Originally Posted by
Eric F
Testing daily sounds good, but ONLY if the tests are capable of detecting whatever the doping substances are. In the Armstrong era, the test for EPO was hematocrit level, not actually detecting the substance itself. As long at the rider didn't cross the 50 threshold, they were not "positive". The doping method was to run hematocrit as close to 50 as possible without going over. If the rider crossed that line, there were counter-measures that could be done to bring the number down below 50.
That's where the biological passport comes in. Those guys would need to perfectly tune their doping to believable levels year-round -- without anyone noticing the presence of hinky doctors, or police finding syringes in their luggage when they cross borders, or anyone leaking to the press / social media -- or dope in such small amounts that it'd barely be noticeable.
And don't forget, it isn't just the dopers who can do things in secret. E.g. WADA developed and started using a test for CERA (an EPO variant) without notifying anyone. The test was revealed when it popped 3 riders at the TdF.