Science of Sport Spotlight 6: How Pro Cyclists Use Carbon Monoxide / Pogacar's Superhuman Numbers

In a recent article on the Escape Collective, claims were made that Tour de France cyclists are using carbon monoxide to enhance their performance. But is it really that big a deal or is there more to this story? Mike and Ross break down how carbon monoxide is used and potentially abused as cyclists looked for any means to get an advantage. The team also break down some the incredible numbers being pushed out by Tadej Pogacar at Le Tour and ask the question on everyone's lips: Can we believe it?

SHOW NOTES:

Carbon monoxide use:

The original Carbon monoxide article

A paper on how Hb Mass is related closely to VO2max

One of the first published studies that describes how breathing CO might unlock performance enhancement. In this study, college student football players also breathed in 1ml per kilogram body weight before all sessions. It drove an increase in EPO, haemoglobin levels and VO2max.

Another study, by Schmidt, where moderately trained subjects inhaled CO five times a day. Haemoglobin mass increased, they made more reticulocytes, and VO2max increased (though not significantly)

Some sources for power output estimates at the Tour de France:

Ammatti on Twitter

The detailed analysis of the Plateau du Beille stage, and comparison against historical performances

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