[jyl]

Sloppy headline writers.

I think the current Grand Tour winners are not doping with EPO or other drugs. The testing is intense - see Richie Porte's blog, he's been rousted in the early morning and tested repeatedly in the past weeks. Their performances are not at the level of the doping '90s, in terms of FTP watts. The consequences of doping are huge - riders are being instantly terminated, their careers ended. Team managements know they will lose sponsors and very likely go under if their lead riders are caught.

The doping catches this season have been second-rate riders desperate for a ride, and mostly from, I'm sorry to say, Southern European teams.

Blood doping - I'm not sure how airtight the testing is. But I think the hematocrit limits mean there is a limit to how much help you can get from that.