1. A short thread on Team Sky before diving into my work week. Should be clear at this point what marginal gains actually refers to – extralegal use of doping products under guise of therapeutic use. @RogerPielkeJr @Scienceofsport
2. In prior EPO era, path to TDF victory was boosting O2 capacity through EPO or autologous blood transfusions. @lancearmstrong was perfect storm for this era. A world champion at 21 with a hematocrit level in the low 40’s was unbeatable in Tour with hematocrit level in high 40’s
3. That’s why Dr. Ferrari took Armstrong on as client enthusiastically and agreed to work with him/Postal exclusively. He knew from results and testing what Armstrong would be capable of.
4. In post-EPO test/bio-passport era, blood doping continues through micro-doping of various sorts but benefits are “marginal” and risks significant. As a result, blood doping can’t boost power of climbers and all-rounders that much.
5. Team Sky’s central innovation was realization that in new era where ability to boost power was limited, killer doping app would be to drop body weight through use of quesi-legal “therapeutic” products.
6. Start w/riders w/big frames &big engines – track/TT guys historically too big to stay at front through high mountains – take off 7-10 KG w/some help from pharmaceuticals and perhaps secret ketone drinks &you could produce W/KG performances that approached that of prior era.
7. This is the basic model for Wiggins, Froome, Thomas. Neither the drugs nor the training methods were particularly novel.
8. What was novel was rider selection, realizing that methodical use of non-exotic drugs with legitimate therapeutic benefits to drop weight and body fat could allow a type of rider not typically able to challenge for, much less win, TDF to dominate.
9. An excellent case study in innovation actually. Neither specific drugs nor practices were new. What was new was application of new combination of drugs, routines, and riders in new context/era.
