- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
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.
Latest Comments
- Steve K 17 min 37 sec ago
Dame Laura Kenny is going to be one of the Today programmes guest editors over Christmas. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/today-programme...
- S.E. 1 hour 7 min ago
That made me think of that "Hot Fuzz" comedy movie... so many truths in it.
- Rendel Harris 3 hours 13 sec ago
Good to see a V-brake option available for all those people who ride Cosmic Elites with V-brakes...seriously, you must know really that the answer...
- mattw 3 hours 38 min ago
Get thyself over to Buildhub - a community owned forum where I am on the moderation team ("Ferdinand") which is about self-build and renovation....
- Destroyer666 12 hours 46 min ago
Ahem, the recommended lockring is just a common through-axle specific lockring, so nothing Miche specific there, and the required tool for it is an...
- Destroyer666 13 hours 41 min ago
Nonono, not those, but those that have constructed Italian cars and motorcycles that have been driven to hundreds of race and championship...
- RoubaixCube 13 hours 50 min ago
This may well be the case although Im unaware of the brands popularity on their home turf. I used to see them being advertised more in the UK...
- qwerty360 14 hours 20 min ago
Arguably sticking it in a bank account is bad....
- Sredlums 15 hours 19 min ago
I'd counter that those brakes were in fact so inadequate that they eventually developed a whole new type of bicycle that was actually suited for it...
Add new comment
76 comments
+1.
Barry retired in 2012 so this is surely old (or non) news. Alan Farrell, who supports a ban, didn't join Sky until mid way through that season, presumably after Leinders departed.
The comment that Sky are clean because he didn't see anything is bollocks. We all know of riders who are clean but see zero evidence of teammates who are later banned for doping. Barry previously denied doping himself, I wouldn't believe a word he says.
The article states: "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."
The spirit of the sport? Don't make me laugh! It's dog-eat-dog.
So can I take it from this that you still dont believe anything Tyler Hamilton said in his book about LA and the numerous people surrounding that messy era?
Just a thought.....
This is a pretty big story in my book, especially when a full-time Sky doc was calling for the drug to be banned only 6 months ago, said it was only prescribed minimally at Sky for painful injuries, and that if riders needed such a strong pain killer then they shouldn't be riding!
Oh the Sky bullsh!t just keeps mounting up!
http://m.cyclingnews.com/news/team-sky-calls-for-tramadol-ban-in-peloton
Super Domestique: while you shout bullsh&t, its worth remembering that after his crash on stage 1, Geraint Thomas was taking just ibuprofen to get him through the worst of the next few stages. Alan Farrell was the team doctor at the Tour. Now Thomas was in a hell of a lot of pain, if ever a rider was. But just ibuprofen.
Clearly Farrell wasnt prescribing Tramadol for Thomas.
Equally clearly he and the team are being very sparing in how they use it.
Or is that still bullsh&t in your book?
This is directed at me why?
I haven't shouted anything other than non story!
This is directed at me why?
I haven't shouted anything other than non story!
This is directed at me why?
I haven't shouted anything other than non story!
Oh no! I cant read! It was DaddyElvis.
Sorry, Super Dom....
'
myself'
Superdom bought Bernie Eisels old bike, so I can't see him jumping on that bandwagon without thinking about it first!
Correct. My stash is my stash...Bitch!
Oh, you mean....ah right, carry on...
Sky are full of Bull, or at least DB and his PR team are - starting with the huge dossier they drew up before the team was launched, which spouted all kinds of new-age ethics such as not employing doctors with existing links to cycling - didn't take long to break this rule, and boy did they break it spectacularly!
After an operation last year I was on 30mg codeine for a few days and was completely spaced out. Riding a bike on cobbles like that? Lethal.
Is this what Brailsford means when he talks about "marginal gains"?
I've had to take Tramadol after surgery - it's quite addictive and (dosage dependent) makes you extremely drowsy. Amazing that anyone could ride a bike on it let alone race in a peloton down narrow roads.
With you here, I've used it also & riding a bike in a high-pressure situation where concentration is paramount, even at the lowest of doses, would be a total nightmare....more than a nightmare, surely nigh impossible!
That said, I could see its attractiveness for managing the likes of DOMS - so I suppose this is a bit grey for some people (personally I think using anything to suppress pain unless you're injured is wrong, if it's needed then said person needs to HTFU)
Reminds me of an interview I read recently on the "greyness" surrounding paracetamol use pre-race in Oz and whether or not it should be revisited, again this is grey in that it's hard to police the justifications for use - such as women using paracetamol for period pain before racing, how would the anti-doping agencies handle something as complicated as this?!
I'm glad I don't work for these guys (the anti-doping agencies) - must be a complete nightmare.
And let the fun commence
Pages