Riis' Health

[Trek1000]

Bjarne Riis was a major doper for years. Absued his body to extreme lenghts.

However his health seem excellent. Head of a team is a very busy and stressful job yet his health seems perfect.

Therefore can we say such extreme doping is actually not bad for your health??

Virenque is another who seems in great condition.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Bjarne Riis was a major doper for years. Absued his body to extreme lenghts.

However his health seem excellent. Head of a team is a very busy and stressful job yet his health seems perfect.

Therefore can we say such extreme doping is actually not bad for your health??

Virenque is another who seems in great condition.

How fortunate for them. What's your point?

 

[Merckx index]

83% of people who play the original Russian roulette come out alive. Pretty good odds, huh?

 

[Trek1000]

How fortunate for them. What's your point?

My point is maybe hard doping is not so bad for your health as we thought

 

[cyclestationgiuseppe]

Oh yeah it is not that bad?
What a stupid argument in support of doping....
Gee it is not that bad...
I am sure Tom Simpson would not agree if he were still alive.

http://www.theathlete.org/doping-in-sport.htm

Doping and detriment to health

"Doping not only contravenes the spirit of fair competition, it can be seriously detrimental to health. Elite athletes who turn to doping take the greatest risks which seem to pale in contrast to their burning desire for gold. Anabolic steroids affect cardiovascular and mental health and are associated with an increased risk of neoplasms.5,6 Dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids have been linked to serious health risks including hypertension, tachycardia, stroke, seizures and death.7 This finding has lead to the recall of ephedra containing supplements in the USA and Canada. Deaths under the influence of drugs and combinations thereof are not uncommon in sport. The peptide hormones or so-called "sports-designer drugs" are thought to be the most dangerous, although the combination of amphetamines, anabolic steroids or antihypertensives combined with intense exertion in athletes are just as hazardous. America's dream girl Florence Griffith Joyner, "Flo-Jo", and the Cuban runner Chelimo both died from cardiovascular events at 38 years of age. Natural causes or doping? We will never know. President Bill Clinton said of Flo-Jo " we were dazzled by her speed, humbled by her talent and captivated by her style". "

 

[Trek1000]

Riis seems in great health. Not in favour of doping but himself and Virenque are two examples of former dopers in good health.

With all science there is an alternative argument. We know both used steroids and HGH yet I dont see any weird effects from it.

We know both used an tonne of EPO and I dont see them having heart problems

 

[WD-40.]

My point is maybe hard doping is not so bad for your health as we thought

There is doping and then there is doping... Doping for performance enhancement is not always going to do significant harm and there almost always are positives as well as negatives to health from doping.

If you are a pro racing bikes that is not good for your health...

Bottom line is that few on forums like these have a clue about health or the real effects of doping on the body, the intelligent ones here will admit that. But it is human nature to often believe that one knows a great deal more than they really do. Hardcore anti-dopers that do not understand the human body will often ignore the truth to fuel their arguments, this I see time and time again. I respect people trying to do the right thing but the truth gets savaged and facts get thrown out the window all too often.

BTW I am all for fair sport and wish doping methods did not exist much of the time, but the reality is that anti-doping propaganda is rife.

 

[Hugh Januss]

My point is maybe hard doping is not so bad for your health as we thought

Yeah well, Amy Winehouse is still alive too.
BTW I knew that was your point. FAIL!

 

[WD-40.]

Riis seems in great health. Not in favour of doping but himself and Virenque are two examples of former dopers in good health.

With all science there is an alternative argument. We know both used steroids and HGH yet I dont see any weird effects from it.

We know both used an tonne of EPO and I dont see them having heart problems

There are hundreds of thousands of men using testosterone and HGH daily purely for health reasons at similar doses to what pro cyclists had used in the past - ie a great deal less than what any bodybuilder would use amateur of professional. There are fewer effects than one may imagine and certainly no "weird" effects.

Some use EPO too but its use is much less common, and no unless one is behaving irresponsibly then no other issues are ever likely to surface. Very high Ferritin levels is a serious issue that can happen with some EPO users if left untreated, but will not be an issue to a responsible person of which there are many.

 

[pedaling squares]

Good point. Iggy Pop is still with us and his drug use was legendary. Maybe we should all hit the meds like Mr 60%.

 

[Trek1000]

So what we have learned here is doping is actually grand for your health.

 

[cyclestationgiuseppe]

Yeah well, Amy Winehouse is still alive too.
BTW I knew that was your point. FAIL!

So is Keith Richards after years of shooting heroin...but his face looks like 10 miles of bad freeway....gee I guess heroin is not that bad.

 

[WD-40.]

Good point. Iggy Pop is still with us and his drug use was legendary. Maybe we should all hit the meds like Mr 60%.

He never touched HGH, testosterone, EPO etc... Not the same as drinking alcohol like a fish and snorting boat loads of cocaine.

 

[Darryl Webster]

Riis seems in great health. Not in favour of doping but himself and Virenque are two examples of former dopers in good health.

With all science there is an alternative argument. We know both used steroids and HGH yet I dont see any weird effects from it.

We know both used an tonne of EPO and I dont see them having heart problems

As yet!...neither are exactly old men.

Long term health damage is, just as with just about anything, highly variable. Most dopers, I`d sugest , come out of it prety much unscathed..much the same as with most illegal drug users.
Every one has the story of the 90 + yearl old smoker/ gin/ whisky drinker/ ex minor etc.

 

[WD-40.]

So what we have learned here is doping is actually grand for your health.

No we have not. Doping can have serious health risks particularly in some sports like bodybuilding. Doping in cycling - despite what some here may imagine is about oxygen transport and utilization hence the need for more red blood cells and thus EPO.

Continuous use of cortisone will likely have negative effects to health. However along with this comes a negative effect on performance, so it is widely known not to let it happen in the first place.

 

[Hugh Januss]

He never touched HGH, testosterone, EPO etc... Not the same as drinking alcohol like a fish and snorting boat loads of cocaine.

True enough, drinking like a fish is not against any rules until you get behind the wheel.

 

[neineinei]

Bjarne Riis was a major doper for years. Absued his body to extreme lenghts.

However his health seem excellent. Head of a team is a very busy and stressful job yet his health seems perfect.

Therefore can we say such extreme doping is actually not bad for your health??

Virenque is another who seems in great condition.

Riis is 46 years old. Average life expectancy in Denmark for men is 76, lets get back to this in 30 years. Or 100 years perhaps, to see how his offspring fares.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

No we have not. Doping can have serious health risks particularly in some sports like bodybuilding. Doping in cycling - despite what some here may imagine is about oxygen transport and utilization hence the need for more red blood cells and thus EPO.

Continuous use of cortisone will likely have negative effects to health. However along with this comes a negative effect on performance, so it is widely known not to let it happen in the first place.

Riders also use steroids, testosterone and HGH (and probably some other stuff we know little about) and we know for a fact that those can have serious consequences for one's health.

 

[Chuffy]

Two people is an anecdote, not a statistically valid sample.

 

[Polish]

Bjarne Riis was a major doper for years. Absued his body to extreme lenghts.

However his health seem excellent. Head of a team is a very busy and stressful job yet his health seems perfect.

Therefore can we say such extreme doping is actually not bad for your health??

Virenque is another who seems in great condition.

Trek1000, Bjarne's current fitness is evidence that he is STILL doping.

If he were truly clean, he should look more like current day LeMond.

 

[Tubeless]

Some use EPO too but its use is much less common, and no unless one is behaving irresponsibly then no other issues are ever likely to surface. Very high Ferritin levels is a serious issue that can happen with some EPO users if left untreated, but will not be an issue to a responsible person of which there are many.

How exactly does EPO cause high ferritin levels? Clinically, it's the reverse. Ferritin is the value of iron stores in your blood, typically measured in ng/ml. Iron is required to form hemoglobin. Injecting yourself with EPO will trigger increased red blood cell production which will increase your total hemoglobin mass - which in turn will reduce your ferritin levels unless you're taking supplemental iron (or eating lots of red meat) as well.

 

[brianf7]

Testosterone EPO etc ounce you start you are on it for life.
See what happens to the dopers when they get to 50Yo We had dopers in the 1960's but most of them are dead now.

 

[LanceInMyPants]

Different sport different PED's

Lemmy Kilmister, the lead singer for Motorhead is a notorious party animal. Being a rock star, you could say his choice for PED's would be alcohol and speed among others.
Here's what he said (from wikipedia)
I first got into speed because it was a utilitarian drug and kept you awake when you needed to be awake, when otherwise you'd just be flat out on your back. If you drive to Glasgow for nine hours in the back of a sweaty truck you don't really feel like going onstage feeling all bright and breezy... It's the only drug I've found that I can get on with, and I've tried them all — except smack and morphine: I've never fixed anything.
—Lemmy[6]

Since he's 64, maybe the point can be made drugs have benefitted ol' Lemmy.
Personally, I'll stick with espresso and the occasional beer.

 

[Wallace]

I am seriously impressed--moved, maybe even awed. I think that in the long and grueling search for the all-time stupidest cyclingnewsforums thread, this one might actually be the winner. And when you think of all the trolls who've come here, the endless, redundant, repetitive debates about the same issue over and over until your eyeballs bleed, for someone to have come up with an idea for a thread so stupid, so obviously misguided in all its assumptions, so mindshatteringly *** that you can actually feel your iq melting as you read the initial comments... it is a beautiful thing. Well done.

 

[Berzin]

I would have thought Jalabert would have dropped dead by now.

But hey, look at Laurent Fignon. He was relatively healthy for a very long time and died at age 50.

And Jacques Anquetil for all intent and purposes also died very young at age 53.

And they both died from terrible diseases that inflicted excruciating pain on them, nothing I would wish on anyone.