A professional cyclist has been using months of high-elevation training to prepare for the race of a li?

Question

A professional cyclist has been using months of high-elevation training to prepare for the race of a lifetime. He comes down from the mountain, enters the race, wins, and upon being randomly tested by race officials is accused of blood doping. What did they find that led them to this conclusion and why? Based on your reading, how long would you expect he would have had to wait before entering the race in order for his blood sample to have matched his competitors?

Answer 1

the blood test showed elevated red cell counts. the life of a red blood cell is about 3 months, so he would have to wait that long for the level to drop. that would defeat the purpose of the high altitude training thou, because the point is to increase the red cell count and thus increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

Answer 2

There is a hormone produced in our kidneys which is called erythropoietin and works to thicken blood by increasing the level of red blood cells in the blood. The benefit of red blood cell rich blood is that more oxygen is present and this helps athletes who need to pump more oxygen around their bodies.

Living at high altitudes means a reduced oxygen pressure is present and because of this the body attempts to compensate for this reduced oxygen level by increasing the erythropoietin levels.

This increases the numbers of red blood cells made and improves oxygen absorption. This is an illegal hormone in most competitions since it can be artificially injected.

The officials must have thought that the cyclist was taking hormones.

Whether or not they can enter another race depends on the racers personal hormone level and the maximum level allowed by the officials.