Doping and the 2013 Tour of Algeria

Abstract

Doping is the practice of ingesting substances or using medical procedures defined by ad hoc organizations to enhance the physical (hematocrit, heart rate, etc.) and mental (anxiety, alertness) performance of an athlete. The English term "doping" was widely used before the Committee on the Elimination of Doping (CEDO) established a new definition. The difficulties currently facing the fight against doping stem in particular from the nature of the doping products and the very methods of combating doping. Indeed, the National Academy of Medicine indicates that some substances used as doping products are in fact substances naturally present in the body, such as EPO and growth hormone. Consequently, distinguishing between the endogenous and exogenous origin of these products, most of which are derived from genetic engineering, is particularly difficult. Detecting doping through autotransfusion poses a similar, as yet unresolved, problem. Conversely, agreements between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and major pharmaceutical companies should allow National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) to be informed early on about molecules in clinical trials, as soon as they are likely to have a positive influence on athletic performance. Doping endangers the health of the doped athlete. Several cyclists who have admitted to taking EPO have recounted that their trainers would wake them up at night to make them exercise. The goal is to prevent cardiac arrest due to a side effect of the doping product. Indeed, improved muscle oxygenation is achieved through an increase in the number of red blood cells, which thickens the blood. When the heart slows down at rest, the blood becomes less and less fluid and can stop the heart. This leads to fatigue in the athlete, and the use of doping products to counteract it. In a preliminary report, the national anti-doping commission of the Ministry of Youth and Sports informs the Algerian Cycling Federation that all "the results of the analyses concerning the cyclists who participated in the Tour of Algeria 2013 from March 11 to 15, the Algiers circuit on March 16, 2013, the International Tour of Tipasa from March 18 to 20, 2013 and the International Tour of Blida from March 21 to 23 are all negative except for three (03) athletes of foreign origin whose results received are atypical".