http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/6194.0.html
The article mentions that he has a “naturally” high hematocrit and is allowed to ride legally. Any ideas on how a naturally high hematocrit is determined vs. one raised on EPO?
Kim
Above 50%
.
when are you going to moonlight as a pro roadie (ala Larsen and Prime Alliance)?
How do you get tested?
I dunno dude, you are pretty fast on the bike, enough to be competitive for the Natl TT elite title.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/jun04/jun01news
more on Cunego’s blood numbers as well as his AT power output…472 watts! ouch!
Kim
WOW!
472 watts and he weighs like 50 kg? That is superhuman. Too bad little guys can seldom TT or we could see a real Pantani vs. Ullrich type battle in the TdF in the next couple years.
-SD
He weights 58 and has 5% body fat. 1.71m tall.
He can produce over 7 watts/kg of bodyweight. That’s Lance-like-high.
Wonder what his vo2 is =P
edit: LOL it’s encouraging to hear his resting HR is ‘only’ 44 bpm.
more on Cunego’s blood numbers as well as his AT power output…472 watts! ouch!
(The actual number quoted is 420)
That’s not how much power he can hold for an hour; I think it’s more likely how much power he is putting out when he reaches his V02 max or something. If he really had a functional threshold of 420, he wouldn’t have lost over 3:00 in the TT, would he? At 7.2W/kg, that would put him higher than Armstrong.
LT is power (according to Coggan).
LT is power (according to Coggan).
This number ain’t his LT. There’s a discussion of this very topic on the topica wattage list right now. Here’s Dr. Coggan’s input:
"For somebody of Cunego’s stated mass (i.e., 58 kg), a power of 420 W
would require a VO2 of 87 mL/min/kg. His VO2max might be that high, but
there’s simply no way his ventilatory (“anaerobic”) threshold is that
high. So, like a lot of other data you see presented in the lay press
about pro cyclists, it’s almost certainly bogus. "
As far as natural HM %, it was good that they abandoned the 50% threshold. I have a 48.5% at sea level, and now I’m sure I’m over 50% living at altitude for the past 2 years. My friend Paul Thomas has over 51% at sea level, and Im sure he would be off the charts if he lived at altitude. These numbers are just too close naturally, for 50% to be the barrier. I believe now that they just test for the drug enhancing traces instead of the HM %.
As far as natural HM %, it was good that they abandoned the 50% threshold. I have a 48.5% at sea level, and now I’m sure I’m over 50% living at altitude for the past 2 years. My friend Paul Thomas has over 51% at sea level, and Im sure he would be off the charts if he lived at altitude. These numbers are just too close naturally, for 50% to be the barrier. I believe now that they just test for the drug enhancing traces instead of the HM %.
Not true. They test for 50%; if you are over and you don’t have a medical certificate, you are forced to take two weeks off for “health reasons”. This doesn’t imply doping. This test is done frequently at the Grand Tours.
Thanks for the clairification. I would guess then that you just have to show a history of tests that show that you have high levels. Not hard, as long as you are not cheating…
sorry…you’re right, it was 420. very early in the morning when i read this! but still impressive, no? what is coggan’s explanation for how it is impossible that Cunego’s number are that high? he might have lost time on the ITT but the way he was riding mountains it might indicate he was holding back. notice how he just blew simoni et al. out of the water in stage 18?
Kim
what is coggan’s explanation for how it is impossible that Cunego’s number are that high?
I believe he calculated that someone with that power at that body weight would have a VO2 (not max) that is off the charts (like 87, which is probably higher than Armstrong’s VO2 max).