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GB
Edited Date/Time
3/12/2015 8:48am
So there's a new report out regarding the current state of doping in cycling. The CIRC report. There's stuff in that which is clearly relevant to MX/SX. If you can't be bothered to read through but are interested I've copied a couple of sections that are relevant to our sport.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/31789849
'Other sports must take note'
The report concludes that "there is no straightforward solution to the problem of doping in cycling" and that "one important message that UCI and all stakeholders must keep to the fore is that the fight against doping is a continual process".
If cycling can remember this at all times, this process will have been worthwhile.
Sport cannot stand by, hold its nose and pretend this is just about cycling. Few escape the spectre of doping. Take, for example, athletics, American football, baseball, rugby and weightlifting.
What is certain is that the Circ report should be studied by every sport, because while cycling is still clearly in a critical condition, it at least knows it is ill. This must embolden leaders in all sports to push again in testing, research, education and above all good governance. The report is of value to that extent, but it makes for deflating reading.
We are told that, while the situation has undoubtedly improved, a culture of doping continues to exist in the sport and "a number" of riders "continue to cheat". It refers to "one respected cycling professional" who felt that "even today, 90% of the peloton was doping". Circ found "doping in amateur cycling is becoming endemic", too.
Circ also heard that riders:
Are using ozone therapy, which involves extracting blood, treating it with ozone and injecting it back into the blood;
Continue to use steroids;
That it is still possible for riders to micro-dose using EPO without getting caught;
And that abuse of TUEs (Therapeutic Use Exemptions) is "a significant problem" today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/31789849
'Other sports must take note'
The report concludes that "there is no straightforward solution to the problem of doping in cycling" and that "one important message that UCI and all stakeholders must keep to the fore is that the fight against doping is a continual process".
If cycling can remember this at all times, this process will have been worthwhile.
Sport cannot stand by, hold its nose and pretend this is just about cycling. Few escape the spectre of doping. Take, for example, athletics, American football, baseball, rugby and weightlifting.
What is certain is that the Circ report should be studied by every sport, because while cycling is still clearly in a critical condition, it at least knows it is ill. This must embolden leaders in all sports to push again in testing, research, education and above all good governance. The report is of value to that extent, but it makes for deflating reading.
We are told that, while the situation has undoubtedly improved, a culture of doping continues to exist in the sport and "a number" of riders "continue to cheat". It refers to "one respected cycling professional" who felt that "even today, 90% of the peloton was doping". Circ found "doping in amateur cycling is becoming endemic", too.
Circ also heard that riders:
Are using ozone therapy, which involves extracting blood, treating it with ozone and injecting it back into the blood;
Continue to use steroids;
That it is still possible for riders to micro-dose using EPO without getting caught;
And that abuse of TUEs (Therapeutic Use Exemptions) is "a significant problem" today.
Now I can win open practice!!!!
So far, the extent of the testing has caught one person taking a prescribed but ill reported medication for ADD. . . If Ritalin is the worst drug in the field, I'd say that's rather clean for any sport.
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Like the guy above me said, until we adopt the biological passport method, which is prohibitively expensive for our sport, the only people that will be caught are the people that don't know what they are doing.
The shit works and is a marked advantage.
All those guys who didn't finish... well, you see where this going?
The rules need to be fair across the board. Either get tough with everyone or no one.
This is just one source.
http://www.cyclingstage.com/tour-de-france-2015/winners-tdf/
Pit Row
There is such a massive grey area over what is classed a PED.
Ok, so EPO amongst many other hard drugs are banned, but strip back to the question of what is a performance enhancing drug and you're left with a minefield.
What's the betting that Kenny was drugged right up on pain killers before Daytona practice at the weekend? If they are enablinghim to ride at a higher level, then surely they should be classed as a PED too.
You will NEVER get a clean sport, and you will never get a fair sport, simple as that. People will always try to bend the rules as far as they can, and some people will find a grey enough area that they can exploit and never get found out.
TUE's are another grey area. Going back to the JS7 scenario, and you have a rider who is suffering from a pre-existing medical condition and has drugs prescribed to combat that.
Are they improving his performance? Yes.
Are they prescribed for his, and other riders safety? Yes.
Is it exploited and over-presribed? Maybe, we'll never know.
I had a long debate with the road topic with a high level road cyclist from the UK who spent a lot of time around the tour scene in Lances years and before. He told me you'd have to go back to 25-30th place to find people that were not using at least some kind of PED.
Beating the topic to death is not going to improve anything, but instead will just pull an even darker cloud over the sports concerned and turn off public interest.
You bring up pain killers. In cycling, and I'm guessing SX/MX since WADA is involved, any medication needs to be on the approved list. KR94 probably was on some serious prescription pain meds. I know when I compete in a Jiu Jitsu tournament, I'm maxed to the gills on ibuprofen. Anything to get ahead.
.
It's hard to say his wins should be reinstated...but he was the best when most of the peloton was dirty together.
Reading this right now. It blows my mind what these guys were doing to just stay up front.
Take RC4, have him sit on the couch and eat donuts for two years and blow up to 200#.
Take Alberto Contador, at his best elite form, and dope him up with EPO and Test.
Then have them race 10 laps at Red Bud.
Who will win?
RC...because AC does not know how to ride a damn dirt bike!
If the underlying skill is not there, it does not matter how good of shape you are in. Even at the pro level, 50% of the field would be better of hiring a riding coach to hone their skills than worrying about being in the 99.9th percentile of physical condition.
Only a few guys in the world could run a single SX lap as fast as RV. Just a single lap. If you can not run a single lap at top speed, the problem is not your condition, it is your skills. Saying the top guy is winning (whoever that may be a the time) because he dopes when no one can run a single lap at his speed is nonsense.
DV has pointed this out over and over, but most people still don't get it....and keep harping on doping doping doping.
5th-20th at the nationals are only separated by 4-5 seconds/lap in timed practice with the 5th-10th place guys usually being able to make a great living on amazing factory bikes while the 17th-20th place guys are privateers with zero budgets making peanuts. That 4-5 Seconds is worth everything. Think about that and why someone in 5th-10th might want to take a PED.
Also SX/MX aren't 1 lap races, so condition does come into play, you can be the fastest guy out there for a single lap, but if you can't hold it for an entire main event/moto, it doesn't mean squat on payday.
Bottom line life isn't fair and when there's an extra edge to be gained someone will. Especially when there's a lot of money at stake and their careers are so short. Every day through out the world people look to gain an advantage if they can and some are willing to do WHATEVER it takes. Ever heard that one before?
I know two fast local guys that attempted to qualify @ nationals and supercross with no luck. They were convinced (by sucessful folks) if they took HGH they could be 10-15th but unfortunately it didn't go as planned. Only one of them made two mains over a couple year span. They were fit as they come but the cold reality was the speed wasn't there to get 10th -15th.
Had someone came to me @ my make or break point & convinced me this was the ticket to the top, I would've done it.
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