What to do with a rider with a testing anomoly? Send him to Colombia for 'testing'

[MattTuck]

Funniest cyclingnews subtitle ever: Rider to be sent to Colombia for more testing

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sergio-henao-taken-off-sky-roster-due-to-test-anomalies

Sergio Henao has been removed from Team Sky’s racing programme due questions surrounding the rider’s out-of-competition tests at altitude. According to the team Henao will undergo what they have described as an altitude research programme.

“In our latest monthly review, our experts had questions about Sergio’s out-of-competition control tests at altitude - tests introduced this winter by the anti-doping authorities. We need to understand these readings better,” team manager Dave Brailsford said in a team press release.

The announcement comes after Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Henao’s agent as saying that his rider was off the racing roster, due to anomalous values. Henao will now go back to his native Colombia, to undergo further testing to understand the significance of these levels.

It makes me think of the All Drug Olympics (http://screen.yahoo.com/weekend-drug-olympics-000000571.html) from SNL.

[cash05458]

lot of positives via colombian riders for the last few years...this is a poor country...they hardly test...hell, via where these guys come from I would say go for it...who could blame them...

[cfox]

He grew up and lives at altitude in the off season. They have a hard time getting decent baselines for these guys. It's similar to when they had exceptions for guys with naturally high hematocrits in the 50% limit days. The program is new, but I imagine they will send him home for a few months and test the hell out out of him.

[tiretrax]

I'd be happy to believe he has a baseline level that high given the altitude at which he lives, but three Columbians were recently popped for EPO, if memory serves me.

[ultraman6970]

A lot of juice in that country, the problem with the report is that they dont say what the problem is, as many I thought is because if oxygen levels in the blood and stuff but maybe is something else? who knows and knowing Sky team probably we won't know ever. They need more transparency, probably they wont tell either way because would give a hint to other teams of where their program is going.

The program is new, well they have been working for a few years now, who knows what is wrong with the guy, it was so hard to just say what was the problem or even don't tell anybody but the uci and go ahead with the testing?

The other problem is that like 4 riders from the team are having health issues in the last 2 weeks and now this, it wont look in the public opinion.

[rockdude]

People who live and have lived at altitude do not have elevated hematocrit, it normalizes over time and other factor (that are mostly not understood) allow them to preform better to the lower pressure of altitude. The rapid change in altitude will cause elevated natural EPO levels which produce more hemotrocrit.

[ultraman6970]

Interesting what you say...in soccer for example if teams have to play in the high plains of bolivia for example you have like two options, or the team gets to altitude way before the game or they arrive the day before.

I have trained in both conditions and personally never felt like a big improvement from training in altitude for a month, but training at sea level like "in the beach" made me stronger tho...probably everybody is different.

[Repack Rider]

During the '80s the poor country of Colombia became both a cycling and soccer power almost overnight. The reason was drug money. Drug lords enlisted local support by building beautiful soccer facilities, which encouraged lots of games and developed lots of players. Ditto bicycling. Bikes are expensive, and what kid has $500 to find out whether he's any good? Somebody bought a lot of expensive bikes in Colombia and sponsored enough races that the riders became world class.

In the early '80s the Colombian team sponsor at a stage race I attended was supposedly the country's coffee industry. In fact at least one but probably more of the bikes that arrived with the team was filled with cocaine, a large amount of which fell into the hands of a good friend of mine in the bike world who had prepared the landing. No way he should have admitted this to me, but he did.

With a massive stash of coke as his end of the deal, my friend ruined his life in a couple of months, lost his job, wife and kid, and his side business failed. The next time he called me six or eight months later, he was working in San Diego spreading hot tar on roofs. If you know anything about San Diego, you know that a native born American who is doing that has hit bottom.

The good news is that I got him a job with a friend in the industry, and within another year he was back in the bigs. But I'm pretty sure the Colombian team or whoever prepared the shipment did all right out of the dope deal that messed up my friend's life.