Does anyone else get the impression that Slowman has an agenda on the whole doping issue? He seems hell-bent on attacking the anti-doping community and he seems to be making all kinds of excuses for athletes who might be doping.
In my opinion, there is no excuse for using any performance enhancing drugs.
I think that USAT and WTC must start drug testing elite age-groupers now! They should randomly test 15 age-groupers at every major event and these random tests would be for age-groupers finishing in the top 5 in their age-group.
If you don’t think doping is a problem in the age-group ranks then take a look at some of the results from last year’s IM Hawaii. Pretty soon we’re going to see age-groupers finishing in the Top 5 overall and if that doesn’t raise an eyebrow then I don’t know what will. Considering how many athletes at Kona were cheating during the bike (drafting), I don’t doubt for a second that a lot of these people are using testosterone, EPO, …
Slowman seems to believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty, and believes that the current anti-doping agencies and labs are doing a piss poor job of the “proven guilty” part.
This is in stark contrast to others on this board who prefer to proclaim guilt based on nothing but rumor or low self esteem.
i’m wondering if you know the cost of a single anti-doping test. Are you just assuming it will “drive to a 1000 $ entry fee” or do you have any actual numbers to back that up?
If that’s what it takes to square the playing field then so be it but I think that’s a lame excuse. Yes, testing is expensive but it’s not going to double the entry fees. USAT could absorb some of the cost by raising their yearly membership fee by $20 and the major races could raise their fees slightly. I’m only talking about major races like Ironman’s, age-group nationals, and random 70.3 races.
I bet USADA could get congressional funding for testing especially considering the visibility that performance enhancing drugs have in sports right now (i.e. Tour De France, Barry Bonds, etc.)
i’m wondering if you know the cost of a single anti-doping test. Are you just assuming it will “drive to a 1000 $ entry fee” or do you have any actual numbers to back that up?
A decent set of tests is $500, testing everything under the sun would be much more (but probably not needed either, I would hope that blood transfusions among age-groupers is very rare). But of course, you don’t need to test everybody, so if you test 1 in 50 (that’s still 40 people at an Ironman) it would add $10 to the race fee. But let’s also get serious doping tests for the pros at all the major races, it is amazing how many big races have no testing AT ALL.
But let’s also get serious doping tests for the pros at all the major races, it is amazing how many big races have no testing AT ALL.
Absolutely. That way maybe those pros that are known for DNF’ing races with doping control would NEVER finish a race.
Not to mention those who finish just outside the top-3 to avoid testing, then get randomly picked but instead of going for the test, take the next plane home. But as the Tour has shown, there really isn’t any incentive for a sport to be serious about doping. If you start real testing and catch people, sponsors and TV turn away. If you keep your head in the sand, plenty people are happy to keep their heads in the sand alongside you.
Congressional funding? Racing USAT fees for the masses so Elite Age Groupers can have a fair race? This is a stupid idea. If someone is so good and they want a fair race, then they should go pro. The elite age group category is merely defined by who did or did not go pro before that race date. The real race is for overall. Also, in order to really have fair testing, they need to use out of competition testing as well. I think the sport would be much better served to have out of competition for all card carrying professionals before it starts testing age groupers in competition.
Its really not that hard to go 19, 59, 39 in an Olympic distance race. Why should age groupers be tested when they are finishing 10 minutes behind Matt Reed or Craig Alexander? Nobody questions the pros who finish 7 minutes in a rears, but there is tons of skepticism around age groupers who are even slower than the 2nd or 3rd tier pro…I just don’t get it.
with what CSC under your watchful eye as the main bicycle supplier has done and gone through (Riis,Basso) -talk about keeping your head in the sand!!!.
Don’t get on a moral high horse with some bullshit logic about it is not illegal until you get caught or Everyone else was doing it.
the mentality of accepting the status quo and not beng part of the solution are what is going to destroy a fantastic sport.
With your access and intimate involvement with the pro cycling world it is your repsonsibilty to blow whistles and drop names not in public forums—but to the proper authorites.
iif not cycling will be relagated to the ranks of the WWE and Body Building.
Gerard, so true about keeping the head in the sand. Cycling is doing something (kind of…but they are trying) to clean things up. With finite corporate dollars, cycling is taking a beating…meanwhile track, swimming, speedskating, XC skiing, soccer, baseball, hockey, football and other sports where doping yeild huge advantages are coasting along with no impact to their marketability.
I agree that there needs to be more testing in the pro ranks first and then certainly in the age group ranks…however, I can’t see why an age grouper would dope. Who are they fooling?..maybe the guy moves from 50th in his age group in an IMNA race to 30th…or fine…the guy goes from 20th to 8th and gets a Kona slot. Frankly if someone wants to cheat their way into a Kona slot and steal mine, I have always been OK with it. While it took me 15 years to qualify and get there, even in those times, I did not care if someone drafted me for 180K and smoked me on the run and took a Kona spot. I was more worried about getting my own ass as fast across the line as I possibly could…no point worrying about things outside my control.
As for Slowman’s agenda, I think all he is saying is that there are rules and procedures and those who manage the entire testing “chain” need to stick to the rules, so that all parties can have confidence that the integrity of the sport is being protected…right now we have cheating athletes and unethical loose lips at the labs.
How exactly is Gerard sitting in Toronto supposed to know what Riis and Basso are doing in a training camp in Majorca? Seriously, they are just a sponsor. They provide bikes and bike related technology. They don’t employ Riis or his troops…they are a sponsor only. This would be the same as telling the CEO of AT&T that he should know about everything that goes on in AT&T park that Bonds happens plays in?
And even if Gerard “suspects” someone of doping he cannot go to any “authority” and be spreading crap. There is a procedure for nailing athletes and that is in and out of competition testing. I said/she said/he said counts for zero…or at least it should not.
…exactly my point…so if those guys want to cheat and dope to get faster, it really is their loss. Yes, random testing would deter a few, but locks only keep honest people honest…the age grouper cheaters will find a way…in every race, we see people draft, we see people cutting the swim buoys, and then there are dudes that will use pseudafed (sp?) etc etc…that’s even before altitude tents, EPO, HGH etc etc.
I do agree that it would be nice to have some random tests to keep the honest people honest, however, no age grouper is earning a living. To prioritize things I’d rather see the funds going to test pros, so that the clean pros can earn a fair living, and not have their “lunch and sponsorship dollars” stolen by a cheater.
devashish, an age grouper would dope for the same reason an age grouper trains, or buys a $7000 bike and $2000 wheels
to go faster
why is that had to grasp?
not everyone has the same brain as you, some are wired that they care less about cheating, and/or fear for their health less and/or want to win more.
Or the reason they draft, etc. I think many people, especially those who want to believe, are convinced by doctors and such at these “youth clinics” that prescribe HGH, etc. that there is no risk. I would not be at all surprised to find out that doping was not uncommon among the most competitive male age-group ranks…