Tyler Hamilton, a former professional cyclist who got busted doping twice before writing a tell-all book about how athletes use EPO and steroids without getting caught, believes that the benefits of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) persist long after the drugs are discontinued.
Hamilton discussed how athletes who doped, even if it was many years ago, will always have an advantage over clean athletes who never doped in an interview with Rebecca Reza of VeloNews published on August 29, 2018.
“Say you took EPO for a year, 10 years later, you’re still strong because of that one year,” Hamilton said. “You were able to train harder, longer, all of that and you have a bigger base, if you really break it down and want to be ethical about it. It’s impossible to say or to prove because we really don’t know the whole truth.”
Tyler Hamilton on the Armstrong case being settled out of court: "There are plenty of secrets that haven’t come out versus what has, and now it’s looking less likely that they will ever be told." https://t.co/Q8erG4vqkn
— VeloNews (@velonews) August 28, 2018
Hamilton’s hypothesis makes logical sense. There has been innumerable anecdotal reports over the past few decades, particularly from the bodybuilding community, that steroid users have been able to retain muscle gains long after discontinuing steroids.
More recently, there has been a growing body of empirical research out of Sweden suggesting that PEDs like anabolic steroids, could have long-lasting and even permanent performance-enhancement benefits for athletes.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have been concerned that banning athletes for doping doesn’t truly create a level playing field. The anti-doping organizations worried that banned athletes who return to competition will still have an unfair advantage over lifetime drug-free athletes.
These fears have been the basis of increasing the maximum penalties from 2-years to 4-years for a first-time anti-doping violation. Citing these concerns, anti-doping crusaders have even lobbied for an automatic lifetime ban for athletes caught doping.
Hamilton seemed resigned to accept the fact that the record books will always be skewed with results achieved by doping. The former pro cyclist has first-hand experience at evading drug detection while riding on the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team with Lance Armstrong. Hamilton went into explicit detail about how he and other cyclists used EPO and steroids without getting caught in his how-to-guide on doping in the peloton, The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs.
The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs