Wout van Aert

[Cookster15]

I think his team doctor has maybe tried a new dose of drug that is simply undetectable and is working well for he and MVP.

Since that won't avoid a possible biological passport abnormality any ideas what this new drug could be? Anything that boosts RBC or Hematocrit risks getting picked up. Whether the drug itself is detectable is irrelevant for oxygen vector doping. Even autologous transfusion can in theory be detected by abnormalities (e.g. age of RBCs).

To be clear, I am not saying WvA or MVdP aren't doping just asking for better logic and reason in this search for an explanation for the crazy speeds since the pandemic.

 

[meat puppet]

If the blood values are managed well, the passport offers substantial leeway. From memory, the passport will only flag an athlete if the combo of rbc count and reticulocytes is such that with 99,98% or so probabality it cannot occur naturally. Dr Michael Ashenden explained this well back in the days when the passport was introduced. It does not rule out oxygen vector doping.

Altitude camps also help because they need to be taken into account when interpreting the data.

 

[F_Cance]

Always overshadowed by even more ridiculous performances.

 

[Ripper]

Always overshadowed by even more ridiculous performances.

I was thinking the same. I mean, first and second on the GC are hilarious, each in their own way. But TP took the absolute pi$$ out of everyone today

 

[roundabout]

Yeah. No reason why he would not have made the 2nd group with a normal Tour buildup + being in the break yesterday

 

[SafeBet]

Yeah. No reason why he would not have made the 2nd group with a normal Tour buildup + being in the break yesterday

Yeah he didn't train for the climbs this year...

 

[F_Cance]

2nd in a bunch sprint, next day winning Ventoux. Completely normal

 

[Mr. 64%]

Someone doesn't want left out of the circus, it seems

 

[saganftw]

i think people forgot van aert is like colbrelli but better climber, sprinter and TTist...so he actually is nothing like colbrelli

 

[Brumdog66]

This is worse than Pogacar

 

[BlueRoads]

I like van Aert. I wish I could enjoy this.

 

[QuickZulu]

I think they should just call it a day now. This Tour is officially a farce.

 

[ontheroad]

How will the commentators and media try and sell this one. Nearly every day brings another eyebrow raiser. He had his appendix removed about 6 weeks ago and had an interupted preparation. Imagine if he had been fully healthy in the lead up.

 

[F_Cance]

Will all be fine bc he is the likeable guy from a western country.

 

[meat puppet]

Coming to form, lol. Gonna be fun in tokyo. Rest of the tour too.

 

[Netserk]

He's still not as impressive as Tirreno, so this isn't shocking. But I wonder if he could have challenged for GC with optimal prep.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I think they should just call it a day now. This Tour is officially a farce.

Wout doing an Eros Poli is pretty jaw-dropping, sure, but after seeing Geraint freaking Thomas win back to back mountain stages en route to a maillot jaune, he's got a long way to go yet.

 

[Eclipse]

A man of many talents who is blessed by not being the best at any one thing

 

[FroomeWagon]

A question for the cycling historians ... has a rider ever won the green, polka dot and yellow jersey in the same year? Wout appears to have the talent to do it someday.

 

[QuickZulu]

A question for the cycling historians ... has a rider ever won the green, polka dot and yellow jersey in the same year? Wout appears to have the talent to do it someday.

Eddy Merckx managed it in 1969 apparently.

 

[Red Rick]

He's still not as impressive as Tirreno, so this isn't shocking. But I wonder if he could have challenged for GC with optimal prep.

As a pure climbing performance I think this is probably slightly better than Prati di Tivo? relative to the field at the very least.

 

[staubsauger]

A question for the cycling historians ... has a rider ever won the green, polka dot and yellow jersey in the same year? Wout appears to have the talent to do it someday.

Pantani would've done so at the 1999 Giro d'Italia!

 

[pmcg76]

A question for the cycling historians ... has a rider ever won the green, polka dot and yellow jersey in the same year? Wout appears to have the talent to do it someday.

Think Merckx did at least once. Don't know if others have.

 

[brrrrrr]

hello

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Wout doing an Eros Poli is pretty jaw-dropping, sure, but after seeing Geraint freaking Thomas win back to back mountain stages en route to a maillot jaune, he's got a long way to go yet.

This is exactly the link I made. I like WvA, but I also recognize that this performance is suspicious for sure...he was in a trance, knew just how hard he could ride, and never looked close to blowing up...and he was shredding the climb...but yeah, no different from GT/Hincapie winning mountain stages...