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news
Michael Barry (CC SA licensed image by www.instants-cyclistes.fr:Flickr)Updated: Team Sky says its riders are not given painkiller Tramadol and it should be banned
Updated: Team Sky says its policy for the past two seasons is that its riders should not race or train while using the legal but controversial painkiller Tramadol, and believes it should be banned. The team was responding to claims by former rider Michael Barry that he and other Sky riders had used the drug while racing.
In a statement released yesterday, Team Sky said:
None of our riders should ride whilst using Tramadol — that’s the policy of this team.
Team Sky do not give it to riders whilst racing or training, either as a pre-emptive measure or to manage existing pain.
We believe that its side effects, such as dizziness and drowsiness, could cause issues for the safety of all riders.
We also feel that if a rider has the level of severe pain for its appropriate use they should not be riding.
Tramadol is not prohibited by WADA but this has been our firm position for the last two seasons and all medical staff and riders are aware of this.
Our view is that it should be on the WADA list and any appropriate clinical use could be managed through the regulated TUE, or Therapeutic Use Exemption, system.
Barry, who retired in 2012 shortly before it was revealed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that he had admitted having used EPO while at US Postal, for which he received a six month ban, had made the claim about the use of Tramadol in his new autobiography, Shadows on the Road.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) does not currently included Tramadol on its prohibited list, but in his book the Canadian describes it as being “as performance-enhancing as any banned drug I had taken” and says that “some riders took tramadol every time they raced”.
There are concerns over its potential side-effects, which can include lack of concentration and drowsiness, with Lotto-Belisol team doctor Jan Mathieu blaming it for crashes in the Spring Classics and calling for the drug to be banned and also warning it can be addictive.
In an interview with Jeremy Whittle of The Times [£], Barry said: “I used tramadol at Sky. I never saw it used in training, only in races, where I saw some Sky riders using it frequently.
“The effects are noticeable very quickly. Tramadol made me feel euphoric, but it’s also very hard to focus. It kills the pain in your legs and you can push really hard.
“After I crashed in the Tour de France I was taking it, but I stopped after four days, because it allows you to push beyond your natural pain limit.”
He added: “Tramadol packaging warns against driving or operating machinery, so I can’t see how racing down narrow cobbled lanes at 50km an hour on tramadol can ever be a good thing.”
Teams that are members of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) have pressed WADA to ban Tramadol, with the anti-doping organisation having told it that “the number of samples containing Tramadol is significant and the very large majority of them originate from cyclists.”
While MPCC members are forbidden from giving their riders Tramadol, there is nothing to stop non-member teams such as Sky or Omega Pharma-Quick Step from doing so as current rules stand, although some might question whether it is in the spirit of the sport.
Last October, Team Sky doctor Alan Farell told Cyclingnews that he backed an appeal from his counterpart at Garmin-Sharp, Prentice Steffen, for Tramadol to be banned both in and out of competition, but admitted that riders on the team had used it during races.
He said it was “an effective pain killer when it’s used in the clinically appropriate scenario. Certainly in our team we would have used it in the past but only when justified.
“We would have prescribed it, very minimally but sometimes if someone had an injury that justified pain killing medication.”
He added: “We would never have used it in training. It’s only a medication that we would have used very minimally and in a supervised environment. I just can’t believe people would use it in a training environment.
“It’s definitely something that we would have as medication within the team but it would only be something that we’d use in the appropriate scenario.”
Barry insists that during his spell with Sky, he never saw banned substances being used.
“I believe Sky is clean,” he maintained. “I know it’s become a cliché but they focus on the little things, as well as having the best riders.
“You have to take into account the little factors and the big factors like budget and riders.
“But I’ve never seen anything to doubt their performances,” he added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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76 comments
I do see where you're coming from, but the "if you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear" argument really doesn't hold water. I wouldn't tell you my medical history- nothing illegal or performance enhancing, but there are private matters that I won't discuss.
I also can't help noticing that as ever with the "nothing to hide..." debate, it's not what the subject thinks they need to hide that matters, it's what the observer thinks the subject needs to hide. Whether that's refusing to disclose your religion to a fascist government, or your hypothetical multi-allergy-but-clean rider who finds that disclosing their medical history results in a shadow over all their performances.
...except Sky were formed on the basis of clean cycling and ethics, and they were the ones who spouted about the need for transparency. In the wake of the Armstrong scandal why are Sky not pushing for real, honest debate on the doping issue.
If they were as clean and ethical as they say then they would have everything to gain from total transparency and by starting the debate - I dare say you could class it as another 'marginal gain' as suspicion and pressure would mount on those teams who refused to follow Sky's lead.
In reality, they only make statements on doping / ethics when an adverse story breaks. They seem to be about PR and damage limitation than true transparency. If they are against Tramadol use as much as today's statement suggests, why have they not been publically vocal about the issue?
It is an established fact that lots of riders are taking it during races - if the side effects are as Sky believe them to be, then by not publically demanding that this drug be banned they are endangering their own riders by asking them to ride in a peloton high on Tramadol.
The NHS website says Tramadol is for Pain and Severe Pain, most of Team Sky will be in Severe pain during their ride, so using it before every race is not misuse. I take codeine before a ride if I am doing 40+ miles otherwise my back kills.
A pain killer is not for pain like that, cycling is not severe pain in the slightest.
If you're popping codeine before every ride I'd take a serious look at your bike fit and do some work on flexibility and core, much better for you than depending on a opiate based drug which long term is not that good for you.
^
I'm sure it ensures you're a hit with the laydees, Superdom
Well my wife now has a road bike if that counts!
No worries Sim
If it's nothing why are the (supposed?) team sky fans feeling the need to dismiss / defend the use of it...
No... i can see why a Sky doctor would ask for something he knew his riders to be taking to be banned... it does come back to ethics.
What do people want in a clean team sky? Are they happy with the team steering clear of illegal drugs/practices or do they need to also steer clear of anything legal that some people might find questionable?
I am perfectly comfortable that Sky are playing with a straight bat, however that bat may sometimes be a bit ugly.
We've all heard the rumours of sleeping pills being used to aid weight loss? Go training, eat your recovery meal and then knock yourself out on pills until tomorrow... stops you eating and maximises recovery time. Its nasty, but it works.
Also, when it says
'in his book Barry describes it as being “as performance-enhancing as any banned drug I had taken” and says that “some riders took tramadol every time they raced”.'
It doesn't say those were team sky riders does it? I do believe he rode with other teams during his career and taking it further, it says other 'riders' not 'team mates'
Purely going on the article. I've not read the book.
Where is a list of all the pro teams that use it?
Just curious to see how much of this is really news or how much is news as its team sky.
Have Sky issued a statement yet?
Why the fu*k would Sky issue a statement about the use of a legal painkiller ? Do we need a statement when Froome uses a Vic inhaler or takes a paracetamol . Every teams riders will be taking this it won't be just Sky
Because yet again, there is a conflict between official Sky statements (team doc saying it is used minimally to manage pain from injuries, and agreeing that it should be a banned substance) and the reality (if Barry is telling the truth and hasn't been misquoted) - i.e. that he saw some Sky riders using it regularly.
Also, not every team's riders will be taking this drug - for starters MPCC members have banned it. That's not to say all their riders will adhere to their self-imposed ban, but there is a recognition by a large number of teams that this drug is widely used for performance-enhancement, which is against the spirit of the rules (note Barry says it is as performance enhancing as any other drug he's taken).
Regarding a statement from Sky whenever Froome uses an inhaler, etc - what I would like to see from the clean, ethical Sky is a full list of all their TUE's - that would go a long way to revealing just how ethical they really are.
The answer to this would be the same as all the other teams; marginally ethical.
Back in the 90s 2 Aussies, Pate and Hall, won the gold and bronze at the world sprint championships, then got done for steroids. Because of the racing format, Fabrice Colas, the French silver medalist, couldn't take the gold, only the silver.
At the time I remember Cycling Weekly say that "in a subsequent interview Colas demonstrated how thin the line in taking illegal drugs was by listing a string of medication he was taking that would have been as beneficial".
I think that thin line is even thinner today than 20 years ago.
Alright, calm down, FFS. I asked the question with my tongue firmly stuck in my cheek.
Then again, why not issue a statement to confirm/deny/clarify/whatever? Transparency and all that.
As it happens they did..
Indeed. Now, why the fu*k would they have done that?
Does anyone know where i can get some?
Asking for a friend.
When Team Sky were founded it I was hoping they would set new standards for racing cleanly and fairly, but it appears that ethically they are no different to most teams. Whilst not breaking any rules they disregard their riders health and it's only a small step from taking Tramadol to popping other illegal drugs.
Really? It's only a small step from taking a legal drug that's not on a doping list to illegal ones that are?
I don't really see the story here TBH.
The misuse of a opiate based painkiller is the story.
Yeah, if you assume 'use' and 'misuse' are the same thing.
The way I see it, and from a few other articles I've read.
Use = injured rider using them
Misuse = uninjured rider using them either usually under the guise of a 'finishing bottle' to push on harder.
It's not to dissimilar to the 'use' of cortisol for saddle sores.
Take away the grey area, make riders and teams need to get a TUE for tramadol.
Really see where you are coming from Chuck.
Another non story opportunity for a heap of speculation and accusation.
I agree, I took paracetamol for a headache at the weekend, and will be buying EPO later today.
Hang on, read the article again, this sounds like BS. The issue here isn't that Tramadol was used - it's a legit painkiller, to be prescribed only by a doc - of which the team has one (or more). The issue is that the doc says it was only used in 'clinically appropriate scenarios', while Barry says some riders took it before every race.
Now, in one breath MB says that Tramadol is as performance-enhancing as anything else he's taken, and that some riders use it every race, and then in another breath says that Sky are racing clean. Well, which is it? Are riders taking it un-necessarily and gaining a performance advantage, or aren't they?
Or, is it:
1. Ex-rider has book to sell, slings dirt at avowedly 'clean' team - score one for book sales.
2. Ex-rider doesn't want to be sued by the team, so then contradicts himself with non-inflammatory statement that team is clean
3. The damage is done, because the headlines (which will lead to book sales) will focus on the former, not the latter (see top of this page for example)
Otherwise, surely his scoop would be "I used Tramadol, it's really performance enhancing, loads of the guys are on it regularly, therefore the only conclusion I can reach is that the performances aren't clean"?!
This comes back to my point made elsewhere. If it isn't banned and it is effective it will be used. I believe that most Pro's are sailing close to the wind when it comes to drugs.
It's the new pot belge. Pain killers to deaden the pain in the legs, then mixed with caffeine to re sharpen the reflexes. The original pot belge used morphine and amphetamine to do the same thing. Nothing ever really changes
I'm sorry, where is the story here? Cycling team used a legal painkiller. Wow, scoop!
Actual outcome: Barry sells a few extra copies of his kiss 'n' tell while providing grist to the hate mill for a team he gladly took a salary from for 2 years.
*applauds ironically*
It's on the WADA watch list actually.
Teams abuse it (not just cycling as well) it's not always for a therapeutic use.
http://inrng.com/2014/04/tramadol/ is a very good article on the matter.
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