Basic oldani he's right: It's absurd that there are those who can and those who can't. «The speech about the hypobaric chamber – he said on Thursday after the victory – It's an old issue that no one has taken up anymoreI believe that only one or two countries in the world no longer allow these types of training. More than three-quarters of the group uses it. We Italians are at a disadvantage.Before the Giro I did two weeks of altitude training on Etna alone, when my team was all in Spain at these hotels with the hypobaric chamberThey trained together, they were a team, they had mechanics, masseurs, while I didn't. And every time I wanted to get back up to altitude I had to climb for an hour because I didn't have a car with me."
Hotel Syncrosfera
Oldani was not alone because Fiorelli was with him, but he certainly wasn't with his teamAnd even if no one seems interested in his complaint, the fact remains that the hypobaric tent is a current topic.
According to WADA it is not doping and it is certainly the quickest way to gain an advantage from the altitude., without having to go to the top of a volcano. The physiological results are the same. The underlying philosophy is the same. The working method is identical. Only the regulations are different.: at the moment only Italians and Swiss cannot use it.
So, while Oldani was going up and down Etna and despite the inequality he won the Genoa stage, his companions were staying at the Syncrosphere of the former Russian pro Alexander Kolobnev.
Up high, on the sea…
The hotel is located in Denia and is equipped with so-called altitude chambers, where the effect of a retreat at high altitude is simulated, while riders continue to train at sea level. Like on Teide or Etna, for example: they descend to train and sleep at the top.
The will, the hotel declares, is to position itself as a hotel for sportsmen and have all the facilities to meet the athletes' needs. For an extra fifty euros, you can stay in one of the fifteen chambers equipped with a generator capable of simulating an altitude of up to 4.500 meters above sea levelThe generator is not physically present in the room, so there is little noise pollution. You can't hear the generator or even the airflow needed to bring the oxygen to the desired level.
In Slovenia and Australia
This isn't new. In Slovenia, for example, the other former professional Tadej Valjavec opened a hotel with the same characteristics, while in Canberra the Australian Olympic Committee manages a condominium with hypobaric chambers since 2014.
In Europe, it's still uncharted territory. Italy and Switzerland have restrictions in place for their athletes, as well. Oldani was unable to follow his team, as the Italian anti-doping agency bans its use even abroad..
Four stars
The Syncrosfera Hotel in Denia has four stars and has become the goal of other teams besides Alpecin-Fenix. It is quite easy to grasp the convenience. For a high altitude retreat in January or February, the solution is to go to Teide, Etna or Sierra Nevada, where It's possible to sleep above 2.000 meters. Outside, however, it's cold.We were direct witnesses of the snowfall that stranded the Italian national team on Etna last year.
Kolobnev solved the problem. And since he was the first to be allergic to long retreats at high altitude, after he stopped running, he thought of a place where riders can train at sea level during the day and sleep comfortably at altitude at night.
Belgian diffusion
According to Belgian riders who make extensive use of the hypobaric tent at home (according to Het Nieuwsblad, this is around 80 percent of the professionals up there), Sleeping in a room like this offers undoubted advantages in terms of comfort compared to a tent hypobaric.
Victor Campenaerts, who had previously caused a stir by claiming he had simulated an altitude of 4.700 meters, achieving sensational gains (which, however, did not translate into victories), explains that the hypobaric chamber is more comfortable than the tent. Meanwhile, because the tent is very noisy, having the compressor attached, so sleep is disturbedAnd then because you're forced to sleep with a urinal next to the bed, so you don't have to leave it when you need to go to the bathroom.
Everyone in Denia?
It's not doping, otherwise going to altitude should be treated the same way, and Colombians or Eritreans who regularly live above 2.000 meters should be outlawed. Why ban it?
In Italy they are considered blood doping and therefore processes that artificially increase the red blood cell mass are prohibitedThe adjective "artificial" makes the difference, climbing a 3.000-meter mountain is a natural process. However WADA did not reach an agreement on the issue and left the individual nations free to choose..
For example, according to what the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad has learned, the Syncrosfera should soon be hosting the UAE Team Emirates, Lotto-Soudal, Alpecin-Fenix, and Groupama-FDJ. They should be joined by two newly established football teams: Barcelona and Real Madrid. All this while it remains a prohibited practice in Italy. It makes sense. in this globalized sport, where everyone must abide by the same rules, that there are still certain differences?
