But now back to the potential Heßmann doping case. Another interesting aspect is the timing and type of test with which Heßmann became conspicuous. The sampling was a training control, which is significant because, unlike competition controls, it cannot be calculated. In modern clandestine performance medicine, all biological half-lives for all doping-relevant active ingredients are fully known in terms of analysis. So you know exactly when the active ingredients have to be discontinued or incorporated for the last time in order to pass undetectable during the competition control. With the randomly scheduled training controls, which may also have been targeted searches if there is suspicious information [20], this game of cat and mouse with the inspectors is much more difficult, which is exactly what was Heßmann’s downfall. If he had actually knowingly acted in a way that manipulated performance, the timing, just under a week before the German championship, would definitely make sense. Diuretics [21], the class of drugs with which Heßmann’s sample was positive, serve to mask or accelerate the elimination of metabolites of powerful exogenous pharmaceutical interventions. A null hypothesis would be the targeted intake of the substance before the German championships in order not to be caught there with a manipulative agent that had been applied elsewhere. This would at least put him in an illustrious list of cycling celebrities who have tried this variant [22]. The other optional active ingredient spectrum of diuretics, the targeted short-term weight loss, as used, for example, in sports disciplines with weight class division, makes no sense in endurance sports and is even completely counterproductive due to its dehydrating properties. The variant of accidental or self-initiated ingestion through a contaminated dietary supplement or the athlete’s ignorance when using the substance can be completely ruled out due to his CV and the highly professional environment in his team. When it comes to professional support for athletes, Jumbo-Visma is certainly the leading cycling team currently setting the standards for the entire industry. There is a huge focus on nutrition and food supplements in particular [23]. Heßmann himself describes very insightfully [24] how intensively and around the clock he is looked after by both the development and world tour teams at Jumbo-Visma. In addition to various personality and performance coaches, nutritionists (ecotrophologists) were available to him 24 hours a day. In addition, any substitutions are meticulously recorded in an internal team app. Even if you go back a little further into his vita and look at who looked after him in his youth and junior career, you will see that the young athlete Heßmann grew up in an absolutely professional environment [25]. The erroneous or unknowing use of a diuretic is almost impossible with such a life history.
The information from the NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) sports law proceedings and their expert opinion against Heßmann [26] provide further details that must be placed in the context of the doping cosmos. In the NADA documents, the substance with which Heßmann became conspicuous is named for the first time. This is chlorthalidone, an antihypertensive drug that has been approved since 1960 [27] and is indicated for the treatment of high blood pressure patients with heart failure. The increased renal water excretion caused by the active ingredient reduces blood volume, lowers blood pressure and thus relieves the strain on the heart. As already explained, only the diuretic effect is relevant for the performance-manipulating aspect in high-performance sport [28]. Initially somewhat surprising when manipulating urine samples, the choice of a thiazide analogue with a significantly longer biological half-life (40h) than, for example, the related basic thiazides such as hydrochlorothiazide (HCT, 9h) [29] seems somewhat surprising. From the perspective of clandestine performance medicine, however, one must take into account that, depending on which substance to be masked is to be permanently eliminated, one must weigh up the option of a possible cumulative intake of a short-term active ingredient and the slightly longer duration of action of a low-dose, long-lasting active ingredient. The pharmacokinetics of HCT or analogous active ingredients lead to detection periods of approximately 12-48 hours in terms of excretion rates, but trace concentrations can also remain measurable for significantly longer [30]. A special feature since 2021 in the active ingredient class of diuretics is a technical letter from WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) with the abbreviation TL 24. There, a detection limit of 20ng/ml urine sample is set for six substances, below which a positive doping result is no longer reported [31]. This exemption is justified by WADA’s Contaminants Working Group with the argument that the named substances are relevant as contaminants in pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, etc. has become noticeable, and the specified limit no longer has any pharmacological effect in the organism [32]. Curiously, the measured value in Heßmann’s urine sample is minimally exactly below this detection threshold, which is now leading to a debate as to why chlorthalidone is not also included under this exception. To date, both WADA and NADA continue to interpret Heßmann’s findings as positive for doping. By the way, the 20ng/ml concentration is not as low as it initially appears. With excretion rates of >1000ml/24h urine collection volume, one is already in the µg (20µg) or mg (0.02mg) range, which is definitely within the range of pharmaceutically relevant quantities taking into account the original dose and the time of application before the sample was taken. As you can easily see, doping is a scientific discipline in itself, where you can be “unlucky” if you are unaware of document TL 24 and training controls.
If you take a look at the newer doping agents currently in use, one substance in particular stands out: roxadustat [33]. The preparation is not entirely new; it was already used in the prototype phase [34]. The HIF-PH inhibitor simulates a lack of oxygen in the organism and stimulates the production of erythrocytes [35]. So an equivalent performance-enhancing effect as when using EPO analogues. If you want to maintain and increase the exorbitant training effect after a Grand Tour like the Giro d’Italia and before the German championships and the subsequent World Cup, then you could take microdoses of EPO i.v. 250 IU with small amounts of roxadustat, alternately every 2 days, Combine them into a “cure” and then use a diuretic to wash out the last traces of elimination metabolites before the competition to be sure they don’t test abnormally. However, if at the end of the “treatment” the doping investigators burst into your home unannounced, you will suddenly still have a positive urine sample. This is of course a purely speculative scenario.
Last but not least, the alternative hypothesis actually remains that Heßmann unknowingly absorbed the active ingredient through some form of external contamination [36]. The most bizarre cases of the past show that this assumption is justified [37], as long as it is not the case of the infamous contaminated toothpaste [38]. The British professional cyclist Lizzy Banks has shown in a very extensive blog post that numerous indications for possible unconscious intake of chlorthalidone can be found in the scientific literature [39]. The option of a hair sample analysis to distinguish between a therapeutic dose and a trace concentration due to foreign contamination, for example, would have been a plausible verification of Heßmann’s proof of innocence, but it is incomprehensible that this option was not included in the procedure. It will be interesting to see what potentially exculpatory material the athlete or Jumbo-Visma’s crisis management team will present. However, the damage to the image of the team, the tour winner Vingegaard and cycling in general is already gigantic. The future will show whether this is justified when investigative journalists and public prosecutors finally fulfill their core tasks again or when the conscience of some athletes is stirred and produces corresponding confessions. In any case, the initial suspicion is provided by the unfathomable dominance of the Jumbo-Visma team in the history of cycling, which achieved the unique feat of winning all three Grand Tours (Giro, Tour, Vuelta) within one year [40], even the Vuelta to conquer the entire podium (places 1-3) in the final overall classification [41] and to win all the medals in the men’s road race at the European Cycling Championships in Drenthe with team riders from three nations (NL, BEL, FRA) [42]. Not even the prominent teams Telekom, US Postal, Festina, Rabobank (from which Jumbo-Visma emerged) or Saunier-Duval, which were lost in doping scandals, came close to achieving this. Ultimately, it is not surprising that the team’s main sponsor (Jumbo) is involved in various criminal activities [43]. “Pares cum paribus facillime congregantur” (literally: birds of a feather flock together) as the Roman historian Cicero once aptly put it.
[1] https://expertcouncil.one/pcr-tests/, https://expertcouncil.one/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Heft-Die-politische-Inszenierung-einer-Pandemie-4.pdf, https://tkp.at/2023/09/07/israels-spitaeler-haben-genug-und-lehnen-pcr-tests-aller-patienten-ab/
[2] https://tkp.at/2023/09/08/koennen-top-aerzte-wirklich-maskenzwang-fordern-unwahrscheinlich/
[3] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135371.htm „Dopingverdacht: Heßmann von Jumbo – Visma suspendiert“, https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135488.htm „Zeeman von Heßmanns positivem Test “geschockt“, https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_136264.htm „Badische Zeitung berichtet: Auch Heßmanns B-Probe positiv“
[4] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_134988.htm „Vingegaard: “Ich verstehe die Skepsis komplett“, https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/jonas-vingegaard-tour-de-france-leistung-100.html
[5] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135006.htm „Hat Vingegaard die Tour auf 22,4 Kilometern entschieden?“
[6] https://fes-sport.de/sommersport/radsport/
[7] https://velomotion.de/2020/04/radsport-filme-hoellentour/ (s. „Wissenschaft auf schmalen Reifen“ und „Das letzte Prozent“)
[8] https://christiansmolik.wordpress.com/nachruf/
[9] SRM Patent DE3722728 mit Priorität v. 09.07.1987
[10] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135751.htm “Pineau unterstellt Jumbo – Visma Motordoping”, https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135762.htm “Jumbo-Teamleitung reagiert auf Pineaus Motordoping-Vorwürfe” bzw. https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/jumbo-visma-hit-back-at-jerome-pineaus-accusations-of-mechanical-doping-at-the-vuelta-a-espana, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0s2yo6ws9U Un moteur dans le vélo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iesBgCGeMU Moteurs, ça tourne ! Episode 2
[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHOOP_(company), https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/whoop-inc/company_financials, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq49-1wOHHc „WHOOP – Teurer Spaß oder ernsthafter Trainingsbegleiter? Mein Fazit nach 1,5 Jahren Nutzung!“ https://www.169k.net/about. Man beachte die Whoop Datenanamnese, verharmlosend als „Gesundheitsmonitoring“ gekennzeichnet, bei ca. 9min:20s im Video.
[12] http://www.herzfrequenzvariabilitaet.de/HRV-Geschichte.htm
[13] DE 69532803 T2, DE69530699 T2
[14a] by Bezos, Musk und Gates: https://www.forbes.at/artikel/die-gedanken-sind-frei.html (https://blackrockneurotech.com/), https://www.zeit.de/wissen/2024-01/elon-musk-neuralink-implantat-chip-gehirn, https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/australier-twittert-mittels-gedankenkraft,3390239.html (https://synchron.com/), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36622685/ “Assessment of Safety of a Fully Implanted Endovascular Brain-Computer Interface for Severe Paralysis in 4 Patients: The Stentrode With Thought-Controlled Digital Switch (SWITCH) Study”
[15] Die Firma EGYM wurde mit Plagiattechnologie und personellem Transfer Know how des damaligen Marktführers milon gegründet. In zahlreichen absurden Finanzierungsrunden wurden inzwischen sagenhafte fast 500 Mio. $ eingesammelt (https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/egym/company_financials), während gleichzeitig ein Rekordverlust nach dem anderen eingefahren wurde (https://www.northdata.de/eGym+GmbH,+M%C3%BCnchen/HRB+186394). Mit den digitalen vollelektronischen Trainingsgeräten und v.a. dem biometrischen Mess- und Anamnesesystem FitnessHub, werden von den arglosen Nutzern immense Datenströme abgesaugt, deren Verwendung man ob der Silicon Valley Investoren unschwer erahnen kann.
[16] https://enduco.app/, https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_136766.htm „Pogacar mit Künstlicher Intelligenz zum dritten Toursieg?“
[16a] https://auf1.tv/stefan-magnet-auf1/vorreiter-china-massenueberwachung-massenmigration-massenmord, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcjMUVrsBVg “Dr. Daniele Ganser: Corona und China: Eine Diktatur als Vorbild? (Basel 5. Februar 2021)”, https://www.tichyseinblick.de/daili-es-sentials/bildungsministerium-chinesisches-sozialpunktesystem-fuer-deutschland/
[17] https://tkp.at/2023/08/25/die-haessliche-fratze-der-eu-digital-services-act-ab-heute-in-kraft/, https://tkp.at/2023/07/04/eu-und-uno-koordinieren-zensur-auf-digitalen-plattformen/, https://www.welt.de/kultur/plus243372175/Digital-Services-Act-Wenn-der-Kampf-gegen-Desinformation-dazu-dient-Meinungen-zu-unterdruecken.html, https://uncutnews.ch/google-stellt-sein-neues-globales-zensurwerkzeug-vor/
[18] https://de.linkedin.com/in/michael-rich-b3146612a
[19] https://www.besenwagen.com/230-michirich?locale=de
[20] https://www.tag24.de/sport/radsport/hausdurchsuchung-wegen-dopings-staatsanwaltschaft-durchleuchtet-wohnung-von-deutschem-rad-profi-2937579, https://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/radsport-keine-dopingmittel-bei-radprofi-hessmann-gefunden-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-230829-99-999702
[21] https://www.dshs-koeln.de/institut-fuer-biochemie/doping-substanzen/doping-lexikon/d/diuretika/, https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_76560.htm “Doping mit Diuretika: Eine veraltete Methode”
[22] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_132360.htm “14 Jahre alter Dopingtest von Blaak wirft Fragen auf”, https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135366.htm “Van den Broek-Blaak nach Geburt des ersten Kindes zurück”, https://www.radsport-news.com/freizeit/freizeitnews_107127.htm “Verbotenes Diuretikum: Bresciani kommt mit kurzer Sperre davon”, https://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/tour-de-france-frank-schleck-bestreitet-doping-und-wartet-b-probe-ab-a-845019.html, https://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/verdacht-gegen-kolobnew-die-tour-hat-ihren-ersten-doping-fall-a-773791.html, https://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/giro-d-italia-garzelli-des-dopings-ueberfuehrt-a-197106.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinaida_Stahurskaya
[23] https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/radsport-warum-jumbo-visma-die-tour-de-france-dominiert-100.html bzw. https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_127078.htm und https://www.suedkurier.de/ueberregional/wissenschaft/ketone-wundermittel-oder-gefaehrlich;art1350069,11234353
[24] https://www.besenwagen.com/193-lasagne, https://www.besenwagen.com/episodes/252?locale=de weitere Insider Infos zum laufenden Verfahren
[25] https://cycling-coach-lab.de/teamplay/referenzen/, https://cycling-coach-lab.de/teamplay/, https://m.facebook.com/265136550200616/photos/a.265143273533277/1374652025915724/?type=3
[26] https://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/michel-hessmann-doping-radsport-1.6343039?reduced=true „Sprengkraft in Dokument TL24“
[27] https://www.doccheck.com/de/detail/articles/41377-diuretika-chlorthalidon-vs-hydrochlarothiazid, https://www.gelbe-liste.de/wirkstoffe/Chlortalidon_521
[28] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2962812/ „The abuse of diuretics as performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents in sport doping: pharmacology, toxicology and analysis“
[29] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.HYP.0000103632.19915.0 „Hydrochlorothiazide versus Chlorthalidone“
[30] https://www.bisp-surf.de/Record/PU202308006800/HierarchyTree?recordID=PU202308006800#tree-PU202308006800 und https://www.dshs-koeln.de/fileadmin/redaktion/Institute/Biochemie/PDF/Proceedings/Proceedings_29/Recent_Advances_in_Doping_Analysis_29_2021.pdf S. 60-63, bzw. Investigation on Products of Thiazid Diuretics in Human Urine, Recent advances in doping analysis (2): Proceedings of the 12th Cologne Workshop on Dope Analysis; 10th to 15th April 1994, S. 357-367
[31] https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/tl24_diuretics_eng_2021_0.pdf
[34] https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/doping-epo-pille-nachgewiesen-100.html
[35] https://www.pharmazeutische-zeitung.de/roxadustat-trickst-den-koerper-aus-128344/, ein weiterer Wirkstoffkandidat ist bspw. Reblozyl https://www.gelbe-liste.de/neue-medikamente/reblozyl-beta-thalassaemie welches allerdings relativ lange nachweisbar ist https://www.dshs-koeln.de/fileadmin/redaktion/Institute/Biochemie/PDF/Proceedings/Recent_Advances_in_Doping_Analysis_30_2022.pdf s. S. 179
[36] Die Erklärungen sind ohne laboranalytischen Beweis der Kausalkette allerdings eher als PR Entlastungsversuch zu werten: https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_136839.htm „Fall Heßmann: Plugge spekuliert über verunreinigtes Lebensmittel“. Ähnliche Argumentationskonstruktionen versucht fast zeitgleich eine andere überführte Athletin: https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_136811.htm „Positiver Test auf verunreinigte Milch zurückzuführen? Bossuyt: “Mein Olympischer Traum wurde zerstört“. https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_136968.htm „Staatsanwaltschaft hat Ermittlungen gegen Heßmann eingestellt“. “Geniales“ Krisenmanagement von Jumbo-Visma wird hier möglicherweise sichtbar, nach positivem Test alle möglichen Beweismittel verschwinden lassen, in Ruhe ergebnislose Hausdurchsuchung abwarten, anschließend strafrechtliches eingestelltes Ermittlungsverfahren in das sportrechtliche Verfahren einbringen, danach gibt es wahrscheinlich rückwirkend eine Minisperre und alles war scheinbar halb so schlimm. Der Fahrer wird geräuschlos in den Zirkus reintegriert und der Imageschaden weitestgehend minimiert. Nachtrag 21.06.2024: Und genauso ist es dann auch gekommen! https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_138579.htm „Heßmann akzeptiert laut Anwalt viermonatige Sperre“. So ganz nebenbei erfährt man, das Heßmann auch noch ein Analgetikum konsumiert hat. Hier wird das typische Profil eines Athleten deutlich, der sämtliche Möglichkeiten der Grauzone zur Leistungsmanipulation ausnutzt, so wie man es aus zahlreichen Referenzfällen der Vergangenheit hinlänglich kennt. Nachtrag 21.08.2024: Interessant das ausgerechnet die völlig korrupte WADA den NADA Deal mit Heßmann kassiert um ihr Gesicht zu wahren: https://www.tour-magazin.de/profi-radsport/aktuelles/entscheidung-im-dopingfall-hessmann-bis-14-maerz-gesperrt/. Und dass Heßmann wohl auf eigene Faust ohne Wissen des Teams rummanipuliert hat, wird dadurch deutlich dass ein Vertrag nicht mehr verlängert wird: https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_139059.htm „22. August Bestätigt Visma – lease a Bike verlängert Vertrag von Heßmann nicht“
[37] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_124698.htm?cmpscreen Oka erklärt positiven Doping-Test mit Augen-OP, https://www.radsport-news.com/freizeit/freizeitnews_60178.htm Freispruch Iljo Keisse, übrigens aktuell Dir. Sportif beim Team Soudal-Quick Step, https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/sportbetrug-der-doper-der-keiner-war-100.html, https://www.faz.net/aktuell/sport/doping-vorwurf-sportgericht-spricht-campbell-brown-frei-12820909.html, https://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/leichtathletik-nach-doping-freispruch-campbell-brown-wieder-da-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-140226-99-02174
[39] https://lizzybanks.co.uk/2024/05/15/hello-world/
[40] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135824.htm Kuss siegt sich vor seinen “Chefs“ in die Geschichtsbücher
[41] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135834.htm Jumbo – Visma räumt mit großem Abstand das meiste Preisgeld ab
[42] https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_135899.htm Laporte vor Van Aert und Kooij: Jumbo-Trio erobert EM-Podium
[43] https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/radsport-jumbo-visma-sponsor-100.html Jumbo-Visma: Geldwäsche-Verdacht erreicht Radsportteam
The author studied chemistry and sports science, worked, among other things, at the Institute for Biochemistry and Doping Analysis at the German Sports University in Cologne, worked in clinical research for years, has supported professional cycling in various functions for decades and is still involved in cycling intensively to this day. He also worked for decades in the fitness industry as a development engineer and in the areas of product and quality management.
©Copyright by Dieter Quarz, publication only for a fee and a specimen copy.
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