I dont know how many of yall follow cycling at all, but Tyler Hamilton, who won the gold medal at the Olympics this year in the time trial has just tested positive for doping.
Unfortunately, Im not very surprised by this. Doping is immensely prevalent in cycling. I am very disappointed, but not too surprised. Tyler Hamilton is one of the toughest riders in the world. In the 2003 Tour de France, what is likely the hardest sporting event in the world, he rode the whole three weeks with a broken collarbone and still managed to place fourth and win a stage. He is also one of the nicest guys in the Peloton--never boastful, always respectful... Hes about the last guy I would have suspected.
Keep in mind that it hasnt been proved yet--new tests have been submitted to retest and confirm the results. But he already failed two tests--one at the Olympics and one at the Vuelta a Espana (basically, the Tour de France in Spain). That alone doesnt speak well. The tests came back positive for a homologous blood transfer. Basically, an athlete will inject himself with more blood, either his own, or in this case, someone else's, in order to increase the amount of blood they have and thus the amount of oxygen they can carry, thereby improving endurance.
Here is the text one one article from CyclingNews.com:
Quote:
Hamilton fails blood tests
By Jeff Jones
Tyler Hamilton (Phonak),
Photo ©: Lavuelta.com Click for larger image
The Vuelta a España has been rocked this morning by news that Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), has returned two positive blood tests that showed evidence of a homologous blood transfusion. One test was performed at the Athens Olympics and another at the Vuelta on September 13. Both tests showed evidence of a "mixed red blood cell population, an indication of a homologous blood transfusion," Phonak's press officer Georges Lüchinger was quoted by AP as saying. The results of the counter-analyses are not yet known, but are expected today (Tuesday).
Hamilton, winner of the gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the individual time trial as well as the Vuelta's eighth stage time trial, abandoned the race prior to stage 13 claiming stomach problems. Hamilton has denied having a transfusion, saying the positive test was the result of a surgical intervention he had some time ago. If the B samples are confirmed positive, then he risks losing his Olympic gold medal, which would make Viatcheslav Ekimov the Olympic time trial champion again.
Phonak team director Alvaro Pino said, "I have spoken to Tyler and he has claimed he is innocent and apart from whatever the (Phonak) team decides, he will do whatever he has to do to defend himself from these accusations." Phonak will hold a press conference later this evening.
Enhancing endurance performance via blood transfusion is nothing new, and the practice has been around for at least 30 years. Athletes admitted to using it at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, when it was not illegal. Typically, a quantity of blood is withdrawn from an athlete some time before an important competition, and when the time comes, the red cells are reinjected to provide an extra boost. This can also be done with another person's blood and even with EPO-enhanced blood, although the risk of detection is far greater. Former Kelme cyclist Jesus Manzano claimed that he nearly died when he was reinjected with some "bad blood" late in 2003.
Tyler Hamilton's case is the first ever positive for a blood transfusion, as up until very recently, doping via this method has been undetectable. A powerful blood test developed by Australian researchers was implemented at this year's Tour de France. The test didn't look for a particular banned substance, but instead examined whether there were any abnormalities in a person's blood as a result of artificial manipulation. At the Tour, it was announced that homologous blood transfusions could be detected, but autologous transfusions could not.
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He was suspended by his team, Phonak, today. More can be found on CyclingNews.com or VeloNews.com.