I was trying to explain to my girlfriend why I, in my very humble opinio, think that tons of endurance athletes (cyclists, runers, and yes, triathletes) are doped.
So she asked me, “then why don’t they get caught with teh drug testing?”
Here is something to chew on: the last couple of big names to get busted (current 'Operation Puerto" cyclists and David Milar come to mind)…NEVER FAILED A DRUG TEST!!! - they all got busted other ways.
I think that tells us that the tests are a crock, these sports don’t really want to uncover what is going on for fear of killing their sports, and stringent police measures (thank god for no 4th ammendment in Europe) are the key.
Sad but true (in my opinion). Please try to tell me I am wrong - I would like nothing more.
The dopers move faster than the testers. Developing a test for a new variant and getting everyone to believe it is accurate is a problem. By then the dopers are on the next variant.
You don’t have to be doping in race to get the benefits. Head off to a remote training camp, use from performance enhancers, get stronger and then maintain. Certainly there are those who are using in season and in race, but you can get a lot of benefits and still piss clean.
And why’s that? Because there’s MUCH more money in doping than in creating tests to detect it. If Dr.'s and researchers got paid millions to create tests, there’d be no doping.
As long as cycling remains profitable, and the rewards outweigh the costs of getting caught, people will dope. When dopers get banned for life with one offense, sponsors getting tossed from the sport if any of their riders get caught, or docs going to prison for long periods of time for being accomplices to this sort of thing, then you might see doping going away. Until then, its going to remain this way. Look at Richard Virenque…he was as much loved by his sponsors and the public after he got caught as he was before…getting caught doping sure didn’t hit him very hard. I’m sure the riders today saw that and thought, what the hell, I can come back after two years and be as popular as ever.
While I think your root cause is correct, remember that most of those doping agencies can’t take a *&%^ without a referendum, a study, a press conference to unveil the study and announce a confirmatory study, a confirmatory study…
Personally I think doping is more culturally accepted in certain places. I know this is going to come across as bigoted, but it’s not meant to be, but certain sports and certain countries have no problems using. They figure everyone is doping, so they might as well join the crowd. I have two good friends who are professional female riders and have raced extensively in Europe. Both were stunned at the amount of doping going on in the amatuer tri and cycling there, not to mention the professional fields. Drug taking is openly discussed just as they would talk about training. EPO is cheap, easy to get, and common. It costs the average person something like $50 US to get a months supply of EPO in Europe.
(Try getting any doc to prescribe it here, not to mention it the huge costs we would pay, and it just isn’t that feasible for the average athlete. This isn’t to say it doesn’t happen, but we can’t just walk into Walgreens and buy some. There is NO drug testing in the amateur ranks anywhere, so it’s easy to get away with it. Personally I would love to see every top 5 athlete in every AG get tested at every big race (qualifers, nats, etc)
There seems to be no shame in getting busted there, either. Look at Belgian Mtn Biker Filip Meirhaghe. Dude gets popped for EPO and he’s back 2 years later to the cheers of the Euro fans. The professional NA mtn. bikers are disgusted and pissed. However, now that Tyler Hamilton has been implicated in the Spanish operation, I doubt ANY US cycling fan will give a rats ass about him. He’s done, disgraced and probably hiding in shame in Boulder. Imagine the fall of LA if he is ever caught. He’d be living in a hole in Utah for the rest of his life.
I would be interested to see what any of the Europeans on the board would have to say. I really don’t mean to offend anyone, but I believe my perspective is common among many here. Maybe it’s another problem we can blame on the French :):) (joke people).
Also, I do think the EPO tests are working. If guys are getting busted for blood transfusions, it means they are being deterred by the EPO test.
But then how do you explain those that did fail tests – Hamilton, Heras, etc. Didn’t WADA release a recent study showing that cycling leads the list with the highest percentage of positive tests – above 3%. While 3% may appear small, I think it’s still significant, especially when you consider that those at the top are tested more often, increasing the chance of a positive.
As long as cycling remains profitable, and the rewards outweigh the costs of getting caught, people will dope. When dopers get banned for life with one offense, sponsors getting tossed from the sport if any of their riders get caught, or docs going to prison for long periods of time for being accomplices to this sort of thing, then you might see doping going away. Until then, its going to remain this way.
Why “until then?” Don’t you think that Ullrich, Basse et all getting tossed from the Tour this year sends a message? The message is that all the hard work will be for nothing if your even under investigation for doping. That’s a pretty big cost. So the question isn’t whether there isn’t already a significant cost to doping and a significant disincentive to dope, it’s whether it’s enough. Maybe I’m too optimistic, but I actually think things are on the right track. Operacion Puerto is good for the sport because it shows there’s a very real cost to doping that likely outweighs any benefits.
In other words, an awful lot has changed since 1998 and Virenque, so I don’t think they are good examples. I think cycling should let this play out and continue it’s current efforts before they start trampling on cyclists’ rights, ignoring due process concerns and imposing penalties that are arguably too severe for the crime.
(joke people).