Lance Armstrong on wonder drug? Mmmmmm
The notion that Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times because he was on some kind of secret wonder-drug somehow unavailable to others riders has long floated around the froth-osphere where sports fans trade rumor, fiction and the occasional fact.
Now, Sports Illustrated gives a possible name for such a potion - HemAssist. The magazine reports “the FDA has information that Armstrong gained access” in the late 1990s to the experimental drug that was never commercialized. A doctor who oversaw the clinical studies spoke enthusiastically to SI about how HemAssist, theoretically at least, could help riders scale French mountain passes by delivering oxygen to tired muscles.
“Better than EPO” - long a performance-enhancer of choice in cycling - but without its potential nasty side-effects like making blood gooey, Robert Przybelski was quoted as saying.
Mmmmmm. Really?