Blocked from the Peloton

Last October, I wrote a post titled Cycling: Blood Doping through Transfusions. Seems the issue is never far from the headlines in the field of racing but it does look like a no tolerance stance is being taken by some teams.

In February, a cyclist, Riccardo Ricco, was fired from his team after being treated for an auto-transfusion gone wrong. Yes, I did say auto-transfusion. He attempted the highly complicated and precise procedure of a transfusion on himself after storing his own blood in the refrigerator for 25 days. Many variables are involved and can go wrong - from the blood being stored at the incorrect temperature to the filtering and screening of the blood, even if it is your own.

For the full details read this article from Cycling Weekly: Ricco Talks of Returning to Cycling, but no one is listening.

In the end, I am glad that the cycling community is taking a tougher stance on the issue and blocking this rider from the peloton. In a world where there are many people that need blood transfusions to just survive, I still do not see the benefit of having a transfusion just to gain a little more energy or 10 more seconds in a race. After all, in the 10 seconds someone gained in a race, 5 people could have died because they needed that blood transfusion more than the rider.