What use is testosterone for cyclists?

[Cookster15]

Re:

Ferminal, I agree that the primary goal of the drugs is to go faster. But the suffering has to be a little less. The cyclist don't know it. Or maybe some. I am sure that guys in the Gruppetto appreciate the doping to make it through the mountains with less suffering.

Agreed, what Ferminal wrote does not make logical sense. When the doper is sitting in the lead group on a mountain stage he will be suffering less than those around him who might not be doping because the doper is riding a few percent below his threshold at the same speed.

Threshold = Anaerobic threshold. Anaerobic threshold is where the muscles produce more lactic acid then they can burn. More lactic acid = more suffering. The closer and longer to your threshold you ride the more your suffering all else being equal.

Only when they attack or in a TT is the perceived suffering of the doper the same as the non doper. But in a grand Tour what % of the three weeks (90~ hours) is spent attacking or TT? Very little. The rest of the time they get to save their bikkies while the non dopers are closer to their limits. Non dopers then get criticised for not attacking which just encourages them to join the doping gravy train.