Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: drugs in sports, Jan Mathieu, MPCC, painkillers
I wonder how much real evidence Mathieu has for the following assertion.
Lotto-Belisol team doctor Jan Mathieu has said that the ongoing use of powerful painkiller Tramadol by some riders is a contributing factor in the recent spate of crashes in the opening classics races of 2014, and has renewed calls to have the drug banned.
Tramadol is an opioid, and like other substances in that group it causes drowsiness as a side-effect. Mathieu says that it’s this that has caused riders to lose concentration and cause crashes, according to an interview published by Belgian website sporza.be.
Teams that have voluntarily signed up to the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC)’s stringent charter do not use the drug, but teams that have not signed up – including Sky, Omega Pharma-QuickStep and BMC Racing – are free to use it as it is currently not on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances.
via Tramadol to blame for classics crashes says Lotto-Belisol doctor – Cycling Weekly.
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Industrialized Cyclist Notepad 
I have to call BS on that one. I’ve taken tramadol for surgery recovery, and while it caused slight drowsiness the first time or two, eventually it had the opposite effect. You can argue that it shouldn’t be allowed in the peleton for other reasons, but it surely isn’t affecting alertness and concentration.
Comment by aaronwest April 2, 2014 @ 15:02Interesting. I’ll have to take your word for that one.
As a PED a powerful painkiller would have both positive and negative effects. I used to know people who would take them recreationally and go for long bike rides. They claimed it was a good combo.
Comment by roberthurst April 2, 2014 @ 18:41