Professionalism re-defined

What makes a professional bike racer? Is it someone who simply rides for cash? Is it a racer who also rides clean? Or is it a bike rider who does everything possible to maintain optimum performance? Including doping?

With that thought in mind, here's an interesting quote from David Millar, via CN: Millar walks through his career, saying he was naive about the prevalence of doping in the sport when he started as an amateur and said doping "went against everything I stood for." Millar then speaks about a point in his early days as a professional after he won a race when he showed a team-mate that his natural hematocrit level at the time was 8 points below the UCI allowable 50 percent. "I saw it as showing him that you could win without doping," Millar says in the show but adds that his team-mates response was that Millar was unprofessional to not have a hematocrit level right at the allowable limits. The message, he said, was that doping was considered normal and expected.

The race you win when you aren't racing

I won't comment, really, I won't: When the Kazakh cycling federation handed down its decision in December 2007, the UCI had initially planned an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but subsequently withdrew after Vinokourov announced his retirement from professional cycling. However, on May 31 Vinokourov participated in - and won - the Laurentine Kivilev, a 100 km race held on the French Riviera as a tribute to his compatriot Andrei Kivilev, who died at the 2003 Paris-Nice. Vinokourov revealed at the event that he was training three times per week, but denied a comeback was on the cards.

HGH a fizzer?

Do we now distinguish between drugs that actually work and drugs that only work because we think they work? We already control substances that both work and don't work and have bad side-effects (like gluocorticosteroids), so controlling a substance that probably doesn't work and hurts you still makes some sense. I think.

The researchers concluded, "The results of this study suggest that the placebo effect may be responsible, at least in part, for the perceived athletic benefit of doping with growth hormone for some people."

Or do we ban placebos?

It goes on and on

Just a progress report on another "attempted" use of dope... in case you missed it: Italy's Ruggero Marzoli has been disqualified by the Italian cycling federation (FCI) for six months for his involvement in the Oil for Drugs investigation involving Doctor Carlo Santuccione. The 32 year-old will be able to return to racing October 17. Despite an appeal made on March 31 to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the FCI appeals commission ruled, "he is liable for frequenting Doctor Carlo Santuccione, limited and without membership ... therefore it is considered guilty of attempted use of prohibited substances and a sanction is imposed."

Aussie TT dominator back in November

Well he would be satisfied, surely? Australia's Nathan O'Neill is satisfied with the outcome of his Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal, which sees him able to return to the sport on November 12. O'Neill will return to the United States of America on Monday, where he will begin training and start to focus contract negotiations for the 2009 season. O'Neill tested positive for the stimulant Phentermine in an in-competition test on August 12, 2007, during the Tour of Elk Grove in the USA. While the eight-time Australian Time Trial Champion is allowed to use the appetite suppressant out of competition, traces of the substance remained in his system during the event.

O'Neill has published some interesting ideas on weight control in Aussie cycling mags. So was the Phentermine part of his program? You'd have to say yes, but I hadn't seen it in print before, strangely. So is it still OK out-of-season? Is it a case of anything goes, at least with weight loss? Or was the Phentermine part of a larger picture? Nathan, please tell us what you think...

Boonen stays out of sight... briefly

Nasty recreational cocaine-taker one day, winner the next. You'd imagine he'd like to stay out of sight for a while, but no... Tom Boonen recovered from his rather tough few weeks with a trademark Boonen sprint victory, crossing the line just ahead of his lead-out man Wouter Weylandt while notable speedsters Mark Cavendish, Matthi Breschel and Graeme Brown were left in his wake. The Belgian, who tested positive for cocaine and had his invitations to the Tour de France as well as the Tour de Suisse revoked, had a quiet first three stages, but was back to his old form on stage four of the Ster Elektrotoer. He and Weylandt crossed the line a full bike length ahead of third placed Nikolai Trusov (Tinkoff). Enrico Gasparotto of Team Barloworld retained the leader's jersey.

Boonen sorry, of course

Well it is a personal issue, isn't it? It's a stretch to say that cocaine will improve your cycling; rather it's a social, recreational drug for people with a bit of cash to play with. And a popular one at that. So when we get upset at Tom Boonen's lapse of judgement we are really getting upset at our own community, its double-standards and its penchant for social drugs of all kinds. Cocaine is but one; the biggest drug of choice by far, is alcohol. Do we get upset about cyclists or other sportspeople abusing alcohol? Perhaps not as often as we should...

From CN: Belgian Tom Boonen will not be sanctioned by his team for his positive cocaine test, it was announced Wednesday morning at a press conference in Wielsbeke, Belgium. The 27 year-old Quick Step rider apologised for his actions and said that he would take a short break from competition. The team continued to show its support for the sprinter, as did the sponsor, which prolonged its contract.

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No-one's perfect after all

The biggest problem with the idea of dope controls is 'who decides'. In other words, who actually has the moral and ethical right to decide what is "good" or "bad" dope? Whilst drugs that are clearly shown to offer performance enhancement, like EPO, are 'probably' something we can all agree on, in fact not everyone will agree that we should set up costly programs of detection, control and punishment in the first place. The alternative may be 'legalising' dope but monitoring the health of riders and asking them to stay within limits; or perhaps simply 'outing' them so we know who the 'cheats' are, but not withdrawing their right to participate.

And then we have recreational drugs and 'out of competition' testing. Again it's a moral and ethical question. Do we have the right to say for example that cocaine is wrong, but alcohol is fine? What of an athlete's right to live a 'normal' life? And then again, should we consider them role models and expect the highest standards?

And then there's Tom Boonen. Obviously and clearly an outstanding athlete, a top road sprinter and dominating one-day classics rider. He's had some run-ins with the law lately, and we 'kind of' expect better from him. But should we? Do the standards we apply to athletes apply to journalists, to lawyers, or to popular music and movie stars? Should they?

What has Boonen done? Apparently he has lost his driving licence twice and been implicated - and now has been caught in an out-of-competition test for cocaine: from CN - "This is not the first time that Boonen has been linked to the drug (cocaine). Last December, his good friend and cyclo-cross star, Tom Vanoppen was caught by the Flemish doping controllers with cocaine. During questioning Vanoppen allegedly named Boonen as his dealer, a claim Boonen later denied. Following the claim, Boonen's parent's house was searched. Boonen's brush with the law does not stop there however. Just last week, he lost his drivers license for the second time in six weeks. On Tuesday night he was pulled over by the police travelling at 180 km/h in a 90km/h zone on the Mol ring road. He had a blood alcohol reading of 1.0. Six weeks earlier he lost his license for 14 days for travelling 120km/h in a 70km/h zone. In 2006 Boonen was the face of the Belgian roads and traffic authority, promoting safe driving."

Obviously not a good look for Boonen and his team, irrespective. But what penalty should apply to recreational drug use, especially outside of competition? And who can truly decide right from wrong without exposing themselves to charges of hypocrisy, when the 'norm' in most Western societies is clearly and certainly to indulge in recreational drug taking?

We just don't know...

A grab-bag of dope on the dopes who may or may not have doped but we can't be sure, via CyclingNews:

Remember Andrea Moletta, whose father was in a car that was pulled over by the cops? And that they found a syringe in a cooler? And heaps of Viagra at the driver's home? Remember also that Andrea has not tested positive, nor were there any signs (so far) of a cycling link. "Gerolsteiner rider Andrea Moletta remains on "inactive" status and will not participate in the Dauphiné Libéré as originally planned. Team manager Hans-Michael Holczer told the German press agency dpa that he will not ride until it is established what was in a syringe that the police found in the possession of his father. Holczer is in contact with the Guardia Finanza (an Italian law enforcement agency responsible for drug trafficking), which is handling the investigation."

Remember VDB? His ups and downs? His deeply troubled soul and wretched luck? His enormous promise as a young rider? Oh dear: "The never-ending story of Frank Vandenbroucke's legal troubles has added yet another chapter, as a Belgian court has ruled that a doping case stemming from a search of his house in 2002 must be re-opened, according to Sporza."

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