the time between the usual morning testing and the stage start to dope. Apparently that sort of random surprise testing is no longer being done or was never being done. The UCI has maintained the window, allowing riders free reign to transfuse.

The lower level riders are at a huge disadvantage to the upper level ones when it comes to doping. They simply accept the situation, hoping or expecting that one day they will be in the upper tier.

The use of insulin seems a bit crazy and I wonder when we will hear about a rider killing himself by accident.

Kohl acknowledges that all the top riders in the Tour were doping and he was just the unlucky ******* who got caught.
 
Mar 10, 2009
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BroDeal said:
Kohl acknowledges that all the top riders in the Tour were doping and he was just the unlucky ******* who got caught.

Could it be that, because he was a relatively new kid on the block, it was easier for the UCI to oust him?

An image is evoked of a young rookie who shoots for instant fame and glory, and wham, he 'starts' using perfromance enancers, therewith reinforcing the 'few bad apples' myth. (See Ricco as well). The other story that gets hold of the masses is the old, about to retire cyclist who has nothing to lose and wants to shine bright in his last year of competition (Piepoli)...

Tdf 2008

1. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 87h 52' 52"
2. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE - LOTTO 87h 53' 50" + 00' 58"
3. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 87h 54' 05" + 01' 13"
4. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 87h 55' 02" + 02' 10"
5. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 87h 55' 57" + 03' 05"
6. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 87h 57' 20" + 04' 28"
7. SANCHEZ Samuel 27 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 87h 59' 17" + 06' 25"
8. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 87h 59' 47" + 06' 55"
9. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 88h 00' 04" + 07' 12"
10. VALJAVEC Tadej 109 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 88h 01' 57" + 09' 05"
11. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 88h 02' 47" + 09' 55"
12. SCHLECK Andy 16 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 88h 04' 24" + 11' 32"
13. KREUZIGER Roman 65 LIQUIGAS 88h 05' 51" + 12' 59"
14. CASAR Sandy 161 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 88h 12' 15" + 19' 23"
15. MOINARD Amaël 187 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 88h 16' 23" + 23' 31"
 
So, quite clearly, Sandy Casar and Amael Moinard were the winner and RU of the 2008 Tour.:rolleyes:
On a side issue. The ASO and UCI have a joint press conference tomorrow. On the agenda are these wonderful "cure all" passports and an official announcement from Prudhomme (already on Gazetta) that Valverde will not be allowed to ride Le Grand Boucle....
 
Interesting that the cyclingnews account of Kohl's newest confession differs from the Velonews story with regard to the passport. The Velonews story says that the UCI revealed the values of riders who had failed tests to other riders. The way I interpreted the cyclingnews story is that the UCI gave the riders the results of their own tests, which they could use to maintain an even profile. The Velonews version is much more damning.
 
What about the CERA? no CERA during the tour. I guess the marker stays for a long time if he did it before the tour.

I am not sure if agree with Kohl that the other guys were on CERA. It looks like the other riders were on "Blood Doping" and that's why they were not caught. I don't think is a Vendetta. Probably the older riders know how to dope better.

Brodeal: I know about the use of insulin in the past (Pantani, Jakche's confession) but what is the risk implication for it and why they use it??
 
May 13, 2009
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Escarabajo said:
What about the CERA? no CERA during the tour. I guess the marker stays for a long time if he did it before the tour.

I am not sure if agree with Kohl that the other guys were on CERA. It looks like the other riders were on "Blood Doping" and that's why they were not caught. I don't think is a Vendetta. Probably the older riders know how to dope better.

Brodeal: I know about the use of insulin in the past (Pantani, Jakche's confession) but what is the risk implication for it and why they use it??

I'm not sure. My guess is that the false negative is pretty high for the Cera test. Remember that most of Ricco's tests came back negative (AFAIK). Since we know that Cera stays in your system for quite some time (weeks) the only way to explain those two facts would be a large percentage of false negatives.
 

whiteboytrash

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Mar 17, 2009
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One should remember that if the UCI was running the dope testing at last years Tour Kohl would not have got pinged. It was the AFLD solo that busted him. So no the UCI didn't want to oust him.

Bala Verde said:
Could it be that, because he was a relatively new kid on the block, it was easier for the UCI to oust him?

An image is evoked of a young rookie who shoots for instant fame and glory, and wham, he 'starts' using perfromance enancers, therewith reinforcing the 'few bad apples' myth. (See Ricco as well). The other story that gets hold of the masses is the old, about to retire cyclist who has nothing to lose and wants to shine bright in his last year of competition (Piepoli)...

Tdf 2008

1. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 87h 52' 52"
2. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE - LOTTO 87h 53' 50" + 00' 58"
3. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 87h 54' 05" + 01' 13"
4. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 87h 55' 02" + 02' 10"
5. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 87h 55' 57" + 03' 05"
6. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 87h 57' 20" + 04' 28"
7. SANCHEZ Samuel 27 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 87h 59' 17" + 06' 25"
8. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 87h 59' 47" + 06' 55"
9. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 88h 00' 04" + 07' 12"
10. VALJAVEC Tadej 109 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 88h 01' 57" + 09' 05"
11. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 88h 02' 47" + 09' 55"
12. SCHLECK Andy 16 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 88h 04' 24" + 11' 32"
13. KREUZIGER Roman 65 LIQUIGAS 88h 05' 51" + 12' 59"
14. CASAR Sandy 161 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 88h 12' 15" + 19' 23"
15. MOINARD Amaël 187 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 88h 16' 23" + 23' 31"
 
Escarabajo said:
Brodeal: I know about the use of insulin in the past (Pantani, Jakche's confession) but what is the risk implication for it and why they use it??

I know that insulin has been used for doping. It is just that this is something that you really could kill yourself with.

Cobble is probably right about the high false negative rate for the CERA test. Then again, maybe the AFLD did not test everything. Perhaps they only tested the samples of those they suspected. I expected a lot more positives to come out of the post-TdF testing. It seemed strange that the only ones who were caught were those who were so obvious.
 
May 17, 2009
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Escarabajo said:
Now the French Rider Association wants to sue Kohl for the statement about the top ten in the Tour all doped. Now, were there any french riders in the top ten?

I'm sure if you DQed all the people who cheated you'd have a couple of French riders in the top 10. Or should I say top 7 as that'll be about how many riders you have left? Highest placed Frenchman was Sandy Casar, and I think he was the highest place rider who looks slightly cleaner than the rest so maybe he won it?
 

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