Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Ultra Performance Lab Rat

I'm Richie Dagger
I can stomp and swagger
I can take on your heroes.
Richie Dagger
Young and haggard
Boy that nobody owns.
--Darby Crash


Richie Dagger's Crime (GI) Version.  I have the original vinyl GI album mailed to me by Slash records, not poser digital remix garbage, in case you were interested.

"Rise and Fall of Tyler Hamilton" elicited unfavorable comments. Some people complained that the tone resembled something former WADA president Dick Pound would say. Dick Pound is not a person who serves as a role model to be emulated, supported, or agreed with. Mr. Pound was convinced that all athletes facing doping accusations who denied the charges were either guilty or liars. Dick Pound's philosophy emerged from a confrontation with Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson. Mr. Johnson swore that his Olympic games world record sprint positive test for prohibited substances was a mistake. Pound reassured the world that Johnson was clean. Johnson later recanted and admitted not only did he use performance enhancing drugs, but that his doctors tried to make him into a ultra performance lab rat. The implication of Mr. Johnson was clear; doctors of the Canadian Olympic national team may have used a performance enhancing drug regimen to boost athletic performance and team doctors may have employed strategies to avoid detection of these drugs. Dick Pound never forgave Ben Johnson for these slights to himself and Canada. From that moment onward Dick Pound would declare war on any athlete accused of PED use. Unreasoning in his judgmental pronouncements, Dick Pound would resort to any statement to support his positions. Mr. Pound, the WADA president, used character assassinations expressed in outlandish statements as a matter of policy. This cancer metastasized into policy action of the Court of Arbitration of Sport where Mr. Pound also served as a member of the board.

When allegations surfaced of synthetic testosterone use by Floyd Landis, Ben Johnson made some interesting comments on the Floyd Landis Topix cycling forum. In essence Mr. Johnson hinted that Floyd Landis may have been manipulated by team Phonak and team physician Dr. Denise Demir.   In short, Mr. Johnson suggested that team Phonak may have been doing the same sort of experimentation on Floyd Landis that the Canadian Olympic team may have done on Ben Johnson. Floyd Landis was to be another ultra performance lab rat.

This assertion would be laughable, but, when Floyd Landis tested "positive" for synthetic testosterone, Phonak general manager John Lelangue abandoned Floyd Landis to his fate. After all the support John Lelangue had given Floyd Landis during the 2006 Tour de France concerning the injured hip, suddenly Lelangue declared that Mr. Landis was fired from team Phonak. Mr. Lelangue then declared that the future Floyd Landis legal defense costs were a personal matter; of no concern to team Phonak. Dr. Allen Lim very quickly separated himself as personal trainer and advisor to Floyd Landis and vanished into thin air. Floyd Landis and Dr. Allen Lim have never reconciled, there is very little contact. Very suggestive. Phonak ceased as a cycling team sponsor after the 2006 Tour de France. Phonak had a history of riders testing positive for PED use before the 2006 Tour de France. Perhaps John Lelangue would care to explain why? Very suggestive.

Tyler Hamilton -Reprise

When Tyler Hamilton was riding for the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling Team as super domestic for Lance Armstrong I liked him very much. Make no mistake about that. When Tyler Hamilton rode the 2004 Giro d' Italia with an injured shoulder and the 2004 Tour de France with a fractured collar bone I liked him even more. When Tyler Hamilton won the Olympic individual time trial gold medal I was surprised. I had no idea that he may have cheated. The thought never entered my mind! I have no personal agenda against Tyler Hamilton.

But Tyler has no defense against using a supplement that he knew contained dehydroepinandrosterone (DHEA). Mitamin looks like some holistic hocus-pocus cure all snake oil that can treat anything under the sun. Mitamin has a formula for unipolar depression, bipolar depression, anxiety, you name it. Some supplements, like Mitamin are not regulated like common anti-depressants or other prescription drugs and some contain very dangerous compounds, like DHEA, 20Mg, that are on the WADA prohibited list. Tyler Hamilton knew the supplement contained DHEA, he knew how the Richard Young WADA code works. Tyler knew that the mere presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete is enough for a suspension. People had been suspended for the presence of a prohibited substance in their bodies taken by mistake. These people had no intention of boosting performance.

No matter. 20Mg of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) mixed up in a magical elixir purported to cure unipolar depression will not enhance your performance. But Tyler Hamilton was not concerned with performance, he just wanted some relief. Perhaps he was convinced that the conventional selective serotonin re uptake inhibitor he was taking at the time did not have the desired effect. As any good psychiatrist will tell you if the drug you are taking does not work...try something different. There are enough conventional drugs on the market...you don't have to turn to holistic doctors who offer snake oil potions. These so called holistic doctors are trying to turn us all into ultra performance lab rats...or so they claim.

I hope Tyler Hamilton found the relief he was seeking. It is a shame to lose a career in professional cycling by taking something that probably will not work. Best of luck to you Tyler and thanks for the great bicycle race memories you gave us all.

2 comments:

strbuk said...

Dr.Alan Lim (Phd) was NOT Floyd's personal physician, he advised Floyd as an exercise physiologist and worked with him in that capacity. Dr. Lim was not employed by Phonak, but by Floyd himself. Floyd's personal physician was and is Dr. Brent Kay. Floyd's Phonak phsycian was Dr. Denise Demir. Dr. Demir has supported and continues to support Floyd to this day.


str

velovortmax said...

Strbuk

You are very correct and I must apologize for my ignorance. According to a letter Floyd Landis wrote to USA Cycling, Allen Lim was accused of providing doping products to Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer as a physiologist not as a personal physician to increase performance. Dr. Denise Demir has been accused of running a sophisticated blood doping program when she worked as a team doctor for Phonak. Dr. Brent Kay has never been implicated in doping. I have a very high respect for your work over the years and value your input.