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Sagan Clean?

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Aug 17, 2016
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I can't believe this story has any legs. In the US, no one was losing their minds because of the NFL's Marshawn Lynch eating skittles after scoring TD's and being out on offense for a while. Have any of you ever suffered from real hunger knock? It's a pretty shitty feeling, and it makes you dizzy and lifeless. I don't know if that's what Sagan was going through, but I'm just telling you, when you are completely drained, the best thing to put in is something with a bit of substance and sugar. Gatorade isn't going to quell that feeling, and it's basically impossible to eat real food (you feel hungry, but nauseated). Sagan should probably be consuming something from his nutrition sponsor, but he's just turning into kind of a weirdo, so eating gummy bears doesn't really faze me at all.

There's a lot more real doping and masking going on to focus on this guy eating weird crap after a race.

And if he's trying to do "something" by wolfing those things down, I'd love to know the magical masking properties of gummy bears... They are basically sugar and glycerin.
 
fmk_RoI said:
veganrob said:
Except that Bora-Hansgrohe has a sponsor in High5 sports Nutrition. I would think that they would want to see one of their drinks in Sagan's hand after a race and not a bunch of gummy worms.
But we all know it doesn't always work like that, hence taped over logos on kit etc.


To reply to you, yes we all know that they cover up some equipment because a team or rider does not like that product.
But, I guess you still don't understand what we are discussing here, do you. Or just give a flippant reply because you are wrong.
 
red_flanders said:
sniper said:
Scatto said:
Nutritionist Nicolas Paraskevopulos of Bakala Academy says it is nothing but a change of taste after a day with gels. Lame excuse or disappointing truth? Time will tell.

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/952/Wielre...an-en-co-gummibeertjes-eten-na-aankomst.dhtml
Good link.

To your question,
"they work just as well as expensive recuperation shakes" is clearly a lame excuse.

It's not clear to me at all. I looked and could find no studies which supported a claim either way, though certainly that information could be out there. I mean yeah, I'd like to think that products specifically aimed at aiding recovery worked better, but I'd also be wary that they are pure marketing nonsense, and clearly replacing glycogen is somewhere at the heart of the recovery question. Sure, who cares that recovery drinks cost a tiny bit more. No team cares about the 1 Euro savings, but that really isn't the central point. I have personal experience with candy-based recovery that tells me sugar works darned well. A total bonk out in the back roads of France, not a sports nutrition outlet to be found, and 4 snickers bars later I finished out the last 45 miles of a 110 mile day. I love gummies. Would rather eat them than a gel any day. Only advantage of a gel is that it's easier to carry and consume while on the bike. After? Who cares.

It's also not clear why it's an "excuse" because it's not been made clear how gummies specifically could be breaking or aiding in breaking the rules. Some have speculated that the gelatin masks or clears doping agents, but I think this was related to cannabis and it's far from clear they could have an immediate effect. I tend to doubt one could eat a bunch of gummies and instantly have all the cannabis clear from one's system, before a doping control, or that cannabis is the drug at issue.
If one is going to make a case that these are suspicious, maybe at least...make a case. So far I don't see anything.

I can corroborate the chocolate story, in my case a 6 pack of mars bars did the trick!

Aside from the this is the usual clinic nonsense. I certainly wouldn't claim that sagan (or many other cyclists) are clean but eating a pack of sweets when you're knackered isn't any sort of evidence.
 
Oct 16, 2010
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red_flanders said:
It's not clear to me at all. I looked and could find no studies which supported a claim either way, though certainly that information could be out there. I mean yeah, I'd like to think that products specifically aimed at aiding recovery worked better, but I'd also be wary that they are pure marketing nonsense, and clearly replacing glycogen is somewhere at the heart of the recovery question. Sure, who cares that recovery drinks cost a tiny bit more. No team cares about the 1 Euro savings, but that really isn't the central point. I have personal experience with candy-based recovery that tells me sugar works darned well. A total bonk out in the back roads of France, not a sports nutrition outlet to be found, and 4 snickers bars later I finished out the last 45 miles of a 110 mile day. I love gummies. Would rather eat them than a gel any day. Only advantage of a gel is that it's easier to carry and consume while on the bike. After? Who cares.

It's also not clear why it's an "excuse" because it's not been made clear how gummies specifically could be breaking or aiding in breaking the rules. Some have speculated that the gelatin masks or clears doping agents, but I think this was related to cannabis and it's far from clear they could have an immediate effect. I tend to doubt one could eat a bunch of gummies and instantly have all the cannabis clear from one's system, before a doping control, or that cannabis is the drug at issue.

If one is going to make a case that these are suspicious, maybe at least...make a case. So far I don't see anything.
The speculation is not about masking cannabis, but about masking PEDs.
The link was about cannabis.
Otherwise, fair points.
It's speculation.
But seeing the reactions in press and social media, at least observers seem to agree it was an unusual sight.
So worthy of speculation me thinks.

The usual hyperbolic sarcastic denialism (not from you, mind) in reply to Sciatto's thought-provoking post didn't help much, though, and it's the main reason why we're still discussing it.
 
veganrob said:
I guess you still don't understand what we are discussing here, do you.
We are discussing here possibly The Clinic's craziest conspiracy theory yet, one in which sweeties are being used as a masking agent but masking what and masking how are both unknown. Next: Sagan is an alien from BBZZ9Alpha - if I'm proved wrong down the line so be it, but for now it's possible. Lame theory or disappointing truth? Time will tell.
 
Re:

PeterB said:
Actually, seeing Haribos reminded me something and now I finally found what it was: https://cyclingtips.com/2014/05/lotto-belisol-team-bus-tour-with-adam-hansen/
I'm sure I saw them also at least in one other team bus video but don't have time to search for it now. What a job to be supplied with candies at work! :)
Haribo do a lot in cycling, have done for a long time. They especially like to give them out like, well, candy. You're going to see professional cyclists with them.
71068887.jpg
 
Jul 21, 2016
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http://www.philly.com/philly/health/sportsmedicine/Post-workout_key_Gummy_bears.html

The obvious answer is the right one; he just likes a big handful of gummy bears after a race. Probably does the same in training too. The gummy bear as optimal recovery food has been around for years, it's not new. Bodybuilders have advocated it for years. When I was racing it was Jelly Babies. Sagan is just a gummy bear man. A hairy gummy bear man.

Whether he had hunger knock or not at end of the race is a red herring. Soigneurs usually have a little backpack with the various things their riders want/need at the end of a race. No advance communication needed. Many want a can of coke. Some want recovery shake. Sagan likes gummy bears.

The drug masking idea is tinfoil-hat stuff. Very unlikely top riders nowadays have enough doping product still in their system to be at risk of failing post-race testing. Too high a risk. Controlled micro-dosing in advance, maybe plus masking agents, is what they are doing.

Even if he took such a stupidly high risk, the gummy bear idea as masking agent seems incredibly silly. Fastest absorption is surely liquid, sublingual or ingestion, not swallowing gummies. Never mind that these gummies laced with masking agents would have to be specifically made by someone in the team, made to look like Haribos, tested to see how effective they are etc. Pointless waste of considerable time. And gelatin alone might work at masking as in that Cannabis link, who knows, but certainly not in the very short time window before the post-race test. Our metabolism doesn't work that quickly.

What is more interesting to me is that this is even being discussed. Indicative of just how little trust there is in riders now, suspicion over absolutely everything. Probably justifiably so, unfortunately. This gummy bear thing is by far the maddest suspicion I've seen so far though.
 
Yeah, I mean, what kind of masking agent can there be in gummy bears that works instantly and that cannot be in a drink instead? Would people have gone crazy if they saw him drink coke after the race (or a beer)?

Masking agent at work here as well?
FabianCancellaraBeerChug.png
 
Oct 16, 2010
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fmk_RoI said:
Next: Sagan is an alien from BBZZ9Alpha
Right now your sugar rush hypothesis is as crazy and speculative as any, even though you present it as fact.
A guy with a millionaire contract who clearly had enough sugars to win the finale of KBK, sugar rush post-finish.
And his soigneur saw it coming. And pulled out a bag of haribos.
Yep, might as well be talking aliens.
 
Jul 21, 2016
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Sniper, I think it's a mistake to conflate examples like the ones you've given with any crazy theory in an attempt to give it credibility, even if just speculative credibility.

The examples you gave all carry a degree of internal logic in their own context. The attempts at masking or avoiding tests were logical choices in context. Tyler's twin was a logical if depressingly desperate attempt to avoid a ban. On the other hand, Sagan using gummy bears as a masking agent carries no logic whatsoever. If he really needed to mask something under those circumstances, and remember he's risking losing his career, the masking agent carrier needs to be very very fast acting in order to be confident it has worked in time for the test he's about to have. So it has to be liquid, probably tincture or sublingual lozenge. The time to metabolise a laced gummy bear wouldn't work, or at least couldn't be predictable. The idea is just silly.

The first principle though, in my opinion, is that top pro's expecting to be up there for the podium do not enter racing knowing they will need a masking agent. Not nowadays. The drug metabolites have long left their system and I think they will be sure of this. So the gummy bear speculation is moot. Fails on first principles. Fails on basic logic. It appeals to my enjoyment in debating the completely absurd though.
 
Sep 15, 2014
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Sagan's Soigneur: Anything special you would like today when you finish the race?
Peter Sagan: If I don't win I want rice cakes, if I win I want Haribo gummies, I had a craving for those this morning.
SS: You got it Peter.

Or

Sagan's Soigneur: Anything special you would like today when you finish the race?
Peter Sagan: I think today I will mask my doping, mmmmm, let's try Haribo gummies!
SS: You got it Peter.

Just as a fair warning, the above is purely fictional, and should not be included in any theories for or against the use of doping in the professional peloton.
And just for the record my world wouldn't tumble if Sagan was caught masking anything. I jusr find the clutching of highly imaginable straws incredibly one-tracked and stupid.
 
General note to all

There is absolutely no common knowledge, proof, data, or even speculation that gives this gummy bear "masking agent" theory any legs whatsoever. Please read forum rules, after you do that you'll see that this line of conversation is against forum policy. I'm going to stand behind what I'm saying here and start deleting any comments that post anything more than a stated opinion.
 
Credibility has been lost by many (if they had much at all in the first place) in this line of discussion. I thought that we had stretched the limits of over-the-top suspicions but this has it's own universe of absurdity and silliness. How can anyone who supported this foolishness actually call themselves a fan of the sport? How can they even watch and enjoy any high level cycling competition with a thought process like this? It's kind of sad. :(
 
Jul 21, 2016
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It's hilarious. I love the idea someone has watched a pro rider gulping down gummy bears and thought ''Holy ***! Masking agents''.
Kind of a shame Irondan has put a block to more speculation/discussion though. I'm bored and was finding it quite entertaining debating the completely absurd in a semi-serious way.
By far the maddest idea I've seen in the Clinic.
 
I forgot that Bora itself is often promoting healthy food recipes. Must have been why they put this (twitter) out even though it was a very marginal use of their stuff. And again, his wife part-owns a health food company, which sponsors the team and has Peter as a spokesman. And that's in addition to Bora's sports nutrition partner High5 and everyone else I mentioned earlier. And he just went to town on those Haribos, all throughout the post-race, the camera an inch form his face. The honey badger meme was played out years ago, but good God.

P.S. Not trying to fan any flames here. I'm reticent about censorship of any type, particularly here, but I respect Irondan doing his best Bora impression on these particular fumes after allowing them to burn out.
 
Oct 16, 2010
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Re:

@dan:
as i posted earlier (and it was remarkably deleted by a mod), modified gelatine is a masking agent and included as such on WADAs prohibited list.
<link removed by mods>
you also overlook that Sagan may have doped in the final kilometers, finish bottles etc., you've no doubt heard of those. So there might be a motive for masking post-finish.
And well, this being procycling...just saying, while it's definitely mad (we agree), maybe that's procycling for you.

And of course all usual disclaimers apply. :D
 
Re: Re:

sniper said:
@dan:
as i posted earlier (and it was remarkably deleted by a mod), modified gelatine is a masking agent and included as such on WADAs prohibited list.
<link removed by mods>
you also overlook that Sagan may have doped in the final kilometers, finish bottles etc., you've no doubt heard of those. So there might be a motive for masking post-finish.
And well, this being procycling...just saying, while it's definitely mad (we agree), maybe that's procycling for you.

And of course all usual disclaimers apply. :D
I didn't miss anything sniper, which is not all that remarkable..

I'm not going to argue with you or anyone else in this thread, the gummy bear "masking agent" discussion is over, per very clear forum policy.

If you or anyone else has an issue with my moderation of this thread you have the option to voice your displeasure in the "moderators" thread.

Cheers
I didn't miss anything sniper, which is not all that remarkable.. :rolleyes:

I'm not going to argue with you or anyone else in this thread, the gummy bear "masking agent" discussion is over in this thread, per very clear forum policy.

Again, I will inform you all that any comments that are off topic, or against forum policy will be removed from this thread.

If anyone has an issue with moderation in this thread please voice your displeasure in the "moderators" thread.

For further discussion on "masking agents" please refer to the new topic that I just created.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/viewtopic.php?p=2068701#p2068701

Cheers
 
I swear if the theories on here get any more outlandish... At this rate we'll soon be having people posting
LOOK AT HIM RIGHT THERE! HIM WITH THE BOTTLE! THERE MUST BE DRUGS AND STUFF IN THAT!
every time a rider takes a drink from his bidon.


And apparently bike changes are done because of the performance-enhancing suppositories they build into the saddles.
 
I was listening to an interview today from what was formerly the telegraph cycling podcast with Sagan's new teammate Sam Bennett http://thecyclingpodcast.com/podcast/alberto-contador-lights-up-paris-nice-episode-10. He was asked why he's stronger this year and he put it down to doing an "altitude camp with Sagan" he mentioned how he previously struggled with climbing but now at the Paris - NIce he was with the front group going over Cat 1s. The whole thing sounded like the most obvious sign posted doping interview in years. It was like something from the 90s before riders had their guard up with the media.
 

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