Another TDF Positive Test for 2003

Apologies if this is already common knowledge.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...ve/2003/08/03-
/sports1007EDT0096.DTL

A second sample has come back positive from the unidentified cyclist who
failed a blood test during the Tour de France.

The International Cycling Union said Sunday it could not release
the name of the rider until punishment is handed down. But deputy
Tour director Daniel Baal has said it was not one of the race's
overall leaders.

Lance Armstrong won his record-tying fifth straight Tour when the event
ended in Paris last Sunday.

At the start of cycling's showcase event, the riders underwent complete
medical exams. The average level of red blood cells was 44.9 percent,
the UCI said. The allowed limit is 50 percent -- higher than that is
dangerous and can indicate the use of EPO, a banned,
performance-enhancing substance.

The federation performed four random controls throughout the three-week
race, testing 164 riders, and the average levels during those tests was
43.2 percent. The last of the four tests, on July 22, produced an
average of 41.8 percent.

Such a drop in the average levels of red blood cells is natural in the
extreme conditions of the race, the UCI said.

The last rider to test positive for EPO at the Tour was Txema del Olmo
of Spain in 2001. He withdrew from the race and was subsequently banned
from competing in France for three years.

The Tour was nearly wiped out by a drug scandal in 1998. The French
Festina team was disqualified, and many cyclists rode slowly to protest
police raids at hotels.

EPO, or erythropoietin, is a hormone naturally produced by the body
but now available as a genetically engineered product. EPO
artificially increases the level of red blood cells and therefore
enhances aerobic capacity.

An overly high red blood cell count is often a sign of EPO use. A rider
who gives a reading above 50 percent is given an automatic two-week
suspension on health grounds.



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