**** Breaking News: Hamilton Tested Positive? ***

[mareblu]

Wow! this cannot be possible!!!!

I just read this note on yahoo sports (in spanish):

http://es.sports.yahoo.com/040920/21/2njy.html

The Phonak equipe said that apparently his positive testing was due to a ****-transfusion???? what is that??? anyone

I went to different English Web Sites and did not find the news as of yet. This is a news that will be big tomorrow Tuesday. I'll keep you posted; I hope it's not true He is one of my dearest favorites and many will be extremely dissapointed if that holds true

 

[babylou]

Wow! this cannot be possible!!!!

I just read this note on yahoo sports (in spanish):

http://es.sports.yahoo.com/040920/21/2njy.html

The Phonak equipe said that apparently his positive testing was due to a ****-transfusion???? what is that??? anyone

I went to different English Web Sites and did not find the news as of yet. This is a news that will be big tomorrow Tuesday. I'll keep you posted; I hope it's not true He is one of my dearest favorites and many will be extremely dissapointed if that holds true

I imagine that a ****-transfusion really translates to a hemo-transfusion whick is also known as blood doping. Basically the athlete has blood removed and stored during the off season. The athlete then naturally replaces the lost blood over a period of weeks. At the appropriate time the stored blood is centrifuged and the the white blood cells and some of the plasma are discarded. The rest is pumped back into the athlete. Voila! A higher level of performance can be attained since there is a larger amount of oxygen carrying red blood cells.

Blood doping has been around for at least three decades. I heard it was making a comeback. I wonder how this new machine detects blood doping?

 

[Cooch]

Velonews.com is also now carrying the story and is seeking some confirmations of the status from Phonak.

 

[oely]

jeez hes really having a bad year

 

[philoakley]

Wow! this cannot be possible!!!!

I just read this note on yahoo sports (in spanish):

http://es.sports.yahoo.com/040920/21/2njy.html

The Phonak equipe said that apparently his positive testing was due to a ****-transfusion???? what is that??? anyone

I went to different English Web Sites and did not find the news as of yet. This is a news that will be big tomorrow Tuesday. I'll keep you posted; I hope it's not true He is one of my dearest favorites and many will be extremely dissapointed if that holds true

If this is true, then this is another major blow for cycling. It is great that the doping authorites can now detect blood doping. Hopefully more cheats will be exposed. Quite rightly, Hamilton's case will increase the credibility of the sceptics (myself included) who believe that cycling has a major doping problem. There are too many people who just don't want to acknowledge this. It's time to think again.

 

[Rollo]

he's claiming it to be a result of surgery had earlier in the year.

Apparently he tested positive at both the olympics and the Vuelta.

Bad luck

Rollo

 

[hawkes]

If this is true, then this is another major blow for cycling. It is great that the doping authorites can now detect blood doping. Hopefully more cheats will be exposed. Quite rightly, Hamilton's case will increase the credibility of the sceptics (myself included) who believe that cycling has a major doping problem. There are too many people who just don't want to acknowledge this. It's time to think again.

This would indeed be terrible news while at the same time good news. As I was happy to see Tyler's success it would be a huge disappointment but at as a fan of the sport I am happy that it is getting herder for cheats. I know this type of doping has been around for some time and the new test that has supposedly caught Tyler use was started at this year's TDF I have a couple of questions maybe someone can answer.
1)Is Tyler (if he is actually guilty) the first to be caught for this type of doping by the new test?
2)I can understand how they could detect foriegn (i.e. another person's RBC's or other means) but how does the test show that an individual took out his own blood and then put it back in? What does the test show for a difference when you recycle your own blood (without adding enhancers)?

 

[steve]

2)I can understand how they could detect foriegn (i.e. another person's RBC's or other means) but how does the test show that an individual took out his own blood and then put it back in? What does the test show for a difference when you recycle your own blood (without adding enhancers)?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/tour04/?id=features/doping

 

[Virenque]

NO COMMENT!!! That is the bad truth of cycling! And when I see that nearly 80% of you voted that Lance (ok, whoever of top riders) is not doping, I can just lough out loudly!!!

 

[Perro Loco]

This would indeed be terrible news while at the same time good news. As I was happy to see Tyler's success it would be a huge disappointment but at as a fan of the sport I am happy that it is getting herder for cheats. I know this type of doping has been around for some time and the new test that has supposedly caught Tyler use was started at this year's TDF I have a couple of questions maybe someone can answer.
1)Is Tyler (if he is actually guilty) the first to be caught for this type of doping by the new test?
2)I can understand how they could detect foriegn (i.e. another person's RBC's or other means) but how does the test show that an individual took out his own blood and then put it back in? What does the test show for a difference when you recycle your own blood (without adding enhancers)?

The test is for homologous blood (someone elses) not autologous (your own)
THe test measures red cell antigens and has a high probability of detecting a transfusion from some one else. The probability of finding someone that is an exact match (these are minor antigens not ABO and Rh) is quite low.
http://www.haematologica.org/2003_11/1284.htm


http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/tour04/?id=features/doping
The method of doping via blood transfusions has been partially addressed by the new tests. Dr Zorzoli confirmed that homologous blood transfusions are now detectable, but auto-transfusions are not.

I am not sure about the false positivity of this test- may depend on the % of transfused blood found.
Red cells in circulation have a half life of ~60 days (ave lifespan 120 days)- transfused cells tend to last a shorter time. If he had a transfusion for a surgical procedure it would have to have been in early early spring.

 

[Roadrash Dunc]

Well if Tylers dirty then 99.9999% of the peloton are.Seriously sad news , i was hoping there were a few great riders left like Tyler who would take the moral highground.He is my favourite rider due to his personality and courage which led me to believe he would be one of the last guys to ever cheat.I just hope theres a decent explanation.

 

[mareblu]

Sorry for the poor translation last night. I wanted to let you know right away what was going on.....I'm terrified!!!! Not Him!!!!!!
Anyway, here's what cyclingnews.com has written this morning so far:



The Vuelta a España has been rocked this morning by news that Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), has returned two positive blood tests that showed evidence of a homologous blood transfusion. One test was performed at the Athens Olympics and another at the Vuelta on September 13. Both tests showed evidence of a "mixed red blood cell population, an indication of a homologous blood transfusion," Phonak's press officer Georges Lüchinger was quoted by AP as saying. The results of the counter-analyses are not yet known.

Hamilton, winner of the gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the individual time trial as well as the Vuelta's eighth stage time trial, abandoned the race prior to stage 13 claiming stomach problems. Hamilton has denied having a transfusion, saying the positive test was the result of a surgical intervention he had some time ago. If the B samples are confirmed positive, then he risks losing his Olympic gold medal, which would make Viatcheslav Ekimov the Olympic time trial champion again.

Phonak team director Alvaro Pino said, "I have spoken to Tyler and he has claimed he is innocent and apart from whatever the (Phonak) team decides, he will do whatever he has to do to defend himself from these accusations." Phonak will hold a press conference later this evening.

Enhancing endurance performance via blood transfusion is nothing new: Athletes admitted to using it at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, when it was not illegal. Typically, a quantity of blood is withdrawn from an athlete some time before an important competition, and when the time comes, the red cells are reinjected to provide an extra boost. This can also be done with another person's blood and even with EPO-enhanced blood, although the risk of detection is far greater. Former Kelme cyclist Jesus Manzano claimed that he nearly died when he was reinjected with some "bad blood" late in 2003.

Tyler Hamilton's case is the first ever positive for a blood transfusion, as up until very recently, doping via this method has been undetectable. A powerful blood test developed by Australian researchers was implemented at this year's Tour de France. The test didn't look for a particular banned substance, but instead examined whether there were any abnormalities in a person's blood as a result of artificial manipulation. At the Tour, it was announced that homologous blood transfusions could be detected, but autologous transfusions could not.

 

[Roadrash Dunc]

Latest (Tyler responds)


Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton of the United States denied any wrongdoing after his Phonak team disclosed on Tuesday he is being investigated for possible blood doping and could be stripped of his gold medal from Athens.
«I am 100 percent innocent,» Hamilton told a news conference.
Tests at the Athens Olympics on Aug. 19 and at the Spanish Vuelta on Sept. 18 showed evidence of blood from another person, cycling's governing body said, according to a Phonak spokesman. Follow-up tests were scheduled for later Tuesday.
If found guilty of a violation at the Olympics, Hamilton would lose his gold. Three athletes had gold medals revoked for doping during the Aug. 13-29 games.
Hamilton said he would «fight this until I don't have a euro left in my pocket.»
Phonak spokesman Georges Luedinger said Hamilton denied having a transfusion - which can boost an athlete's performance by increasing the amount of oxygen-transporting red blood cells in his system.
«Tyler told us he did nothing,» Luedinger said.
Former world champion Oscar Camenzind was sacked by Phonak and immediately retired from the sport after testing positive for EPO shortly before the Olympic Games.
At the time, team manager Urs Freuler said: «Any rider who is tested positive in a race or in training for a race for a performance-enhancing substance or who has such substances on his person, will have to reckon with immediate dismissal.»
A record 24 athletes - none American - were caught with drug-test violations at the Athens Olympics.
Asked about Hamilton's reported positive test at the Olympics, IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said, «For the moment, I can't confirm or deny anything.»
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said, «As with all doping procedures, while a process is underway, we can't go into details.»
USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia said the IOC had not said anything to his organization about Hamilton's medal. He said he was waiting to see the results of the tests Hamilton was to take Tuesday.
«We're not in a position to take a position. We hope for the best with this, as we do with any athlete,» Bisceglia said.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said it had no comment.
Hamilton's gold was one of four medals won by American cyclists at the Athens Games - the team's best showing since winning nine at the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Hamilton was the only American cyclist to win a gold medal in Athens, and he called that victory «the highlight of my career, by far.»
Hamilton's mother said from her home in Marblehead, Mass., that the family learned of the tests Tuesday morning.
«This comes as a total shock to us,» Lorna Hamilton said.
If Hamilton is disqualified, the gold medal would go to Russia's Viatcheslav Ekimov, with American Bobby Julich moving up to silver and Australia's Michael Rogers to the bronze.
Hamilton pulled out midway through the 2004 Tour de France because of a back injury and was fourth in the 2003 Tour.
Hamilton pulled out of the Vuelta on Sept. 16, citing stomach problems

 

[Saucy]

First off, kudos to Mareblu for breaking the story here, in Spanish no less! I saw this thread last night but after several unsuccessful attempts at finding a corroborating story in various languages, I chose not to comment at the time. Good job!

That is the bad truth of cycling! And when I see that nearly 80% of you voted that Lance (ok, whoever of top riders) is not doping, I can just lough out loudly!!!

I’m laughing too. When will this 80% wake up to the reality and stop flaming those posters who believe doping is rampant, even among the elite riders? Some of the “cyclists are not doping” arguments posted in the “LA doping” thread are ridiculous. Completely, utterly delusional.

This certainly sheds some light on all the riders who claimed they were suffering from a “stomach virus” at the Vuelta. I guess they all clued into the enhanced testing procedures at the same time.

I’m already having a good laugh about this mysterious “surgical procedure”. I wonder what other creative excuses his publicist will come up with? Maybe that he exchanged blood with Tugboat to save him from near-certain death? Or someone transfused his blood without his knowledge while he was sleeping?

 

[RedSky]

This has nothing to do with Lance Armstrong specifically. This just casts the entire peloton in more suspicion.

Tyler, say it ain't so.

 

[Virenque]

I gave LA just for example, because he has his own topic and thought for whole peloton..

 

[Lonnie Utah]

Tyler, say it ain't so.

Exactly what I was going to write. I hope he clears his name. If not, one of my heros just betrayed me.

 

[Brunswick_kate]

Please people, innocent until proven guilty.

Murderers, rapists, swindlers, forgers, child molesters get that consideration. Is it to much to ask the cynics, naysayers and just the usual assortment of utterly hateful posters on this board to wait until all the evidence is in before passing comment?

Thank you.

 

[antoineg]

Kate, you would put in a good word for Satan himself if he came to earth and ate half the population, and turned loose the dogs and bees on the other half.

Your feeble, blind comments are sort of ridiculous here. We have a report that Tyler failed a doping test. What more do you need?

 

[musette]

I find it stunning that other members can argue that rampant doping in the peloton (if that is the case) casts a particular rider, such as LA, into added suspicion. The severity of allegations of doping (even by members of this board) against a rider, and the absence of demonstrated transgressions by a given rider, argue for self-restraint by those who are eager to use the trangressions of others to impugn the reputation of a given rider.