The total amount of haemoglobin in the blood (Hbmass) is an important determinant for VO2max (Heinicke et al., 2001). Schmdit and Prommer (2005) proposed an optimised CO re-breathing method for Hbmass determination. In two studies it was demonstrated that Hbmass is stable during short stage races (4 and 6 days long) in Under 23 male and top level female cyclists (Schumacher et al., 2008; Garvican et al., 2010). No study investigated Hbmass changes during a long stage race in top level professional cyclists. The aim of the present study was verify the influence of three weeks of race on Hbmass values of professional athletes. Methods: Nine professional cyclists (age 31±5.5 yrs, heights 178.7±5.1 cm and body mass 67.7±5.9 kg) of the same team were involved in the study. Using a simplify CO re-breathing method (Schmdit and Prommer, 2005), Hbmass of each individual was determined before (PRE, 2 days before the start), during (MID, at day 14) and after (POST, 1 day after the race) the Giro d`Italia 2011. Three athletes did not finish the race. Data of the 6 cyclists who completed the race was used for statistical analysis. The differences in Hbmass were determined using a one way ANOVA repeated measure. Results: Hbmass of the six athletes remained stable (p=0.308) during the three-week stage race (PRE, 1080±86 g; MID, 1098±66 g; POST 1100±80 g). Discussion: The main finding is that the strain induced by a long stage race like the Giro d`Italia, does not seem able to determine a decrease in Hbmass of the athletes. The results of the present study confirm other information collected during shorter stage races in different population of cyclists (Schumacher et al., 2008; Garvican et al., 2010). Since the Hbmass seems to be very stable even during the stage races, the CO rebreathing may be a useful tool to detect the use of blood doping made during the competition. The results seems to confirm also that hematocrit and haemoglobin blood concentration decreases previously reported during a long stage race are probably due to plasma volume expansion in the blood (Morkeberg et al., 2009).
© Copyright 2012 17th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Bruges, 4. -7. July 2012. Veröffentlicht von Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / Übersetzt mit https://www.DeepL.com/Translator