Athletic Doping: Does It Even Work?

Eric Niiler

Belarus' Nadezhda Ostapchuk competes to win the women's shot put final at the athletics event of the London 2012 Olympic Games. (AFP Photo / Franck Fife)

There's no evidence that blood-boosting drugs give cyclists like Lance Armstrong an advantage in races like the Tour de France, a Dutch research team has found. The accounts of super-powers from athletes, coaches and trainers don't stand up to the scientific rigors of a controlled study, the team says, something the researchers propose to do themselves.

Artificial versions of erythropoietin, often called EPO, are used to treat people with anemia by stimulating the body to produce more of its own red blood cells. These extra cells carry more oxygen from the lungs to the allow the body to do more work, such as riding a bike uphill.

EPO-stimulating drugs are banned by sports authorities, and Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour titles because of evidence of his use of EPO and other drugs. More >>