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Riccardo Ricco Tests Positive for Undetectable New Drug Mircera at 2008 Tour de France

July 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Cyclist Riccardo Ricco of the Saunier Duval-Scott team tested positive for the new performance enhancing drug Mircera (methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta) at the 2008 Tour de France. Ricco is a top cyclist on the Tour and the King of the Mountains and White Jersey leader.

Mircera is a third generation version of erythropoietin manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-LaRoche that has been called “Super EPO.” The big news at the Tour is not that another cyclist was caught doping, it is that a cyclist was caught using a performance enhancing drug that was widely considered “undetectable.” The quick withdrawal of the entire Saunier Duval team from the Tour supports speculation that Mircera was the team’s secret weapon (“Riccardo Riccò tests positive; Saunier Duval team withdraws from Tour de France,” July 17).

Recent rumors in the sport had suggested that some riders were using an undetectable new oxygen-enhancing drug widely thought to be Roche’s Micera. The existence of a test for CERA was not announced, but Riccò’s positive for the substance suggests that it has not escaped the attention of anti-doping officials.

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Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroids and Cycling Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Provigil is Silicon Valley Entrepreneur's Drug of Choice

July 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Provigil (modafinil)

Power blogger Michael Arrington of TechCrunch has been called one of the most powerful and influential figures on the internet by TIME Magazine, Wired Magazine and Forbes. Arrington recently identified the secret pharmaceutical weapon that is the “drug of choice” for Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs and executives – modafinil more commonly known by the trade name Provigil (“How Many Silicon Valley Startup Executives Are Hopped Up On Provigil?,” July 15).

But since the main effect of Provigil is to keep you awake and able to concentrate, a lot of people who get their hands on it use it to be able to work longer hours, even though it has not been deemed safe for that kind of use.

Recreational Provigil user testimonials are all over the web. Not only are people able to work with little or no sleep, the drug has the advantage of spurring weight loss and some users report a general mood enhancing side effect. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Steroids in Society Tagged With: , , , , ,

Steeplechaser Simon Vroemen Claims Dianabol Would Hurt Performance

July 12, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Steeplechase Simon Vroemen has tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Dianabol (metandienone or methandrostenolone) according to Steroid Nation. Vroemen does not know how Dianabol entered his system but suspects it may have been the result of medications he took to treat mononucleosis.

I am always willing to give athletes the benefit of a doubt especially given the lack of fair and reliable doping protocols administered under WADA. But, the statements Vroemen offers in his defense are weak, misleading and wrong.

Simon Vroemen claims that Dianabol would be “counterproductive” for a middle distance runner because it primarily increases muscle mass without a significant increase in strength; furthermore, Vroeman claims Dianabol remains detectable in doping tests for up to nine months after ingested making it unsuitable for any athlete competing in a drug tested competition [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroids and Track Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Conspiracy Against Greek Athletics Blamed for Failed Steroid Tests

July 12, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Steroid Nation reports Greek 400 meter sprinter Dimitris Regas has tested positive for the anabolic steroid methyltrienolone. At least thirteen Greek athletes have failed steroid tests this year. It seems that all steroid tested athletes in Greece are testing positive for the same anabolic steroid which has never been commercially available.

Earlier this year, eleven members of the Greek National Weightlifting Team tested positve for the anabolic steroid methyltrienolone which resulted in the expulsion of the entire Greek Weightlifting Team from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In May, Greek Olympic swimmer Ioannis Drymonakos also tested positive for methyltrienolone.

Dimitris Regas denied the use of anabolic steroids and claimed sabotage. Regas alleges a conspiracy of “people who want to attack (Greek) athletics” as being responsible for his positive test for methyltrienolone and presumably other Greek positive doping results [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroids and Track Tagged With: , , , ,
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