There is no such thing as fair or clean. never has been, never will be. I think allot of us sit here and read about this drug or that drug and think..... there is no drug in the world that is going to make me competitive against THAT GUY(insert name here).. regardless of the drug, genetics are the real kicker for 99% of us including professional cyclists.
Speed limits(not reckless driving) are set to generate revenue, I thought everyone knew that.
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of david baker
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 3:45 PM
To: eric aldinger; obra
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Tyler Hamilton
So what you picture is me and anyone else who wants to succeed in cycling going to the doctor all the time to get blood transfusions, epo shots, steroids, etc. Spending thousands of dollars a year, maybe tens of thousands if you want to be real good. Risking our health to race. I don't want to do that, but I do want to be competitive.
I can be competitive now, but you want to take away that ability from me, that is not right.
You make a good point about Ibuprofen, it should not be used repeatedly, I found that out the hard way.
I think we have to draw a line somewhere. We can argue about where to draw the line, maybe ibuprofen, amino acids, etc should be banned as well, I do not have a real strong opinion there.
But I can't understand the benefit of removing the lines altogether.
We draw lines in society all of the time and they always seem arbitrary when you look right at the line, but imagine if we got rid of those lines, no speed limits, no personal crimes, no drug laws, murder is ok, robbery and rape are cool. What's the difference between alcohol and pot, why is one legal? I think we should legalize pot before alcohol, but I am not in favor of removing the lines and having all drugs legal.
I have gone through addiction in my life and the last thing I need is drugs forced upon me in cycling. If these(cycling) drugs were legal I would have used them and probably destroyed my abilities one way or another, I am so glad cycling tries to be clean. If we legalized drugs in cycling I would leave. I think a lot of other people would too and you would be left with a bunch of broke, mentally ill, physically damaged, sorry people trying to prove nothing.
----- Original Message -----
From: eric aldinger
To: obra
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Tyler Hamilton
Thanks for your polite reply Brady.
How is it not striving to give your best when you take medical risks to enhance performance using organic techniques like blood transfusions or EPO. Sanctioning bodies already allow the use of anti-inflammatory agents to allow athletes to continue perform when injured or over training. Prolonged use of NSAIDs promotes GI damage.(1) The sanctioning bodies allow the use of branch chain amino acid supplements, like tyrosine, to increase endurance during training, even though excessive protein consumption can theoretically lead to calcium loss, inadequate carbohydrate intake, and (theoretically) kidney damage.(2) Tyler was busted once for homologous blood transfusions. This transfusion is banned because it carries a risk of infection and immuno-suppression.(3) Thise are not are not huge hair raising risks for a healthy athlete, when compared with the risk of injury inherant in bicycle racing. These are more a concern for a dialiosis patient. A blood transfusion is not cheating. It is a medically sound way to improve recovery times. Autologous blood transfusions are banned and they carry none of the significant risks of homologous blood transfusions.(4) That just seems like a knee jerk reaction to a new training method.
I am not trying to pick a fight. I just don't understand why the cycling community is so opposed to allowing new medical procedures to be used to enhance performance in the professional ranks. Right now, all these rules do is force athletes to have their EPO administered by untrained handlers who are not bound by the same professional ethical standards as a doctor. (5) This is what leads to dosage above the proscribed amounts for these drugs, and ultimately leads to stoke or death. Make it legal and athletes have a better chance of using the tools they are already using in a more constrained manner.
I like the idea of the unmodified and modified segregation in racing. But I don't see how you get around someone who is not fast enough sans dangerous medical procedures doping, transfusing, or sleeping in an oxygen tent in the unmodified category.
Citations
1) http://www.lef.org/protocols/appendix/otc_toxicity_01.htm
2) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414351
if you do not have a Medscape account refer to http://www1.rism.ac.th/2005/ProjectEvents/BTN/Handouts/Morning/LookGood_Pyong/ProteinRatio.pdf for the same content
3) http://jtcs.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/4/1092
4) http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/autologous-blood-donation
5) http://www.velonews.com/article/13360
On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Brady Brady wrote:
If consenting adults want to use dangerous medical procedures to abnormally improve their abilities why is that an issue?
It is an issue becausewhether they like it or notthere are kids who idolize these consenting adults.
It is an issue because for every uber-doper, there is someone in the peloton who has been suffering for years as a domestique, paying their dues and playing it straight, just to have their one career SHOT at cracking a top-20 finish.
It is an issue because it attempts to discredit the notion that giving ones best is its own reward, and that usually, no matter how hard one tries, there is someone better
and one has to deal with that.
On another note, It doesnt look like Tylers current problem had anything to do with all of this. Hopefully he will be able to get the help he needs.
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of ewascent@gmail.com
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 11:40 AM
To: Justin Serna; Chris Streight; obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Tyler Hamilton
If consenting adults want to use dangerous medical procedures to abnormally improve their abilities why is that an issue? A small but highly visible minority of top riders have been busted for trying to use banned medical procedures to outperform their natural bodies. So what? Random testing and applying sanctions seems like a waste of talent and money to me. I always assume every top pro is doing something just this side of "illegal" in their training and recovery. To me that is as tedious as prohibiting how powerful a stock car engine can be, to prevent drivers from out performing their skills.
On Apr 17, 2009 11:27am, Justin Serna wrote:
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> This story is sad in so many ways!!! When I initially viewed this story I was disappointed and angered that yet another elite athlete had succumbed to the so called pressure to win and so made the excuse to use performance enhancing DRUGS. After reading the entire post, my anger subsided and my disappointment and sadness for Mr. Hamilton's decisions both past and present made me realize the he is just a human being. I do not condone Mr. Hamilton's actions, however it is clear the Tyler has much more difficult issues to deal with than being a professional cyclist. I hope he will get the assistance he needs and be able to move on to a more positive place.
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> Hopefully this issue will not further the tarnished view of professional cycling and most will realize that this is an isolated incident carried out by man the has been diagnosed with severe depression.
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> Just my 2 cents..............
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> Justin J. Serna
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> From: Chris Streight streighty@gmail.com>
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 8:07:55 AM
> Subject: [OBRA Chat] Tyler Hamilton
>
> Sad ending to Tyler Hamilton's career
>
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2009/apr09/apr17news3
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--
iamerichearmeroar
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