I saw this silly article posted today that says that EPO has no positive effects on cyclists. Goes to show how screwed up studies can be. I’m not ever close to a scientist, but this study had to have been flawed on multiple levels.
Maybe the guys that did the experiment don’t understand the relationship between blood oxygen and performance? Or more likely, maybe the guys performing the experiment had the guys drink the EPO instead of injecting it. That might explain their results. If you can read Dutch, here is a link to the original study. Maybe you want an opposite view. This article says EPO can improve performance by 54%.
I’ve personally seen the effects of EPO on individual cyclists. And my observations are exactly the opposite of the first study above. Closer to mirroring the results of the second link.
Anyway, if you’re having a hard time justifying EPO, you could always just go to the grocery store and buy some baking soda. It is way cheaper. Here’s a link about the benefits of sodium bicarbonate in sports. Sounds like a recipe for an upset tummy to me. To each his own.
Mechanical doping is back in the news. Here is a link suggesting mechanical doping at the Giro. It suggests that LottoNL-Jumbo’s Primoz Roglic is a cheater-cheater pumpkin eater. Of course, LottoNL-Jumbo didn’t respond to questions concerning this. Anyway, this saga will continue for a while.(Guess the were testing bikes at the Northstar race in Stillwater on Sunday, even though the UCI says this method is unreliable.)
I’m still experimenting with pickle juice. It is supposed to be in triple digits most of this week in Kansas, so I’m sure I’ll get some opportunities to see if it helps with cramping.
Today is also International Day of Yoga, so namaste.
Tucker waiting patiently at a coffeeshop in Winona.
