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The dope on EPO
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Riccardo Ricco, July 17, 2008. Nicholas Bouvy/European Pressphoto Agency
So I read that Riccardo Ricco got kicked out of the Tour de France for doping. Completely coincidentally, I was flipping around on the teevee earlier this week when I happened to catch Ricco take Stage 9, which is a grueling, 140-mile sprint from Toulouse up into the Pyrenees. At the time, I remember being struck by the intensity of the race, the press of the crowds on both sides of the winding road, and how breathlessly impressed the announcer was by Ricco's performance, although that last part only seems suspicious in retrospect—at the time, I simply thought I was witnessing a ride for the ages.
Turns out Ricco had artificially high levels of a hormone called erythropoietin, also known as EPO, racing through his blood stream. Athletes take EPO, which occurs naturally in the body, to help produce more red blood cells than the body would normally create on its own. More red blood cells bring more oxygen to overworked muscles, which means that a cyclist on EPO may not run out of gas (well, oxygen) as fast as a cyclist who is playing by the rules.
Ricco is the third 2008 Tour de France cyclist to be caught with EPO in his veins. It's a safe bet that he won't be the last. Which raises a question: If every cyclist knows that he will be tested, and that EPO can be detected in a test, why take it? I guess I can't imagine the pressure these guys must be under to win, and how that pressure must induce serious bouts of self-deception and delusion. In the meantime, I definitely plan to catch more Tour de France coverage on Comcast (it's on HD channel 722 down here on the peninsula) between now and July 27, when the rider in the yellow jersey will cycle victoriously into Paris.
Amount of carbon dioxide not produced since July 10, 2008 thanks to commuting by bicycle: 37.14 pounds
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