# Pills found in Paris Roubaix



## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

British fan passes vial of pills found during Paris-Roubaix to UK Anti-Doping | road.cc




> “It will absolutely be possible to pinpoint who the vial belongs to. I have 34 in-sequence photographs from about 15ft away, pin sharp. In one of them you can actually see the vial falling from the rider’s pocket.


This could get interesting.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

LOL

If it's something illegal that rider is an idiot. But what illegal medication can a rider take during a race that will help boost performaance?


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

only way this could get interesting is if the mentioned rider tested positive for a banned substance. If not, then this is just another fan trying to grab 5 second of publicity.


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

You should read the article. The pills were labeled "test" and didn't say what they were.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I could have used some test drug during drug tests. Might have come in handy.


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## izza (Jul 25, 2012)

Local Hero said:


> LOL
> 
> If it's something illegal that rider is an idiot. But what illegal medication can a rider take during a race that will help boost performaance?


Are Tic tacs illegal?


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

deviousalex said:


> You should read the article. The pills were labeled "test" and didn't say what they were.


It would be easy enough to test the pills. Even if it comes up as an unknown substance, it sounds like the rider has been identified by photograph. And he is most likely British, as it was reported to the UK anti-doping agency. They could demand that he explain what was in the container.


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## mmoose (Apr 2, 2004)

not sure on the rider, but the fan/photag was British. So reading between the lines, the fan/photag picks the vial up and drives back to GB? How many borders did he cross with an unknown substance in his possesion? Not sure I would have done that...

Easy enough situation for the rider to defend...."I had legal pills (caffeine/asprin/TUE) in the vial when I crashed, the fan must have replaced them with something else before submitting to the testers..." Maybe true, maybe not, but fun to speculate about.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Yes, there are chain of custody issues. 

I speculate that the rider is from the UK, otherwise what authority would the UK ADA have? Also, why on god's earth would a British fan photograph anyone aside from a British racer?!


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

It's the pills Wiggo uses so his body doesn't reject his charisma implants...


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## Jamminator (Apr 22, 2014)

Local Hero said:


> If it's something illegal that rider is an idiot. But what illegal medication can a rider take during a race that will help boost performaance?


Cortisone is probably the most popular in-race drug in the peloton. Especially partially crushed like that. Makes perfect sense to me at the Roubaix.

Truth is no one gives a ___ about doping anymore. Especially media who's money comes from the industry, and fans who are just sick of more doping stories. 

Hopefully this guy seems smart and has a secret backup of all the photos and kept a sample from the vial himself. My money says it will be filed and swept under the rug.

He really should have posted the photos so we know which rider it is, because my money says we'll never hear about it again. Hopefully he is one of those not in denial and won't brush-off any phone call he gets from UKADA downplaying it.


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## badge118 (Dec 26, 2002)

deviousalex said:


> You should read the article. The pills were labeled "test" and didn't say what they were.


^^^ For all we know they were electrolyte tablets.


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## stretch512 (Apr 22, 2014)

Most likely caffeine pills, since its not a banned substance.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

I'm thinking the rider who lost the pills knows who he is and the team probably knows the pills were found, so if it was all in the up and up, wouldn't it be in the teams best interest to release a news bulletin stating what the pills were? 

Would the rider have to be British for the finder to turn in the vial to UKAD, or was that suggested because the finder was from the UK?



> “I’d rather not say who was involved or where exactly it happened but it was roughly halfway through the race between cobbled sections, not on a cobbled section itself.


So any guesses who the vial may belong to by the description of where the crash happened?


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

Rocacorba Daily | CyclingTips

UCI says pills are clean.

< Let the conspiracy theories roll in. >


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

I'm glad to hear that the contents of the vial were not on the "banned" list. The chain of custody on the pills sounds horrible, although perhaps it is hard to find the right person to hand them to on race day.



Local Hero said:


> LOL
> 
> If it's something illegal that rider is an idiot. But what illegal medication can a rider take during a race that will help boost performaance?


I could imagine a few things that might help... or perhaps one might think it would help.

Amphetamines (speed), epinephrine (adrenaline). Perhaps some cardiac stimulant. I suppose the trick is to actually make it to the finish line after taking the stimulant. 

Has anybody tried to use simply the "Placebo Effect"? Take a container of tic-tacs. Tell a rider that it is a new top-secret undetectable drug, and that they should take a few about 10 miles before the finish line. See if their performance improves.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

CliffordK said:


> ...
> Has anybody tried to use simply the "Placebo Effect"? Take a container of tic-tacs. Tell a rider that it is a new top-secret undetectable drug, and that they should take a few about 10 miles before the finish line. See if their performance improves.


There was an article recently in the NYTimes about maximum performance--athletes were told the avatar on the screen that they raced against was of their own best performance--but they tweaked it, so the performance was actually better than the best they had managed by 2%. They were able to match their "best performance" which was in fact a 2% gain... So some of it is definitely in your head.
article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/h...ewanted=all&module=Search&mabReward=relbias:s



> One lesson, Dr. Thompson said, is that coaches can eke better performances out of athletes by means of small deceptions.


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

paredown said:


> There was an article recently in the NYTimes about maximum performance--athletes were told the avatar on the screen that they raced against was of their own best performance--but they tweaked it, so the performance was actually better than the best they had managed by 2%. They were able to match their "best performance" which was in fact a 2% gain... So some of it is definitely in your head.
> article here:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/h...ewanted=all&module=Search&mabReward=relbias:s


The power of placebo is so strong that researchers have to correct for it. Take a look at any side effect profile for an FDA approved medication. It lists side effects of drugs in comparison to placebo. Often times these adverse effects reach 2% or higher. Tell a person they are taking a drug (or competing against their own best effort) and they will believe you and respond accordingly.


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## 41ants (Jul 24, 2007)

Probably ecstacy?


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

I find the placebo effect fascinating. Oddly enough, some placebos are more effective than others. 

_Patient expectations are important in determining the placebo effect. Treatments that are perceived as being more powerful tend to have a stronger placebo effect than those that are perceived to be less so. Thus, *placebo injections have more effect than oral placebos, capsules are perceived as being stronger than tablets, bright-coloured placebos are more effective than light-coloured ones larger placebos have more effect than smaller ones, and two placebos have more effect than one.* Also, the status of the treating professional is directly related to the placebo effect. The same compound has been found to be more powerful if it is branded than when it is unbranded. _

The placebo effect


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