I didn’t want to hijack a thread so I started yet another doping thread.
I just have a couple of question on doping…
What does it cost to dope? Is EPO expensive?
Do you think that there are any AG’s that dope? The ones that qualify for Kona perhaps? (I am not taking away from those on this board who have qualified) I am just wondering if there are any AG’s that do.
Is EPO expensive?
No idea on the black market, but if you ever look at the hospital bill for someone who gets it as part of chemotherapy… yes it’s very expensive.
“Do you think that there are any AG’s that dope?”
Absolutely. Never underestimate people’s capability for stupidity. Think of all the gym-rats who dope but don’t compete for a damn thing.
We’ve all seen AG’s who fly to every single IMQ seeking the elusive spot.
With the 5000 in the bike, 2-400 in every entry fee, airfare, hotel, grub…what’s another 2k for EPO to bring it all around?
-bobo
According to stories this week regarding the BALCO scandal, athletes were paying as much as $58,000 a year for the drugs (HGH, THG, EPO, and the thrid party drug tests). They would also pay BALCO ‘bonuses’ if they got a PB or won a major championship. Heres’ the link
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,9913918-23218,00.html
From what I’ve read about EPO is that it’s very dangerous. I would think that in addition to the cost of the drug, you would also need some sort of medical oversight so that you don’t wake up dead. I don’t think my health insurance policy covers that. Then again if someone’s dumb or desperate enough to take it they may not care about supervision.
"Do you think that there are any AG’s that dope? "
Don’t know any myself but would expect there is some out there. Years ago I tried to take up weight training and joined a gym where there was a lot of muscle head types. These guys didn’t even compete but there was all kinds of juice floating around the place just so these morons could flex big muscles in the gym in front of each other.
Cerveloguy, high end age group competition is the same as muscle head body building in that in the former, guys compare their splits while in the latter they compare their muscle size. From a psychology perspective, both groups are trying to self actualize by being “better than the other guy” or being “better than myself last year”. I am unsure about the means though. I would think that there are far more muscle heads into hard core body building on the juice than in age group tri. I think in general age group tris draw a different crowd. That being said, as bobo alluded to, when guys take 4 trips a year around the country with $5000K bike in tow, there are likely those who will spring the final $2K for epo. After all, I know of age groupers who have actually used altitude tents !!!
Good point…look at how much we all spend to shave minutes off of our time on the latest wheels, bars, wetsuits…why not spend a little more and drop significant time.
I was in Mexico City over spring break doing some market research, and spent a bunch of time in pharmacies. I was curious, and asked one pharmacist if he could get me some EPO, and I told him I wanted it because I was a cyclist and heard it would make me faster. He said sure, no problem. I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy, and I sort of panicked and bolted before checking on the price. 
So…it’s easy enough to get, but I don’t know how expensive.
Chris
Here is a link to an article that I read in Outside Magazine (November 2003):
http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html
Everybody knows that many athletes cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs like steroids, testosterone, and EPO. But what is it like to take these banned substances? Do they really help you win? To find out, we sent an amateur cyclist into the back rooms of sports medicine, where he just said yes to the most controversial chemicals in sports.
NSXdan
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doping everywhere!! epo is approx 400 buck a month