Altitrainer Seized by Italian National Police in Investigation After Stage 10
An Altitrainer appears to be
a training device used in conjunction
with a stationary bike or treadmill.
Is this the device that was seized
by Italian police?
[ Photo: SMTEC, S.A. ].
Robbie McEwen of Davitamon-Lotto edged Fassa Bortolo rider Alessandro Petacchi in the Stage 10 finishing sprint into Rossato Veneto. Petacchi was set up perfectly for the sprint, but later said that he misjudged the sprint and started sprinting too early.
The big story of the last stage before the Dolomites, however, was the police investigation that took place Wednesday, where Italian national police reportedly sought and confiscated a device called an Altitrainer. Early Italian wire reports and the stage summary on Velonews indicate that it's a tent that simulates the composition of air at high altitude, although the information I found on the Internet leads me to believe an Altitrainer is better described as a training device used in conjunction with a stationary bike or a treadmill. Devices like an Altitrainer apparently are not considered illegal by either the International Cycling Union (UCI) or the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), but they are illegal in Italy.
The UCI issued a press release that questions the efficacy of the raid, beyond illustrating the difference between Italian law and professional cycling rules.
Although there were a couple of other items seized, the Altitrainer appears to have been the original target of the search. As such, this is the first time in my memory that a police investigation has been launched at a professional cycling race over what could be called a fitness gadget.
I'm aware of the fact that the Altitrainer that I'm showing in this article is not a hypobaric tent, and this conflicts with several accounts of the investigation. I suspect that the Altitrainer in question is not a tent because I doubt that there would be two different altitude training devices called "Altitrainer", and there is a fair amount of information (both on the Swiss manufacturer's website and in sports medicine journals) about the Altitrainer product shown in the photo.
I suspect that the confusion over the true nature of an Altitrainer stems from the fact that the Italian police have described but have not shown the Altitrainer to the media covering the Giro. Perhaps the reporter who first heard about the Altitrainer and its hypobaric properties assumed it was a tent and several subsequent reports repeated that information as if it were a fact.
Comments
Presse communiqué
Altitrainer® is not doping
Geneva 23 May 2005, SMTEC Sport & Medical Technologies SA, maker of the Altitrainer®
The Altitrainer® equipment seized by the Italian authorities at the time of the Giro d’Italia in the hotel room of Dr. D. De Neve, the Davitamon-Lotto team doctor, can in no way be considered as a “doping machine”. Simulated training at high altitude by means of the Altitrainer® method does not involve any manipulation whatsoever of the physical blood parameters.
This equipment made in Switzerland has been developed by the firm SMTEC SA with the cooperation of Professor Hans Hoppeler of the University of Berne. It has been successfully used since several years with excellent results in various countries.
As has been justly reported by the International Cycling Union in a recent press communiqué, this machine complies fully with the regulations of the international authorities (including AMA, CIO, UCI). Many scientific studies have been made in several countries and not one of them has ever underscored any modification in the blood physical parameters. Professor Hans Hoppeler, the present president of the Swiss Anti-Doping Commission, has also confirmed this recently.
Simulated high-altitude training with the Altitrainer® constitutes a novel approach for achieving the advantages of training at high altitudes. The rise in performance is due to the adaptability of the muscle cells which increases the available amount of oxygen. The rise in performance is due to the athlete’s training, who develops his own abilities. This has no bearing on the subject of doping. On the contrary, simulated high-altitude training with the Altitrainer® provides an alternative to doping, whereby each athlete is provided with the possibility of fully developing his own resources.
Thus, the unfounded accusations of doping brought against Dr De Neve are apparently due to a failure to appreciate the physiological phenomena relating to the blood parameters. We can assure Dr De Neve of our full support and have no doubt that justice will soon be done.
The uncertainty and false rumors spread with regard to the Altitrainer® are not only prejudicial to our interests, but also deprive Italian athletes of this outstanding simulated high-altitude training system.
SMTEC Sport & Medical Technologies SA
9, chemin des Vignes
1260 Nyon Switzerland
tel. 00 41 22 797 04 62
www.altitrainer.com
info@altitrainer.com
Posted by: SMTEC Sport & Medical Technologies SA | May 25, 2005 5:56 PM
could you send me the price of the altitrainer, please? and so, could you write in french, thank you.
Posted by: andrieux | May 27, 2005 6:50 AM