Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

One reassuring aspect of all of the latest doping related news is that the perception inside the peloton is changing. Cyclist are now angry at the dopers because they see sponsors going away and jobs being lost. Doping inside the peloton may be see as a reckless way to get ahead, with the doping racer risking not only his job, but that of the team and support staff.

So why dope? The issue has to do with money more than anything. In the high flying 90s when the miracles of EPO and other drugs were making pasty Italian guys fly up hills the sport was going a renaissance in Italy. More money and sponsors come in and expect results.

The Telekom guys such as Zabel and others said they had to dope to get results that the sponsor wanted.

If the whole field is doing something then in order to compete you must dope. To get a paycheck or keep your spot on a team you dope because otherwise the next guy who is doping will take your place.

Guys like Christian Moreni dope to survive another day and collect the next paycheck. When faced with the prospect of getting a real job vs. racing for a living it may be a no brainer.

Cycling is a target because there is no central control and it does not bring in enough money and have enough political connections like soccer does in Europe.

There is no powerful “players” union which would protect cyclist from various forms of doping tests. Could you imagine the NBA, NFL or Baseball having their players submit to regular out of competition tests? And have to tell some organization their exact whereabouts at all times?

It’s turning around now since sponsors are thinking twice about their commitment to the sport. Rabobank was weary of any doping related issues with Rasmussen which is probably why they decided to fire him. They did not want a Landis-style off season.

The testing process is flushing out the cheaters little by little. So now the incentive is to not cheat. If a racer is caught cheating he is basically putting his job and the entire team and supporters jobs on the line.

Teams like Slipstream, T-Mobile, CSC and others are putting testing processes in place so that their sponsors can be reassured that their racers are clean.

Its a tough process, but cycling is undergoing a baptism by fire to become a cleaner sport. Its something that other sports may face publicly in the future too. By that time us cycling fans will react with a “been there, done that” attitude.

Frankie Andreu has come clean and admitted to using EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. Andreu along wih another unidentified US Postie admitted to using EPO in an article in the NY Times.

“I tried my best never to use performance-enhancing drugs,” he said. “I did make a couple of bad choices, but that was a long, long time ago. It’s not something to be proud of. I did use EPO, but only for a couple of races.” — Frankie Andreu

Andreu on who takes EPO in the peloton:

“There are two levels of guys,” “You got the guys that cheat and guys that are just trying to survive.”

“The environment was certainly one of, to be accepted, you had to use doping products,” he said. “There was very high pressure to be one of the cool kids.”

The other rider who reported to use EPO requested to be named anonymous. This is a disservice to the rest of the team who will be hounded by questions about if they were the other anonymous source. The “yet to be named Postie” should simply allow their name to be published since it is a disservice to the rest of the riders on the team.

Of the riders on the team during the 1999 Tour one could probably deduce the rider who is the source by looking at the start list. Tyler Hamilton would not admit to anything. George Hincapie would not be a source, just as a gut feeling. Those still involved in cycling from this team include Vaughter who manages the TIAA CREF team and Vande Velde who rides for CSC. Vaughters team has a very firm view on doping, but for Vaughters to admit to using EPO in the past *may* not affect his standing as a coach. Vande Velde would have the most risk since CSC could not afford to have another rider involved in a doping scandal.

181. Lance Armstrong (USA)
182. Frankie Andreu (USA)
183. Pascal Deramé (Fra)
184. Tyler Hamilton (USA)
185. George Hincapie (USA)
186. Kevin Livingston (USA)
187. Peter Meinert-Nielsen (Den)
188. Christian Vandevelde (USA)
189. Jonathan Vaughters (USA)

NY Times: 2 Ex-Teammates of Cycling Star Admit Drug Use

NY Times:

Check out the EPO T-Shirt in the wild. Richard over at cyclelicio.us bought one and visited Amgen headquarters.

About the EPO T-Shirt:
The EPO T-shirt is a tongue-in-check design that is based on the STP logo. The quote below the letters says “It’s the Racer’s Edge”

Buy one now for $15.99

cyclelicio.us: EPO T-Shirt

Adam Bergman the Jelly Belly riders who was caught for using EPO in 2004 has finally admitted he used the drug. Velonews received an open letter from Bergman where he admits that he did take EPO in a moment of desparation and tries to send a message to others to stop taking performance enhancing drugs. His admission was frank and honest and it could be a subtle message to other riders currently fighting suspensions.

It is time to tell the truth. I did it. I experimented with the drug EPO when I was preparing for the Tour de Georgia. This admission has been a long time in coming, and I should have done it a lot sooner. It seemed easier to say the test is bad or blame it on someone else’s error than to admit the truth. I made a big mistake when I tried EPO, and I made matters even worse by not having the courage to admit that mistake. My family raised me to be a better person than that.

I applaud Bergman’s candor in finally admitting the use of EPO. With riders like David Millar and Adam Bergman coming out and talking openly about EPO and other performance enhancing drugs, it will help younger riders who may face similar pressures. These riders who get busted and then come back racing clean may be more help than any doping tests or crackdown. These riders can speak frankly about the reasons for using EPO and other drugs and can be used as a lesson to be learned. It does not help when a big name rider is caught using drug but denies it to no end (cough cough Heras and Hamilton).
I can’t say for sure if they did use the drugs or not and the validity of the tests is another issue, but remember that old saying? “The coverup is sometimes worse than the crime.”

Incidentally, it looks like the “Believe Tyler” website is no longer functioning http://www.believetyler.org/

BTW, you can get an EPO T-Shirt at the Velochimp store:

EPOWhite T-Shirt
$15.99

Sounding a bit like Tonto talking about the Lone Ranger, Manolo Saiz believes in Roberto Heras. Heras, as you know is now serving a two year ban after tests taken during the Vuelta show that he was on the EPO juice. Saiz does not believe the tests were done accurately and that if there is justice, that we should see Heras riding again in February.

I am very sure that there are irregularities in the testing procedure for EPO. If the judicial process can look at the evidence of these errors, then we will see Roberto Heras riding again in February

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