The new test for tell-tale signs of autologous blood transfusions has thus far been mentioned only in connection with the Alberto Contador case, but if WADA gives it the go ahead, it could also be applied to other riders in this year’s Tour.
According to the New York Daily News, the test could also be used in the federal enquiry into the US Postal Service team. The newspaper quotes former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon, who said that those investigating Lance Armstrong and others would simply need a type of subpoena called a letters rogatory to be able to screen urine samples previously taken by the riders.
Many of the laboratories involved in testing retains frozen and refrigerated urine and blood samples for a period of time after the cessation of a sporting event.
The paper quotes an unnamed anti-doping expert, who believes that there would be no problem in running the test in question on old samples. “Nothing that I've seen suggests that (the metabolites) would break down during frozen storage," stated the individual, who is familiar with the new test. "I can't see any reason why they would break down. They're not a biological molecule, like EPO or testosterone, they're a completely stable, synthetic molecule.”
The test works by looking for signs of a specific type of plasticizer such as di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). This is used in the bags used to store blood, leaving a unique signature which can then be compared to the typical background values that might be picked up from food and other sources.
The theory behind the test is that when blood is transfused, there is a very considerable surge in the levels of DEHP in the body. Several sources have claimed that analyses on samples taken from Tour winner Alberto Contador during this year’s race have determined that a transfusion may have taken place.
The timing of this transfusion would be around the same time that he tested positive for minute traces of Clenbuterol.
“There's enough samples to show a clear pattern,” a person familiar with Contador’s case told the Daily News. "They increased and they decreased afterwards in a way that you would expect if a transfusion occurred. . . . It's nothing like the levels that you would get from day-to-day exposure."
Contador’s brother and agent Fran Contador has denied suggestions of doping “There is not even the remotest possibility of speaking of blood manipulation because Alberto has not done anything illegal, neither in the Tour or ever," he told Cadena Ser radio on Tuesday. "We have absolutely nothing to hide.”
The UCI and WADA are currently investigating the case.
Riders competing in the Tour de France and other races have been told repeatedly that any form of blood doping is forbidden, and that authorities reserve the right to retroactively test samples when new tests become available.
While the UCI’s biological passport has made it more difficult to cheat the system, former pro riders such as Bernhard Kohl and Floyd Landis have said that it is still possible to use transfusions if other measures are taken. Microdosing with EPO is one such way, with minute infusions of the hormone helping to disguise the signs of transfusions.
Faced with the prospect of the plasticizer test being run on Armstrong’s past samples, his spokesman Mark Fabiani said they were not worried. “We have no concerns at all about it,” he stated.
Landis implicated Armstrong and others when he confessed to doping this spring. He claimed that the seven-time Tour winner was one of many US Postal riders who used blood transfusions during his victorious campaigns.
Last year, anti-doping researchers Jakob Morkeberg and Bo Belhage claimed that Armstrong’s blood profile from the 2009 Tour showed suspicious fluctuations. The Texan denied the allegation and has also rejected Landis’ claims.
If it is utilised, the test could give a clearer picture as to whether or not he and others were telling the truth.For those who were racing clean, it could be an opportunity to clear their names.