While I take no great joy in claiming that in my book, Blood Sports, Hemopure was being abused as far back as 2002, it came as no surprise to hear revelations when one-time friend of cyclist Michael Rasmussen, current Tour de France leader, Whitney Richards told VeloNews recently that in March, 2002, Rasmussen asked him to transport a box containing cycling shoes which allegedly contained bags of an American-made human blood substitute.

At the time the drug was approved for human use in South Africa only, and like a honeypot there was a beeline there for ‘training’ purposes. Hmmmm.

Hemopure was on the Australian Institute of Sports researchers ‘hit list’ of drugs back in 2001 to be investigated before the Australian Government banned their project despite already having WADA funding to develop tests. But that’s another story.

'It would be nice for a change if at least one Tour leader and/or winner was completely free of drug allegations. But no, the cycle (no pun intended) of abuse appears to continue'


Hemopure is an oxygen based therapeutic drug derived from chemically stabilized bovine (cow) hemoglobin. It has been developed for potential use in humans as a substitute for blood. A similar product from BioPure -- Oxyglobin – was released earlier for veterinary use to treat anemia in dogs (so anyone ‘cocking’ their leg since 2001 while giving a urine test would be suspected of using Oxyglobin!)

Hemopure is stable at room temperature and does not require blood typing which offers great advantages over traditional blood doping by transfusion because human blood needs to be constantly refrigerated, typed before infusion and screened for infectious diseases. There is great potential for harm due to incorrect blood typing and transmission of infectious diseases such as mad cow disease both of which can cause organ failure and death in some cases.

Hemopure carries the same amount of oxygen as the hemoglobin in red blood cells. However, these linked hemoglobin molecules circulate in plasma, and are smaller, have lower viscosity (resistance to flow) and more readily release oxygen to tissues than red blood cells. Consequently, they can carry oxygen at low blood pressure and can carry oxygen through constricted or partially blocked blood vessels to areas of the body that red blood cells cannot reach due to their larger size.

"I was blown away," Richards told VeloNews. "This wasn't a pair of Sidis. It was  dog medicine or something."
In an effort to fit all his belongings in his luggage, Richards opened the box to discard it and just bring the shoes - he said he then discovered the bags. According to labels, the bags were filled with a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) known as Hemopure, manufactured by the US-based Biopure Corporation.

"The nerve of the guy," Richards added. "Not only is he a drug cheat, but he didn't give a damn about anybody else. He was willing to put me out there to carry that crap through customs . . . into Italy at a time when they were investigating Dr. [Michele] Ferrari and people were lobbing accusations at Lance Armstrong. Think about what it would have been like for Italian customs to catch an American with a bunch of bike gear and cow's blood at the border."

As if Rasmussen isn’t already in enough trouble following the Danish Cycling Unions ban for not advising them of his whereabouts for the purposes of drug testing. It would be nice for a change if at least one Tour leader and/or winner was completely free of drug allegations. But no, the cycle (no pun intended) of abuse appears to continue.

It's curious that if Rasmussen himself was responsible for the shoe box sting then how did he get his hands on this stuff. It was still under clinical trial, so either someone from Biopure or someone involved in the trials ‘leaked’ the material to him. It's not as though it was available down at the local chemist or the black market for that matter. And it's not the sort of stuff that falls off the back of a truck either! Maybe the police need to be involved but the ‘evidence’ has long since been tipped down the sink.

The withdrawal of TV coverage of the Tour in Germany and threats by many sponsors to ‘pull the plug’ is now haunting the sport. While the UCIs efforts to clear out the drugs and the cheats should be applauded, it seems it is long overdue, and previous administrators who buried their heads in the sand for decades should hang their heads in shame given they are responsible for where cycling is today and where it could be heading.

Like many other sporting folk I am almost ‘punch-drunk’ with drug allegations in cycling and find it difficult to truly look at it with any sort of credibility. The current administration do offer some hope though that at least they are going in all guns blazing and can at least hold their heads up and say that they are trying.

Like the herd mentality that has pervaded professional sport that if one dopes then they should all dope, then perhaps there is hope. Iif just one athlete comes out and admits to, and does not condone, doping in the most strongest possible manner then perhaps a herd mentality of not doping could emerge! Although recent admissions by Bjarne Riis, Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag and others have been ‘good for the soul’ it will amount to nothing if current cyclists don’t take note.

There may be a glimmer of hope after all.