Globero

Pedal-pushing enthusiast with a passion for road cycling.

[Roadman Podcast @Roadman_Podcast]

Doping didn't disappear from pro cycling.

It may have just moved to 2,500 metres.

This morning I interviewed James Witts, author of a new book called Dope. Halfway through the conversation, he described something I'd never heard in all my years around this sport.

He calls it "the altitude alibi."

Here's how it works.

Every spring, pro riders disappear to the same places. Mount Teide. Sierra Nevada. Weeks at altitude preparing for the biggest races of the year.

The logic is simple. Altitude exposure raises your hematocrit. More red blood cells, more oxygen, more power.

Except there are two problems nobody talks about.

Problem one: altitude doesn't work for everyone. There are genetic responders and non-responders. Some riders come down from the volcano flying. Some come down with nothing to show for three weeks of their season.

Problem two: altitude forces a trade-off.

At camp, you have a choice of protocol. Sleep high and train high, or sleep high and train low.

Sleep high, train high: you maximise the altitude adaptation. But the thin air caps your power. You can't train at full intensity, so you lose the training adaptation.

Sleep high, train low: you descend to do your sessions at full intensity and keep the training adaptation. But you give up some of the altitude effect.

You can't fully have both. Every altitude camp is a compromise.

Now here's where James's argument gets dark.

The biological passport, the system designed to catch dopers, doesn't test for drugs directly.

It tracks a rider's blood values against their own baseline. Deviate too far from your own normal, and you get flagged.

But when a rider is at altitude, the passport expects the deviation. Rising blood values are exactly what altitude is supposed to produce.

James believes some riders have worked out what that means.

Go to altitude. Microdose EPO. The passport reads the change in your blood as a natural altitude response.

Then train low, at full intensity, and take the full training adaptation - because you no longer need the mountain to raise your blood values. The drug does that part.

The altitude camp isn't the preparation.

It's the alibi.

I've spent years interviewing World Tour coaches, sports scientists and pro riders. I have never heard it framed like this before.

The full conversation goes much deeper: what the passport can and can't see, why microdosing is so hard to catch, and what it all means for the sport we love.

It drops soon on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Follow along so you don't miss it.

His book is called Dope: How Drugs Changed Sport. Worth your time.

P.S. Genuine question for you: can the testers ever catch up in this game or cat & mouse?

[ammattipyöräily @ammattipyoraily]

⛰️🏁 ⏱️ PLATEAU DE SOLAISON (11.31 km, 9.07 %, 1026 m)
_________________
🇫🇷 #TDF2026

[Globero @GloberoBlog]

@BenjiNaesen So sad 😞

[Globero @GloberoBlog]

Grande Remco!

[Benji Naesen @BenjiNaesen]

REMCO EVENEPOEL WINS ON PLATEAU DE SOLAISON! 💥 #TDF2026

Pogačar paced for Del Toro, who makes significant progress in GC, but as a consequence, Remco is the stage winner. 👏

[Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe @RBH_ProCycling]

🇫🇷 #TDF2026

🏆 REMCO WINS STAGE 15! 🏆

Incredible ride by Remco to take the win at Plateau de Solaison! 🥇🙌

[Benji Naesen @BenjiNaesen]

WOUT VAN AERT WINS! 💛 #ParisRoubaix

JOY FOR CYCLING FANS GLOBALLY! 😱

[ⓑιcιcletⓞ @Bicicleto_ZGZ]

Los hechos.
Las víctimas.
El autor.
Que la ley caiga con todo su peso sobre semejante salvaje, y una pronta recuperación para los heridos.

[Benji Naesen @BenjiNaesen]

Not paid to share this, but you should check out Course du Jour.

It's basically a website and/or daily newsletter that shows you where you can watch the races that are on, every day.

➡️ https://t.co/Fvz69htN26

Love independent projects like this. 👏

[Dani Sánchez @DaniBvo_]

Os presento el proyecto más personal de mi carrera: @CalCiclismo.

Uno de los contenidos que la gente más recordaba en redes sociales que echaba de menos de mi etapa en Movistar eran las guías de carreras que había en la web.

Lo que lanzo este lunes es una evolución mayúscula de aquel concepto.

Desde que comencé a colaborar con CQ Ranking en el ya prehistórico 2008, siempre me apasionó hacer accesible y comprensible la información en torno al deporte que me lo ha dado todo.

Mi propósito es que, en unos pocos segundos, cualquier aficionado o profesional de la información ciclista pueda tener claro lo que sucederá ese día en el ciclismo profesional.

La base de datos, por supuesto, mira más allá y contiene la información disponible sobre todo el calendario. El proyecto está en constante actualización y estoy todavía reponiendo lo que ha sucedido en 2026, al mismo tiempo que actualizo, lógicamente, hacia adelante.

Este sitio web no pretende alojar resultados ni reemplazar otros lugares imprescindibles de la red. Es una base de datos, cuidada con cariño, con informaciones esenciales y con un toque personal editorial.

La web funciona sin publicidad ni rastreadores, más allá de un medidor de visitas. Es mi regalo a este deporte por todo lo que me da. Evidentemente no es una postura inamovible. Pero de momento es solo un divertimento.

El dominio de la web es el que es y en las próximas semanas el objetivo es que esta información no solo esté disponible en una web, sino aún más accesible en aplicaciones. Dadme tiempo.

Como diría una de las personas que más admiro en el ciclismo: nos vemos en las carreras. Nos vemos en Calendario Ciclismo.

[Remco Evenepoel @EvenepoelRemco]

Flanders, are you ready? 👀🪨🪽

See you on Sunday.🇧🇪

[ammattipyöräily @ammattipyoraily]

#VoltaCatalunya, Stage 3

REMCO EVENEPOEL

💥 30:00 | 55.7 Kph | 101 rpm

I 5:00 | 60.8 Kph | 103 rpm
II 5:00 | 54.3 Kph | 102 rpm
III 5:00 | 52.9 Kph | 100 rpm
IV 5:00 | 55.2 Kph | 101 rpm
V 5:00 | 55.2 Kph | 101 rpm
VI 5:00 | 56.1 Kph | 101 rpm

[Globero @GloberoBlog]

20-min power up to 260W today. Pretty happy with that for 58 kg.

[Proton VPN @ProtonVPN]

Every weekend for the last many months, VPNs have been propping up Spain's economy.

Why? Because it's the only way internet users in Spain can reliably access vital services like banking, productivity apps, gaming, or even the capital's city council website.

[Clicks @clickskeyboard]

Clicks builds phones now. Introducing the Clicks Communicator… Reserve today at https://t.co/atGOv4UblV!

[Globero @GloberoBlog]

Next year = more watts

I hope 🤞

[Mihai Simion @faustocoppi60]

I don't see anything controversial about Agamemnon’s helmet in the Nolan's Odyssey movie! 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

"Humans aren’t very efficient movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom."

[Globero @GloberoBlog]

Back from two weeks in Italy. Powered by espresso and a glorious amount of arancini. Watts are up.