Breathing Carbon Monoxide is the last thing to prepare for the Tour

Getting the most out of altitude training would be the origin of this technique. In fact, the inhalation of carbon monoxide has been used in medical research environments. UAE Team Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike, and Israel-PremierTech would be the only teams with access to the expensive device that allows this type of training.

They seek to take altitude training to the extreme by inhaling carbon monoxide

Since the first decade of the century, when the UCI and the WADA put an end to widespread doping practices during the 90s and 2000s, cycling teams have been looking for alternative ways to achieve the same benefits that EPO or transfusions provided but legally. This has popularized, among other forms of training, altitude concentrations that raise the cyclist's blood values. Now, as reported in an interesting article by the well-known website Escape Collective, some teams would be experimenting with a new technique: the inhalation of carbon monoxide.

A technique that, at first glance, raises certain concerns since, let's remember, carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is toxic to humans, in fact, it is a typical cause of death due to its emission by inadequate combustion heaters or traditional braziers.

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In the case of using this gas to improve sports performance, it would be about depriving the body of oxygen to the maximum to achieve the same effect as with altitude training, that is, for the body to secrete erythropoietin to activate the generation of red blood cells that improve the transport of oxygen to the cells. The use of carbon monoxide has been studied for some time in the scientific and medical field.

Now, the mentioned website has learned that the teams UAE Team Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike, and Israel-PremierTech would have had access to the rebreather device necessary for the dosing of this dangerous gas.

Carbon monoxide is used in two ways. On the one hand, the so-called carbon monoxide reinhalation is used to obtain precise data on blood values that allow teams to quantify the effects of altitude training. The second, more aggressive option involves inhaling this gas directly to achieve the aforementioned effects.

Initially, there is no specific prohibition by the WADA for the use of this technique although it may conflict with regulations regarding artificial blood manipulation, so there is concern about the possible generalization of the use of carbon monoxide inhalation.

According to Escape Collective, UAE Team Emirates and Israel-PremierTech have confirmed that they have access to the carbon monoxide reinhalation device and use it to measure some parameters of their cyclists while Visma-Lease a Bike admits that they have been working with altitude physiology expert Ben Ronnestad taking measurements at the beginning and end of altitude concentrations.

It should be noted that the reinhalation technique does not provide a benefit in itself but is a tool to measure the effects achieved with the concentrations. Regarding inhaling carbon monoxide directly to achieve what some already call superaltitude, it is a novel approach that is being researched to quantify its effects. The WADA has already taken action and is conducting its own investigations in a procedure reminiscent of the one that banned the inhalation of Xenon gas in 2014.