[quote]GenericID wrote:
[quote]deanouk wrote:
I think you are probably wrong in your timeline for EPO, purified EPO was around in the 70s, and rhEPO was in trials much earlier than the 90s - and, as we've seen with GW501516, drug cheats don't always wait around for the clinical trials to finish. I
(quote]
Historical aspects of human recombinant erythropoietin in sport
1977 Purified EPO is isolated from human urine for the first time.
1985 EPO gene is cloned.
1987 Recombinant EPO is first available in Europe.
1987-1990 A number of deaths of competitive Dutch and Belgian cyclists is linked to EPO use (see Gambrell/Lombardo, ch. 1; Rossi et al., ch. 1; Deacon/Gains, ch. 3).
If the EPO gene wasn't cloned until 85, then it certainly wasn't being used in sport in the 70's. Only available in Europe in 87, so I would strongly suggest athletes weren't using until 1990 at earliest, especially if cyclists didn't start using until late 80's. I may be a year or two out with athletes' first use, but certainly it wasn't available to the likes of Coe in the late 70's/ early 80's.
I think the general consensus from posters I've read on here is that it started being used on the circuit from around 92/93.