Key result
The effects of the epo epidemic on professional cyclists' achievements may be overestimated, as victors' performances over time showed normally distributed, linear, and quartic relationships.
Observational (n=181)
Historical analysis of grand tour cycling records suggests the performance-enhancing effects of the epo epidemic may have been overestimated.
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Questions assumptions on EPO's historical impact in cycling; leaves open precise quantification of doping effects in performance data.
The 1990-2010 period in professional cycling is labeled by some as the epo epidemic. Surprisingly, performance enhancement by epo and blood doping is not that clear-cut for endurance athletes, leading to the question whether doping indeed strongly influenced cyclists' performances from the 1990s onwards. We examined the records (1947-2008) of the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España (N = 181) and assessed the time it took riders to win the race. The findings revealed normally distributed performances and linear and quartic relationships in victors' performances over time that correspond with Brewer's (2002) sociohistorical analysis of professional cycling suggesting that effects of the epo epidemic on professional cyclists'achievements may be overestimated.
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Lodewijkx et al. (2011) conducted an observational in Professional cycling (n=181). Epo and blood doping was evaluated on Time it took riders to win the race. The effects of the epo epidemic on professional cyclists' achievements may be overestimated, as victors' performances over time showed normally distributed, linear, and quartic relationships.
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