Italy was in shock on the day their sporting hero, Marco Pantani, was kicked out of the Giro d’Italia while leading the race, the night before the final stage. A blood test revealed his hematocrit level to be 52% and therefore he was unable to continue to race on health grounds. The ‘health tests’ were used to spot riders using EPO in the days before a test for the drug had been created and deemed reliable to use.
A rider’s haematocrit level is essentially the amount of oxygen-carrying red blood cells in their blood. EPO boosted these cells and anything over 50% failed on ‘health grounds’.
Esta historia es de la edición May 19, 2022 de CYCLING WEEKLY.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 19, 2022 de CYCLING WEEKLY.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Shorter TT bike
A British shop brand that backed two of the greats of time trialling
Gut health
A gastroenterologist's advice on limiting gut distress and improving your microbiome
7 THINGS I LEARNED FROM BREAKING MY FACE
When a crash left CW's Tom Davidson with a titanium plate in his cheek, his perspective on cycling started to change. Here's what he took away from the saga
Syncros Capital SL Aero wheels
Owen Rogers reviews bling carbon wheels with a price tag to match
SRAM Red AXS
SRAM improves shift quality and tackles braking woes of old in its latest road bike groupset, reports Joe Baker
CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?
Cancelled races, folded teams, bankrupters, Britain's domestic road racing scene appears organis to be in tatters. But is the outlook really as dire as it seems? Charlie Graham-Dixon investigates
AMERICA'S GREAT AGAIN*
*But can it last? The US finally has a clutch of star riders again, but is its top-level success built on solid foundations
THE HUB
All the news you might have missed from the last seven days
Lifeplus-Wahoo aim for pro ranks
Continental squad hopes to mark 10-year anniversary with ProTeam status
Matt Holmes kickstarts comeback with Lincoln win
Former Lotto-Soudal rider returns from retirement with victory at big domestic fixture