They Didn’t Test For What?

Today’s New York Times reports that drug testing at last year’s inaugural Amgen Tour of California did not include tests for EPO, an Amgen product often used by endurance athletes who dope.

While it’s not clear from the article who was responsible, the article includes this disturbing item:

Michael Roth, a spokesman at AEG, said the race organizers last year adopted the standards and protocol for drug testing prescribed by the U.C.I.

He said that AEG did not know that EPO was not part of the standard test, but that the company asked for it to be included this year.

If it’s true that the standard UCI testing protocol doesn’t include EPO, then there’s something seriously wrong. EPO, arguably, is the drug cyclists serious about their doping programs use.

The use of EPO is, in essence, blood doping by using a synthetic version of a natural hormone to trick the body into making more red blood cells, the cells that transport oxygen to the muscles. More oxygen to the muscles, in theory, allows endurance athletes to maintain higher workloads for longer periods of time.

And by using EPO, there’s none of the fuss with all the logistics and details of blood doping. Just as long as the athletes don’t use so much that their blood turns to sludge, as happened in a number of cases in the early to mid-90s. Athletes have been known to die from the use of too much EPO for too long.

Of all the drugs to be testing cyclists for, EPO (or the effects of EPO usage) stands at the front of the line. Testosterone and other drugs may or may not have much effect on a cyclist’s performance, but EPO use most definitely could. And since there’s now a test for EPO, it should be used — unless there are compelling reasons not to, like problems with the test’s reliability. But as long as the test is reliable, it should be used every time a cyclist is subjected to anti-doping tests. If not, alternate tests should be developed.

But for the inaugural Tour de EPO not to be testing for EPO, that’s an embarrassment. Especially since Amgen, the title sponsor, was assured that the drug would be part of the testing procedure.

Somebody at the UCI needs to explain why the their standard testing protocol doesn’t include EPO. If the world of professional cycling is serious about stamping out doping, what the hell are the UCI doing by not including testing for EPO in their standard protocols?