Lance Armstrong has opened up on how he managed to escape detection as a drug cheat after taking ‘undetectable’ substances for years, before confessing to using banned substance, Erythropoietin (EPO).
Armstrong was previously seen as the greatest ever road cyclist in the history of the sport, dominating the Tour de France for over a decade winning an unprecedented seven titles in succession.
However, despite constant suggestions he was involved in foul play, he passed drugs test after drugs test, seemingly proving his innocence in a sport with a bad history of doping.
Having twice retired from the sport, in both 2005 and 2011, it then emerged in 2012 that he had been using performance enhancers throughout his career following a USADA investigation based on historic blood samples.
USADA said Armstrong had led ‘the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen’ within his U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams.
What is Erythropoietin (EPO)?
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein hormone primarily produced in the kidneys that stimulates production of red blood cells.
Taking the hormone synthetically can help increase the levels of oxygen in muscles. While initially protesting his innocence, he did not fight the allegations, but in January 2013 he admitted that he was involved in doping, although his stripped titles would not be redistributed.
How was Lance Armstrong able to evade doping tests for such a long time?
Now, Armstrong has explained how he managed to avoid detection throughout his career, claiming that he was subjected to over ‘500’ tests.
‘In a sense, you would frustrate the system, but what I always said – and I’m not trying to justify what I said as something I would want to repeat again – but one of the sentences was: “I have been tested 500 times and I have never failed a doping control”,’ the American told the Club Random podcast with Bill Maher.
‘That’s not a lie. It’s the truth. There was no way to avoid the control. When I peed in the cup and they analysed the pee in the cup, it happened.’
He added: ‘The reality and truth of all this is that some of these substances, especially the most beneficial, have a half-life of four hours. So certain substances, whether it’s cannabis or anabolics, or whatever, have much longer half-lives.
Lance Armstrong’s Confession
‘You could smoke that joint and go to work driving your tractor… in two weeks and test positive, because the half-life is much longer.’
Armstrong was accused of, and admitted to, blood doping, which involves the use of illegal products and methods to enhance the bodies ability to carry oxygen to muscles.
In an endurance sport such as cycling, the use of EPO – a hormone found in the kidneys that stimulates production of red blood cells, which can increase oxygen levels in muscles – grants riders a huge advantage.
Those using EPO might find their muscular output decrease at a slower and far less severe rate, which also aids recovery in between stages.
‘With EPO, which was the rocket fuel that changed not only our sport, but all endurance sports, you have a half-life of four hours, so it leaves the body very quickly,’ continued Armstrong.
‘I don’t want to encourage anyone to do something they don’t have to do. The truth is that you had a drug that was undetectable, that was tremendously beneficial for performance and recovery.
‘Both are important, but especially for performance… and, as we were led to believe, which I do not disagree with, if taken under the care of a doctor it was safe.’
