umm, I haven't heard of new medical research suggesting that the body's "normal" hematocrit levels have suddenly changed recently, such that a hematocrit test might be "outdated". Even if they are riding clean (this is where thunder will start laughing hysterically at the possibility and PM me to say it couldn't possibly be true
... but hear me out), so if they're clean but their hematocrits have gone up because of "innovative nutritional and training practices" (altitude tents might fit in here as well), there's still good reason to have the "health check" in place as exactly that, a measure to ensure that riders don't have Hct's that are high enough to pose risks for clotting and other serious health consequences. You can't just say "but we got it that high through natural measures so it's ok and the tests don't matter" . Silly coach... (yes, I know that the "health checks" are in essence mainly trying to pick out dopers for which there is no actual positive doping test. But, I'm just pointing out that there is theoretically a medical need for such a test, and that even if the "innovative techniques" are entirely legal they still need to be making sure their riders aren't jeopardizing their health by having too many red blood cells around. )
