I'm not disappeared. The fact is my profession sometimes brings me in some place where it's difficult to have internet, and my priority is not to answer to a lot of BS.
At the moment, I'm in Suzhou for Chinese Championships, because of a collaboration with the Chinese Federation (I will be in China till 15th of June), and today it's the first day I can use internet (and my interest was to see the results of Eugene, not to read some post in Letsrun).
However, since I decided to go to the forum, I could see the original post "EPO works for Kenyan runners".
If we speak about a scientific research, I have to say that the WADA research doesn't have any value. The athletes taking EPO had an average of 9'10" in 3000m, that means 550" against 440" of the WR : the difference of 110" is exactly 25% of the WR, and this is enough for saying that this research was only smoke for idiots believing physiology can have a "mathematic trend", that means the behavior can follow a linear approach, being the same from normal people to elite people.
I repeat for the thousandth time : I'm ABSOLUTELY SURE of what clean athletes can do, and this is, in some case, WR (for example, Shaheen in steeple). Athletes like him NEVER took any supplement and/or vitamin, ALSO LEGAL.
I know his WR was not his hypotetical top. In 2006, his shape was very much better, and he didn't better his WR only because a bad pacing and terrible climatic conditions. This means that his real value could be, at that time, about 7'50", and 5% of improvement from this time means 23"5, so somebody can really think Shaheen under EPO could run steeple in 7'27" ?
Because a research on EPO for top runners can be accepted, we need to consider two fundamental points :
1) Why a top top top runner is at the top top top of the World ? Of sure, not only for his training, BUT BECAUSE HE HAS QUALITIES COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THE AVERAGE OF NORMAL PEOPLE. The best coach in the World, with the strongest EPO program possible, CAN'T MAKE A DONKEY BECOMING A RACING HORSE (and a Kenyan running 9'10" in 3000m, or is not trained at all, or is a donkey).
2) The training they have, before and after taking EPO. Was their training the same before and after ? Or, because of the assumption of EPO, they increased their training ?
In the first case, the investigation MUST be done with the specific subject. IN ALL THE OTHER CASES, THE RESEARCH CAN BE WONDERFUL, BUT THE ANIMAL IS WRONG.
In the second case, THE IMPROVEMENT DEPENDS ON THE INCREASE OF TRAINING, not on the assumption of EPO. May be the increase of training depends on the assumption of EPO, but in this case is the PLACEBO EFFECT acting, because in many cases athletes don't try to have hard training because they think not possible to recover and/or to sustain it, if clean, BUT FINALLY TRY TO TRAIN MORE IF THEY HAVE THE SUPPORT OF SOME DRUG, because in their mind finally they think possible to do it recovering without problems. But try to read well my words : BEFORE THEY REFUSED TO TRY. So, also in this case, we can't quantify the percentage of improvement (that of course exists) due to the DIRECT EFFECT of EPO assumption, and the percent due to the increase of training (that was possible ALSO WITHOUT EPO, but the athletes didn't try).
At the end of everything, I confirm my theory : with the absolute best in the World, BLOOD DOPING DOESN'T WORK.
A scientific research is something different from the tests of WADA, only smoke for showing that there is the attempt to reach some result, WITHOUT ANY SCIENTIFIC APPROACH.
About Springeezer, how you can see I don't hide myself. If I didn't answer to you in real time, is because I don't want and don't need to waste my time with "cervellotiche elucubrazioni" (go to translate from Italian, because I don't have the English words for explaining what I mean) about neuroprotection and other pseudo-scientific speculations, only good for confusing people and with no practical consistencies.
And now, how every time I touch this argument, I wait again a lot of answer, insults and whatever.
I wait the first TOP Kenyan od Ethiopian banned for the biological passport (not for a normal doping control : some kenyan of good level, such as Mathew Kisorio and Erupe, can also take EPO, that's not the point, FOR REACHING THE TOP, that is not in their possibility - and don't forget Kisorio started running SLOWER after taking EPO....), that it means he used in systematic way blood doping. If, and when, this can happen, I can start to think EPO can work also for the extrastrong athletes of Endurance.