Lance Armstrong explains to Bill Maher how it's easy to cheat with EPO and not test positive

Context:

While corticosteroids (Lance's backdated rx) are indeed steroids, their effect is essentially the opposite of what most people think "steroids" do

That being said, most people don't realize corticos (prednisone very common) are massively effective on race day for endurance athletes

LA and bobblehead Radcliffe. Best buds.

He’s wrong is why.

I believe that increased training volumes actually tend to lower hematocrit some (due to plasma volume expansion). But yes, once the simple hematocrit/hemoglobin limits were instituted, Bjarne Riis/Vladimir Smirnov/Manuela Di Centa style (alleged) levels of the mid 1990s were no longer acceptable.

However, you could still use plasma expander drugs in conjunction with EPO to increase both the total number of red blood cells as well as plasma volume beyond human limits, while staying below the hematocrit limits.

Cue the Finnish ski team doping scandal in 2001 - the substance was the plasma expander Hemohes, not a direct EPO positive.

Nowadays, with the individual blood passports and improved testing, this kind of thing should be detectable... of course, I'm sure there will be new kinds of workarounds. The amount of missed tests among elite athletes seems to point to some level of danger, though, at least if the testers arrive at the wrong time.

You need to zoom out a bit and think about reconciling all elite endurance sports performances you’ve seen, not just Lance Armstrong. Track and field, cycling, xc skiing, probably swimming. Surely the NFL uses growth hormones and steroids.

It’s all soiled, but can still be very entertaining even knowing it’s tainted.

Think about how much more sophisticated the drugs have become since Armstrong’s time too.

No, they tried to trick CAS. Remember the hair analysis excluded nor-DHEA/nor-Andro (see points 127, 128).

All of this interview relies on a serial liar.

That is correct.

When Kipyegon looks like she's been out for a Sunday jog after breaking a WR then, yes.

Don't forget, those Epo samples were frozen from before there was an Epo test. Back then they were using it freely without paying attention to the amount or the glowing time, because they didn't have to.

And those tests didn't count, because they were unofficial (and without the control B).

There you have it, folks. Proof positive that all filthy stick figure Kenyans use dope!

Yes, many are lower naturally.

This is such old news and has been repeated on this board many times. Not sure why it takes LA to publicly say it for some of you to believe it.

Half life just means the amount in your system that is detectable halves every 4 hours. It doesn’t mean you can take as much as you want and are clear in 4 hours. If you have 100 times the detectable limit it is going to take some time to clear.

That said it is well known you can micro dose intravenously at night and be undetectable the next day. If you miss the vein and get some subcutaneous under the skin you are screwed as that will take a lot longer to clear.

This is why it is relatively rare for epo positives. Dopers are usually caught with steroids and other substances.

Unfortunately rekrunner neither understands basic Biology nor oxygen Kinetics.

no time for cheaters . delete post please

Was the tdf full of kenyans when 3/4 tested positive? Why single out Kenyans?

The Math:

For a drug with a 4.5-hour half-life:
After 4.5 hours (1 half-life), 50% of the drug remains.
After 9 hours (2 half-lives), 25% remains.
After 13.5 hours (3 half-lives), about 12.5% remains.
After 18 hours (4 half-lives), about 6.25% remains.
After 22.5 hours (5 half-lives), about 3.125% remains.
After 27 hours (6 half-lives), about 1.5625% remains.

So, in this example, it might take around 22.5 to 27 hours for the drug to become virtually undetectable. However, this is a rough estimate and the actual detectability can vary. Some sensitive drug tests can detect trace amounts of substances long after this period.

no, cycling is unusually bad. say, 2005 TdF, 3 guys in the top 10, 2 of the podium, later on banned. track is not that level. it's one thing if ben johnson gets dinged. it's another thing if most of that final is banned. in the latter situation one starts to wonder why they watched it all.