Tour de France 2009

Quick homespun translation of LeMond's article, probably not completely accurate, though, so don't quote me on it:

On Sunday 19th July, during the climb towards Verbier, Alberto Contador established a speed record: He climbed 8.5km, at an average gradient of 7.5%, in 20 minutes and 55 seconds. No rider in the Tour has ever climbed faster. How can you explain such a performance? According to the latest data oublished by the former Festina coach (?) Antoine Vayer, in Libération, the Spanish rider would have had to have a VO2 Max (maximum oxygen consumption) of 99.5ml/minute (?)/kg to produce this effort.

To my knowledge, this is a number that has never been reached by any athlete in any sport. It's a bit as if a nice Mercedes fresh out of a car showroom lined up on the starting grid of a Formula 1 race and won the race. There's something wrong here (?). It would be interesting to know what there is under the hood. Can a rider riding on pure water attain the climbing speed and the power produced at Verbier? Perhaps. If Antoine Vayer's findings are correct, Alberto Contador would be the first human being to attain such a level of performance.

If we accept the validity of physiological performance tests, of VO2 Max and the various mathematical equations that translate sporting valour without mental factors (? just guessing what «état d'âme» could mean in this context), the burden of proof is on Alberto Contador that he is physically capable of accomplishing such feats without recourse to performance-enhancing substances. Owing to the recent history of our sport, doubt is of the essence and must lead us to question ourselves about extraordinary performances. This is why the sceptic that I have become would like to challenge Alberto Contador to convince us.

Doubtful

I'd like to be given his real VO2 Max. If we knew it, we could explain this result that makes of him the fastest climber in the history of the Tour. The future of anti-doping controls is not only going to be by detection methods using blood and urine, but also by evaluation of each individual's physiological parameters. In order to establish a credible profile, it would be necessary to begin this evaluation right from the first pedals strokes by children.

Similarly to the blood passport, which makes it possible to follow over time the development of a rider's haematological parameters, such an evaluation would make it possible to track the development of their VO2 Max. In measuring the power developed by riders and their VO2 Max, we could succeed in establishing the equivalent of ADN files (?) as used for convicting criminals. I don't know Alberto Contador's true values, just like I don't know the environmental variables (particularly wind) during the stage to Verbier, and so I don't pass any judgement here without more information.

During the Festina case, in 2000, in Lille, witness statements indicated that riders with VO2 Max values in the 70s were able to increase them to around 90. This jump in performance was so great that no clean rider could rival it. Had a method of VO2 Max evaluation been used, it would have been possible to determine intensive usage of EPO and blood transfusions in the peloton well before these practices became widespread in our sport. This is why I remain doubtful faced with performances that seem too good to be true.