State of the Peloton 2025

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

Is Lotto too dumb to know about these drugs? Was UAE until this year?

They might very well be reluctant to use them, Wellens was very vocal about is refusal to use TUEs here, but crickets since he is at UAE. Or it could simply be chalked as "lotto doing lotto stuff", they were never the most inventive team.

As for UAE, the marked improvement of Wellens in the heat dates from this year and the "pogi can't stand the heat" thing was always overblown, so yes, maybe, but i also stated that it might simply be an effect of the threshold boost Wellens got there. Or are you pretending that there isn't a marked difference between lotto and UAE Wellens? I mean a former pro female cyclist made a sarcastic remark to that effect live just today...

 

[kingjr]

They might very well be reluctant to use them, Wellens was very vocal about is refusal to use TUEs here, but crickets since he is at UAE. Or it could simply be chalked as "lotto doing lotto stuff", they were never the most inventive team.

As for UAE, the marked improvement of Wellens in the heat dates from this year and the "pogi can't stand the heat" thing was always overblown, so yes, maybe, but i also stated that it might simply be an effect of the threshold boost Wellens got there. Or are you pretending that there isn't a marked difference between lotto and UAE Wellens? I mean a former pro female cyclist made a sarcastic remark to that effect live just today...

I think he has been underperforming more or less since 2020. I don't think there is a marked difference between UAE Wellens and top Lotto Wellens. I'd say today was a trademark Wellens performance, in fact.

 

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

I think he has been underperforming more or less since 2020. I don't think there is a marked difference between UAE Wellens and top Lotto Wellens. I'd say today was a trademark Wellens performance, in fact.

We'll just have to agree to disagree i guess.

 

[Ripper]

We'll just have to agree to disagree i guess.

Wellens is certainly on fire though. Belgian champ, and held off Remco in winning. Helping to control the peloton, and of course today. I mean, he is also everything Victor said (funny interview there), so that helps! And at least he is not a full blow d-bag like Politt.

I honestly am beginning to think the whole 'heat adaptation training' is of course happening, but is really just a cover for a % boost in power, which as you've noted, makes heat much easier to cope with.

As for buproprion, I don't think you even need a TUE, you just need a prescription

 

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

Wellens is certainly on fire though. Belgian champ, and held off Remco in winning. Helping to control the peloton, and of course today. I mean, he is also everything Victor said (funny interview there), so that helps! And at least he is not a full blow d-bag like Politt.

I honestly am beginning to think the whole 'heat adaptation training' is of course happening, but is really just a cover for a % boost in power, which as you've noted, makes heat much easier to cope with.

As for buproprion, I don't think you even need a TUE, you just need a prescription

Bupropion is not on the prohibited list afaik indeed, but i'd bet many people would be reluctant to use an antidepressant to get better heat adaptation.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Bupropion is not on the prohibited list afaik indeed, but i'd bet many people would be reluctant to use an antidepressant to get better heat adaptation.

Normal people yes, but pros who throw all kind of stimulants and painkillers in their body anyway (the whole Tramadol thing, for example) and guys like Bjarne Riis taking up to 8 pills of Prozac while racing to no longer feel any pressure (or anything at all), they probably take more dangerous stuff for less gains...

 

[Ripper]

Bupropion is not on the prohibited list afaik indeed, but i'd bet many people would be reluctant to use an antidepressant to get better heat adaptation.

I believe it is only good for heat adaptation when used intermittently for short periods.

Why do you think there would be reluctance? I would anticipate any prescription for such medication would have multiple reasons ... some that might be performance related

 

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

I believe it is only good for heat adaptation when used intermittently for short periods.

Why do you think there would be reluctance? I would anticipate any prescription for such medication would have multiple reasons ... some that might be performance related

Yes, with chronic use there was noted an elevation of core temperature during exercise, which can't be good.

This is probably just me, but i'm reluctant to use psychoactive drugs for work (i don't even drink coffee mind you, never acquired the taste for it).

And i'm not a complete stranger to mind altering substances either, i just keep "fun" and "work" separated, so to speak, i've seen what crossing that line entails on a few people, and that's not for me.

 

[AttaqueDeRolland]

65 wins now for UAE with Wellens chipping in. This train has no breaks. This kind of completely unhinged, shameless, brazen greed is completely in line with their title sponsor. If they were handed a solid gold medal, they would ask for it to also be gold-plated, because gold in and of its own is just not enough. "Much wants more;" hopefully, we'll also get to the "and loses all" part sooner rather than later.

66 now after a dominant Isaac del Toro display.

Their last three non-TT wins should tell you everything you need to know about this team:

• Isaac del Toro wins with a 33-kilometer solo break.
• Tim Wellens wins with a 43-kilometer solo break.
• Tadej Pogačar wins with an 11-kilometer solo break.

And then we can, of course, add Pogi's dominant time-trial display, where he even smashed his TT-bike-riding opponents on the flat section despite being on a normal bike.

Everything about this team is so far off the spectrum of credibility that it's utterly ridiculous.

 

[Ripper]

Yes, with chronic use there was noted an elevation of core temperature during exercise, which can't be good.

This is probably just me, but i'm reluctant to use psychoactive drugs for work (i don't even drink coffee mind you, never acquired the taste for it).

And i'm not a complete stranger to mind altering substances either, i just keep "fun" and "work" separated, so to speak, i've seen what crossing that line entails on a few people, and that's not for me.

Ah! Well, I am not sure antidepressants would fit into the mind altering stream. And even less so if take for short periods.

 

[Ripper]

66 now after a dominant Isaac del Toro display.

Their last three non-TT wins should tell you everything you need to know about this team:

• Isaac del Toro wins with a 33-kilometer solo break.
• Tim Wellens wins with a 43-kilometer solo break.
• Tadej Pogačar wins with an 11-kilometer solo break.

And then we can, of course, add Pogi's dominant time-trial display, where he even smashed his TT-bike-riding opponents on the flat section despite being on a normal bike.

Everything about this team is so far off the spectrum of credibility that it's utterly ridiculous.

Absolutely!

 

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

Ah! Well, I am not sure antidepressants would fit into the mind altering stream. And even less so if take for short periods.

Bupropion is on a class on its own, it's a cathinone derivative with a pharmacological profile (NDRI) that is quite different from the classical SSRI/SNRI antidepressants.

 

[Shakes]

Really good article,

An Anatomy Of The Doping Story That Has The Tour de France Press Room Buzzing | Defector

MONTPELLIER, France — Fifteen stages and two rest days into the Tour de France, the talk of the press room is not Tadej Pogacar rampaging toward his fourth yellow jersey, brave Kevin Vauquelin trying for an unlikely top-five finish, or Jonas Vingegaard’s absurd time-trial helmet. The story that...

defector.com

 

[Ripper]

Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I have not the skillz to do the w/kg calculations. But do we have a new climbing record?

 

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I have not the skillz to do the w/kg calculations. But do we have a new climbing record?

1'20" faster than mayo it seems

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Ridiculous man. I remember the disbelief over Superman's time in 2021 and of course he got popped a year later. Now they put 3 minutes into him

 

[jono]

1'20" faster than mayo it seems

So Lipowitz and Roglic also went faster than Mayo?

 

[ColonelKidneyBeans]

So Lipowitz and Roglic also went faster than Mayo?

Seems so

 

[Gingivitis]

ugh juice is spreading around. Tadej will have the record but he can thank Visma and Jonas for it.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

ugh juice is spreading around. Tadej will have the record but he can thank Visma and Jonas for it.

They've both been as bad as each other since covid.

 

[Red Rick]

Seriously how is anyone remotely surprised that when Plateau de Beille gets beaten by 4 minutes the post-Epo record of the Ventoux goes down on the flattest of runins.

 

[zlev11]

yeah i thought they would beat it by more

 

[Red Rick]

To me this actually looks like Pogacar toned it down after the Pyrenees.

 

[Brullnux]

Seriously how is anyone remotely surprised that when Plateau de Beille gets beaten by 4 minutes the post-Epo record of the Ventoux goes down on the flattest of runins.

In fairness basically every Ventoux run-in is the same, not sure how much difference three or four shallow and lightly-paced Cat 3 climbs make compared to today, which was flat but fast.

 

[Gingivitis]

To me this actually looks like Pogacar toned it down after the Pyrenees.

so what youre saying is Jonas, Primož and Florian were faster than Iban and Tadej still has a reserve on top of it. Nice days for cycling in general.