The two cyclists respond to accusations of “unfair” practices, but their conflicting opinions on the use of carbon monoxide only add to the doubts
Tadej Pogacar and Jonah Vineyard they don’t agree, and each one responds differently about the rebreathing. The point is that, at least it seems, they did it without dispelling doubts, on the contrary.
Rebreathing, Pogacar and Vingegaard at the bar
The Slovenian and the Danish are among the main “suspects” for this suspicious practice, that is, inhaling carbon monoxide to increase the aerobic threshold and therefore increase sports performance. Accusations of illicit conduct, without mincing words, which however are rejected albeit in different ways by the two athletes. If Pogacar said he did not even know of the existence of this practice, Vingegaard confirmed its use, only in a legal “way”.
Vingegaard responds to accusations
It must be said, first of all, that carbon monoxide is not included in the list of prohibited substances drawn up by the Wadatherefore talking about doping is not entirely accurate: Vingegaard in fact pointed out this when he said that his team uses these respirators, but only in a lawful and to monitor the performance of their athletes. “It’s not something dangerous,” Vingegaard said. “They tell me that you send something similar to cigarette smoke into your lungs. In short, it’s a bit like smoking a cigarette. In reality, it’s just used to measure the amount of hemoglobin in your blood. There’s nothing suspicious about that.”
Breathing, the words of Pogacar
According to Escape Collective, at least three teams present at the Tour would make use of this practice; one of these is the Uae Emirates team, that of Pogacar who responded in a somewhat evasive manner on the subject. “Maybe I’m just ignorant – said the yellow jersey, already winner of the last Tour of Italy – but when I read about it and they informed me, I immediately thought of car exhaust, I don’t know… I don’t know much about it, so I have no comment on the subject because I don’t really know what it is. When you talk to me about carbon monoxide I always think only of what comes out of the exhaust from a car“.
Rebreathing: what it is and what it is for
But what exactly are we talking about? As previously stated, rebreathing in itself is not a practice illicit: the point is in theusewhich may raise some suspicion. It is mainly used to monitor performance, particularly at the end of training sessions, through the use of special precision machinery. However, many have focused on the excessive use and during the race of this practice, which in this way could become doping: during a race, in fact, it could allow cyclists to increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood, thus altering its performance.
Source: sport.virgilio.it
