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Updated: Team Sky says its riders are not given painkiller Tramadol and it should be banned

Michael Barry claimed he and other riders used legal but controversial drug

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

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Baldy1alex | 9 years ago
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I am stunned that this drug is not on banned list! I have worked here in Ulster with Addict services & Tramadol has long been a problem !!  39 !!

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mooleur | 9 years ago
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On the subject of caffiene - I think it's banned over certain quantities by the UCI isn't it? Might be wrong but I'm sure I heard that recently.

I can has espresso. I can not has three. :*(

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stuke replied to mooleur | 9 years ago
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mooleur wrote:

On the subject of caffiene - I think it's banned over certain quantities by the UCI isn't it? Might be wrong but I'm sure I heard that recently.

I can has espresso. I can not has three. :*(

It used to be up until about about 6-7 years ago I think, not anymore though.

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mooleur replied to stuke | 9 years ago
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stuke wrote:
mooleur wrote:

On the subject of caffiene - I think it's banned over certain quantities by the UCI isn't it? Might be wrong but I'm sure I heard that recently.

I can has espresso. I can not has three. :*(

It used to be up until about about 6-7 years ago I think, not anymore though.

AHHH sweeeet *nails the second espresso*  4

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WolfieSmith | 9 years ago
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Do you think if I broke out the co-codamol on the chainy it wouldn't hurt so much?

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northstar | 9 years ago
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I see most of you are still in denial...

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Some Fella | 9 years ago
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I cant be bothered to trawl through all these comments so would just like to ask if anyone has mentioned caffeine yet?
A very powerful stimulant and performance enhancer but perfectly legal and one that probably each and everyone of us uses on a daily basis.
If caffeine landed from outer space tomorrow i am sure it would be banned. Its probably no more or less 'dangerous' than Tramadol

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kie7077 replied to Some Fella | 9 years ago
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Some Fella wrote:

I cant be bothered to trawl through all these comments so would just like to ask if anyone has mentioned caffeine yet?
A very powerful stimulant and performance enhancer but perfectly legal and one that probably each and everyone of us uses on a daily basis.
If caffeine landed from outer space tomorrow i am sure it would be banned. Its probably no more or less 'dangerous' than Tramadol

Perhaps you should have read the article:

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

“The effects are noticeable very quickly. Tramadol made me feel euphoric, but it’s also very hard to focus.

And you're not suppose to drive or operate heavy machinery whilst taking it.

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Sudor | 9 years ago
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What a shame - no more inane smiling as Sky drags a resentful group up those long long climbs . . .

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isaacrsmith | 9 years ago
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I don't want to add any fuel to the Team Sky doping suspicions argument, and I really have nothing against the team or how they race, but I have a couple of comments related to this story.

The first is the very premise of "marginal gains" employed by Sky and many other top level teams. Conceptually, they would use the most expansive definition of legal means to improve performance, despite ethical or long-term health risks. Whether it is the (non)homologation of the Olympic time trial bikes or the alleged use of Tramadol, it's all about bending the rules to find better performance. It shouldn't be surprising when these stories break, as pushing legal boundaries is the core of the marginal gains ethos. Heck, even the Garmin doctor looked into the benefits and risks of Tramadol.

Secondly, the PR response by Sky is curiously crafted. In "None of our riders should ride whilst using Tramadol", by using the word "should" instead of "do", it may imply that team riders continue to use Tramadol, just not under direction by the team. My impression is that the PR response was crafted by the legal department to protect the team management and put all of the responsibility for Tramadol use on the riders. Anyway, just my two cents.

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brackley88 | 9 years ago
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Sky just cant be trusted. In addition to this I have heard that they ride in black to power solar cells that drive a small electric motor to power the cranks. That's why Rapha changed the branding of the material from Fuel Black to Cool Black. This means the electric motors in the crank dont need a battery as this had hampered Cancellara when he was routinely using one...it was to heavy to have a stack of 9v batteries in the seat tube. this is why Sky dont do so well in the Spring classics: not enough sunshine, to much grey Flanderian sky. Come Tour time though and the sunflowers are out and Sky can shoot along. Look at Chris Froome on Ventoux last year (though to be fair he apparently had to switch the power cells to his shorts as was in the yellow jersey). He also apparently powered the electric motor using a dynamo. When he turned the pedals it powered a dynamo that provided electricity that in turn powered the pedals. Thats why he pedals so much faster to escape Quintano, and only does so in a big crowd so people cannot here the whirring. Don't ask me where I got all this information, but let's just say 'I know people'.

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brackley88 | 9 years ago
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Sky just cant be trusted. In addition to this I have heard that they ride in black to power solar cells that drive a small electric motor to power the cranks. That's why Rapha changed the branding of the material from Fuel Black to Cool Black. This means the electric motors in the crank dont need a battery as this had hampered Cancellara when he was routinely using one...it was to heavy to have a stack of 9v batteries in the seat tube. this is why Sky dont do so well in the Spring classics: not enough sunshine, to much grey Flanderian sky. Come Tour time though and the sunflowers are out and Sky can shoot along. Look at Chris Froome on Ventoux last year (though to be fair he apparently had to switch the power cells to his shorts as was in the yellow jersey). He also apparently powered the electric motor using a dynamo. When he turned the pedals it powered a dynamo that provided electricity that in turn powered the pedals. Thats why he pedals so much faster to escape Quintano, and only does so in a big crowd so people cannot here the whirring. Don't ask me where I got all this information, but let's just say 'I know people'.

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7thGalaxy replied to brackley88 | 9 years ago
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brackley88 wrote:

S When he turned the pedals it powered a dynamo that provided electricity that in turn powered the pedals.

 24 Love it  24

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Comrade | 9 years ago
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I do a bit of jogging and cycling and ran a lot in my younger days. One running event I went to, the winner was stripped of the title for a banned substance (1992 comrades mararthon) and at the time a medical person said in an interview that if they checked every participant, most of the field would actually be disqualified, typically due to over the counter drugs! Anyway, I never felt my performance ehnanced (even now), but then again I aint no pro!!!!

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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They might do, and I can't say those riders are clean, but you know what? If I sat on a saddle for 5 hours a day, and rode through the countryside a lot when the pollen is high, I might need a. saddle sore cream, and b. hay fever meds. That doesn't mean I'm doping. I'm not saying that other riders aren't doping, I'm saying that we as the public don't get to sit there behind a keyboard and just arbitrarily decide whether a rider is clean or not based on these things. What you're advocating is a massive over-simplification of the medical issues that can affect a person.

Put it another way: Running a country is, I suspect, massively complex. Part of the problem affecting politics is that policiticans want votes, and everything is aired in public for consumption by lowest-common-denominator media like the Daily Mail. This causes the politicos to make stupid decisions based on knee-jerk reactions, easy vote-winners, and no incentive to think beyond the next election. So you take a complex subject, but apply dumbass decisions driven by heckling from the public who understand very little of the issues.

When you ask if particular conditions are over-represented in the peloton, that's statistics. Statistics only work across a dataset. Any individual can be different - cleverer, stronger, weaker, big feet, small thumbs. You can't reasonably apply statistics to assume the worst of anyone who falls outside the norm, or you might as well cry 'witch!' and start burning people at the stake.

As an aside, there was a lot of talk about both (IIRC) Steve Redgrave and Paula Radcliffe - I think they might be diabetic and asthmatic respectively. Thoughts?

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giobox | 9 years ago
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This has always been my biggest worry when you look at the performances of some of sky's riders. Given their resources it is easy to imagine them being able to take advantages of practices that whilst technically legal and within the rules, go against the spirit of the sport and the spirit of the rules.

To me this seems a much more likely problem than US Postal style team doping programs.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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Team transparency, yes, but that doesn't equate to telling individuals "if you ride for us, you forfeit your inalienable right to medical privacy"

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giobox replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
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notfastenough wrote:

Team transparency, yes, but that doesn't equate to telling individuals "if you ride for us, you forfeit your inalienable right to medical privacy"

Given the sports past, I think it only reasonable that riders are asked to waive that right. Its the only way to restore trust. Fair? Maybe not, but that's the reality of the situation.

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notfastenough replied to giobox | 9 years ago
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giobox wrote:
notfastenough wrote:

Team transparency, yes, but that doesn't equate to telling individuals "if you ride for us, you forfeit your inalienable right to medical privacy"

Given the sports past, I think it only reasonable that riders are asked to waive that right. Its the only way to restore trust. Fair? Maybe not, but that's the reality of the situation.

Ok, so let's say they waive that right. Rider x takes y substance for control of condition z. You think that would prevent a shadow from forming over that rider? Sorry but we've seen time and again that this isn't the case. Chris Froome's Bilharzia (spelling?), that long-standing virus that was dogging JTL (notwithstanding the wider investigations regarding him, obviously). Rumours abound. Sure, it would be interesting to know, but I really don't think it solves anything.

daddyELVIS wrote:

Listing TUE's is hardly a massive invasion of privacy.

That depends what the TUE is for. Let's take a different tack. How about embarassing medical stuff? Female rider x is taking IVF drugs to help her become pregnant. Do the sport's challenges justify the rest of us knowing that her and her partner can't have kids? This stuff can be a major cause of stress and depression - you really think the rest of us have the right to know? In fact, let's assume we do that. Then some joker posts on the internet that IVF drug x could somehow enhance performance - next thing you know, that rider's stresses are just piling up; can't have kids, needs fertility treatment, AND accused of being a doper! Sorry no, the only people privy to that info, and deciding whether it's performance enhancing (and therefore remove the rider from the racing programme) are the doctors.

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daddyELVIS replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
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There could always be agreement on exclusions, e.g. STD's - but come on, saddle sores, asthma, hay fever, hormonal disorders - I bet these feature heavily in the peloton as conditions requiring TUE's. And it would be telling if these conditions were represented within the peloton to a greater extent than in normal society.

How can any sport be serious about fighting doping if it can't show that the TUE system isn't being abused?

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daddyELVIS replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
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notfastenough wrote:

Team transparency, yes, but that doesn't equate to telling individuals "if you ride for us, you forfeit your inalienable right to medical privacy"

Listing TUE's is hardly a massive invasion of privacy.

Surely, a public list of TUE's such as: 'Rider-X takes a certain drug under a TUE for asthma', or 'Rider-Y has applied a certain cream under a TUE for saddle sores' is not unreasonable given that we are apparently in a new era of clean cycling.

Sky never shut-up about Froome's medical history!

I guessing that if we had full knowledge of current TUE's in issue in the pro peloton we would be shocked by both the number and the recurrence of certain conditions.

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Stumps | 9 years ago
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This is the Sky statement:
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.

So there you go, another non story to try and sell a few more books. It may have been taken in 2010 but it was not banned then and it isnt now. Unless of course your one of the people who see conspiracy in everything Sky do, sad i know but you will always get people like that.

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daddyELVIS replied to Stumps | 9 years ago
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stumps wrote:

This is the Sky statement:
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.

So there you go, another non story to try and sell a few more books. It may have been taken in 2010 but it was not banned then and it isnt now. Unless of course your one of the people who see conspiracy in everything Sky do, sad i know but you will always get people like that.

This doesn't quite tie in with what the Sky doc said in Oct 2013:
"Asked if Team Sky used Tramadol during this year’s Tour de France, Farrell said that he could not disclose the medical histories of his riders but he would say that, “if we used it for an injury it would have always been with the riders’ health and safety paramount. Any time we used it, it would have been with the best clinical guidelines and thinking of the riders’ safety."

“I can’t say who it would have been used with but we would have used it throughout the year for any moderate to severe injury if pain warranted it. It’s certainly something that we would have used in the past but very minimally. It’s something that we’d want to use in the future in order to provide adequate pain relief."

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onlyonediane | 9 years ago
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Euphoric, I have been prescribed Tramadol, never found it to be, but in in other users maybe that's the case. When I have had lower back pain it is an effective drug. However never wanted to ride a bike with those circumstances it would be irresponsible. I find it difficult to understand why pro riders would want to?

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Him Up North | 9 years ago
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Velo News has Team Sky's statement on the matter http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/04/news/sky-avoids-barry-allegations...

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netclectic | 9 years ago
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Why has Sky still not signed up to the MPCC?

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northstar replied to netclectic | 9 years ago
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netclectic wrote:

Why has Sky still not signed up to the MPCC?

The only applicable question here...why indeed?

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crazy-legs | 9 years ago
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There was a very good article in today's Times about all this. Made a very good point of exactly where do you draw the line on "drugs"? What is and isn't a drug?

And to be honest, when I was on Tramadol (fractured pelvis) it wiped me out totally; on the odd occasions I was awake I was barely able to string a sentence together so if anyone can race a bike on it they're doing better than me! Although it's obviously something to do with opiates since both morphine and codeine have very similar effects to Tramadol on me.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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Is it reasonable for us to ask for your medical history? No? Personal info and all that, so why is it ok to demand this from athletes?

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daddyELVIS replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
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notfastenough wrote:

Is it reasonable for us to ask for your medical history? No? Personal info and all that, so why is it ok to demand this from athletes?

Not got a problem with anyone seeing my medical history - apart from a few stiches and a minor back injury from rugby, there's nothing much else to see.

Why would an athlete have an issue with their TUE's being made public, unless it became apparent that athletes have more allergies and conditions requiring medication than the average person?

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