GamJams Survey: Doped To The Gills

News came out Tuesday that a Cat. 1 rider from the Houston area has accepted a two-year suspension for doping violations.

Wait ... a Cat. 1 rider? Not a pro? Even worse, he's only 22. Look, doping is messed up to begin with, but if you have to dope to perform as a Cat. 1, maybe there's another issue involved.

As in, you're not fast enough to begin with.

Perhaps this seems so shocking because so few amateurs are busted (so few controls, too). That could mean one of two things: there aren't many amateurs doping, or there aren't many amateurs being caught doping.

Comments

[Dave Kirkpatrick]

There's probably a ton of people in MABRA who would fail drug tests if they were more widely administered. I take a prescription nasal steroid in the spring, without which I couldn't get through April alive, but I'm not going to go to the lengths to file a TUE. People take recreational drugs that are a no-no with USADA. To me, the question is less if you would fail a USADA-administered drug test and more of an ethical line at "would you be taking this if you did not ever ride bikes." For myself, yes I would at times during the year fail a USADA test, but about the only way cycling has modified my pharmacological behavior is that I'm scared to take pain relievers if I'm hungover but plan to ride. This guy in TX clearly did what he did in pursuit of results in cycling - what he got caught with was a pretty well known mix for someone on a steroid stacking program.

[John]

"[I]f you have to dope to perform as a Cat. 1, maybe there's another issue involved. As in, you're not fast enough to begin with."

Under your logic, someone doping as a pro also is "not fast enough to begin with" (e.g., he or she should really be a Cat 1). So aren't we back at the beginning that doping is stupid at all levels? So doesn't this fellow from Texas really just suffer from the same affliction as Hamilton, Ullrich, Basso, Vino, DiLuca, Millar, et al? That being the cancerous desire to excel in his own sphere.

[Kmax]

No doubt the reason said Cat 1 is doping is to become a pro anyway right? 22 years old certainly isn't too old to move into the pro ranks...

[Darren]

I think that people dope all the time, it more what is a banned substance. Before a CX race I take a 2x caffeine GU cause we know that caffeine dosing will aid in performance. The issue here is where the line is drawn, There have been pro cyclists who have been suspended cause they used something over the counter that had a banned substance. So people at your local race are doping, but are they taking epo so they do well at the Tour of Washington I think not. I think there should be a warning system for the 2nd tier stuff that would be in over the counter products. Those drugs that would need a doctor involved should be the 1st tier. For Pros I would have them stay the way it is, but for amateurs have this 2 tier system if they use Tier 1 they get the 2 year suspension for Tier 2 they get a 6months, then a 1 or 2 year suspension if it happens again.

[bah]

is taking a couple of expresso shots before I ride considered doping?

[Tim Rugg]

A couple... no - more than 4 shots? Probably.

I bet there's a lot LESS than you think in "MABRA". Sport costs enough as it is and there's not a lot of return. I would think anyone relatively sane wouldn't go to the costly measure of increasing there performance illegally.

Then again... people do spend like $300 a month on coaching, Thousands of dollars on bikes, hundreds - even thousands a year on reg fees, and even more on legal nutrition. So what's a couple hundred extra do illegally double your ability? I guess that begins to sound like a good deal...

I think the problem is just what John was emphasizing. It's a battle with ones self. I bet most of us we know are working professionals with other things going for us. I bet a lot of us have done unethical things at least once during our careers. I bet most have doubted or been completely full of themselves at some point in there career.

Imagine the bike racer who's just a bike racer faced with the same mental struggles. I consider the competition I face at work, but I can also remain content with where I am time to time. A bike racer has to always be competitive and always has to struggle to be better.

"You're not fast enough to begin with." No, I think it's more like... "There's a lot riding on this."

I understand. I don't think it's bad around these parts. I don't think it's okay. But, I understand.

[Va Cyclist]

It's a heck of lot easier to dismiss guys as "doped" rather than accept the reality that they may be better. Besides being a costly waste of time and money (that should go toward productive tasks), testing all amateurs would illiminate possibly the best excuse we have for loosing....

[Jim]

Medicine to live / just be able to ride is one thing. But serious performance enhancing compounds and the masking agent cocktails?

It's pathetic. If you're willing to trade in your moral integrity, your reputation and your honor (and maybe your health) in order to steal somebody else's 15 seconds on the podium, you've whored yourself out awfully cheap. Get found out and you'll lose your peers' trust, and regardless of whether that happens, 40 years down the road you'll likely look back on your younger self with much loathing.

[chris]

Question: Would EPO be available free under Obama's socialist healthcare plan?

Answer: The republicans would rather you go ahead and get dropped from the cat 4 field.

[Jim]

Is there any aspect of life that cannot be improved by turning it into a partisian political issue? I think not.