Exclusive: Richie Rude & Jared Graves Failed Drug Test at EWS France
May 13th was the final day of racing at the third round of the 2018 Enduro World Series in Olargues, France. It also happened to be Mother's Day, as well as the day that full-scale anti-doping testing took place — a rarity on the EWS circuit until now. Nine riders were called into the French Anti-Doping Agency's (AFLD) control, and we can now confirm that at least two of them returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) from the tests in Olargues.
Two-time champ Richie Rude and one-time champ Jared Graves have both confirmed to Pinkbike that they tested positive for Higenamine (banned in and out of competition) and Oxilofrine (banned in-competition) at the third round of the series in France. They say that their failed tests were due to accidental ingestion.
The AFLD has not yet issued their findings publicly. Below is everything we can confirm so far.
Two-time champ Richie Rude and one-time champ Jared Graves have both confirmed to Pinkbike that they tested positive for Higenamine (banned in and out of competition) and Oxilofrine (banned in-competition) at the third round of the series in France. They say that their failed tests were due to accidental ingestion.
The AFLD has not yet issued their findings publicly. Below is everything we can confirm so far.
Richie won the EWS event in Olargues, France, but would later test positive for Higenamine and Oxilofrine at the post-race French Anti-Doping control.
9 male EWS racers were tested in Olargues, France
Elgan Delteral, Judicial Director at the FCC (Fédération Française de Cyclisme), told Pinkbike that tests were administered by the French Anti Doping Agency (AFLD) on May 13th, the final day of competition in Olargues. While he wouldn't name the individuals tested, Delteral did say that nine were called into doping control post-race. A spokesperson for the AFLD also declined to name those tested, but they did say this: ''We can confirm that riders were tested by AFLD at this competition. This is the only information AFLD can share.''
On the women's front, Enduro World Series champion Cecile Ravanel told us that she was not tested. Actually, multiple sources say that no women were — for doping control, an officer must be present during sample collection, and word is that no female officer was available.
Other pro men wait for their turn at the AFLD's doping control station on May 13th.
So, who all got tested? Our own Dave Trumpore was on-site and photographed four racers awaiting their turn: Adrien Daily is seen sitting on the floor closest to the camera, and José Borges is on the bench next to him. Greg Callaghan is in the middle, and then there's Rude on the end of the bench, still wearing the gear that he won the race in. Those four told Pinkbike that they were tested, along with Graves and Martin Maes. Callaghan, Dailly, Borges, and Maes all confirmed that they were not notified of any adverse analytical findings from that test.
With two riders returning AAFs and four more confirming their tests, that leaves three other riders who have yet to confirm they were tested and, more importantly, confirm that they didn't fail.
Graves didn't have much success throughout the 2018 EWS season and was then notified in late July of his failed in-competition test from France. Things would go from bad to life-changing when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in September after suffering multiple seizures.
The drug testing process takes time
Here are the basics of how it goes down. Once the AFLD's WADA-accredited laboratory has tested the samples and an adverse analytical finding (AAF) is returned, the athlete must be notified according to code 3.4.3 in the WADA's own guidelines. The athlete can also request an analysis of the B sample (code 7.3) to happen within seven days of the A sample's examination. Both Rude and Graves declined the right to have their B sample tested, opting to accept the results of the initial test instead.
If there is a "non-negative" test result, the AFLD (in this case) will ask the athlete to deliver a satisfactory explanation. If the athlete can't deliver adequate justification, they'll be provisionally suspended. Rude and Graves' positive tests were for specified substances, which apparently allowed them to avoid provisional suspension through the remained of the 2018 Enduro World Series season.
It's at this point that sanctions will be recommended by WADA, and code 10.13 in the guidelines says that ''A mandatory part of each sanction shall include automatic publication...'' And that ''The following information shall be made public by the [Results Management Agency] within 20 days from the decision date: Athlete or other person’s name; sport; anti-doping rule violated and the prohibited substance or prohibited method involved, if applicable; the consequences (sanction).''
What all that means is that if a racer has been found guilty, the public will eventually know the facts behind the case. This is noteworthy because another racer got popped at a Megavalanche race years ago, long before the EWS was a thing, but his name was never made public. If that sounds like he escaped trial-by-public-opinion, it's because he did exactly that. The rules were changed in response to that case by the revised WADA code in 2015, and now names can only be withheld in "exceptional" circumstances.
Obviously, with Rude and Graves confirming their results before the AFLD and WADA make their announcements, this doesn't apply to them. But, it may apply if anyone else did in fact test positive in Olargues.
It's at this point that sanctions will be recommended by WADA, and code 10.13 in the guidelines says that ''A mandatory part of each sanction shall include automatic publication...'' And that ''The following information shall be made public by the [Results Management Agency] within 20 days from the decision date: Athlete or other person’s name; sport; anti-doping rule violated and the prohibited substance or prohibited method involved, if applicable; the consequences (sanction).''
What all that means is that if a racer has been found guilty, the public will eventually know the facts behind the case. This is noteworthy because another racer got popped at a Megavalanche race years ago, long before the EWS was a thing, but his name was never made public. If that sounds like he escaped trial-by-public-opinion, it's because he did exactly that. The rules were changed in response to that case by the revised WADA code in 2015, and now names can only be withheld in "exceptional" circumstances.
Obviously, with Rude and Graves confirming their results before the AFLD and WADA make their announcements, this doesn't apply to them. But, it may apply if anyone else did in fact test positive in Olargues.
What are Higenamine and Oxilofrine?
Higenamine is used to treat asthma and is also part of the Beta2 agonist class of drugs. Like all Beta 2s, it's totally banned in and out of competition by WADA. It works by relaxing the muscles that control the airways, letting the lungs take in more oxygen and boost performance. Higenamine is also used as a fat burner in dietary supplements.
Oxilofrine is a stimulant and amphetamine that's known to increase focus and alertness, and it can reduce reaction time by encouraging the body to produce more adrenaline. This has the added benefit of boosting endurance, increasing the oxygenation of the blood, and burning fat. It's banned in-competition.
Both are 'Specified Substances,' a subcategory of prohibited substances that are not necessarily less potent but do leave open the possibility of a reduced sentence through a plausible explanation. WADA says that Specified Substances were introduced: "to recognize that it is possible for a substance to enter an athlete’s body inadvertently," and therefore allow a tribunal more flexibility when making a sanctioning decision.
Is a supplement to blame?
We don't know yet, but if Jared and Richie do end up citing a supplement as the cause of the Higenamine and Oxilofrine in their systems, you aren't going to need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out that both are sponsored by Ryno Power, a sports-centric supplement company that's widely known in the moto world. Ryno Power is also an advertiser with Pinkbike.
We reached out to Ryno Power’s owner and president, Ryan McCarthy, who said unequivocally that neither Higenamine or Oxilofrine are found in their products. ''Not only have we never even used any products like that before, we have our stuff strictly tested, so it's impossible for any ingredient to get in that's not already on the ingredients list,'' he told Pinkbike.
Regardless of the riders' intent, the WADA guidelines are clear that they operate under a principle of ‘strict liability,’ which means that athletes are responsible for what goes into their bodies, regardless of intent or knowing use.
Whether the riders intentionally ingested the substances or not (either through negligence or tainted supplements), WADA's stance is that they're responsible for what they've ingested.
Whether the riders intentionally ingested the substances or not (either through negligence or tainted supplements), WADA's stance is that they're responsible for what they've ingested.
WADA Code Article 2.1.1
It is each Athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters his or her body. (...) Accordingly, it is not necessary that intent, Fault, negligence or knowing Use on the Athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1.
It is each Athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters his or her body. (...) Accordingly, it is not necessary that intent, Fault, negligence or knowing Use on the Athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1.
Testing does not mean guilty
There's no way that the news isn't going to set off a tidal wave of opinion, much of it understandably skeptical. Doping has been a massive problem in other disciplines of cycling. But this relatively tiny niche of mountain biking was supposed to be different; it's supposed to be about ''the spirit of enduro.''
Racers being investigated doesn't automatically add up to guilt, and an adverse analytical finding doesn't necessarily equal willful cheating or intent, of course.
It was a cold, dark weekend in Olargues, France, when the EWS rolled into town.
Every single World Cup race includes anti-doping controls for both cross-country and downhill athletes, but testing on the EWS circuit might seem a bit more out of the norm because, well, it is. From when the EWS was formed until the end of the 2018 season, they've looked to the host nation's governing body to carry out the tests.
The UCI's role is limited
It was announced earlier this year that the Enduro World Series would begin working with the Union Cycliste Internationale for 2019 and beyond, with the UCI's ability to facilitate drug testing reportedly as one of the catalysts for that cooperation. That said, they aren't involved in administering this particular test or managing its results.
''That means that round 3 of the 2018 Enduro World Series held on 12–13 May 2018 in Montagnes du Caroux, France, being not registered on the 2018 UCI MTB calendar, the UCI was not testing authority at this event,'' UCI Press Officer Louis Chenaille told Pinkbike when we asked about their role in the events. ''As of today, no case related to this event has been referred to the UCI for conducting results management. Therefore, the UCI is not in a position to comment on this information.''
However, the UCI could be a factor if they prevent any sanctioned riders from competing in UCI events in the future.
The Enduro World Series' involvement is limited as well, for now
The Enduro World Series didn't administer this test and isn't responsible for managing the results. They do have their own anti-doping policy, found on page 18 of the previous year's rulebook, that states: ''The Enduro World Series organizers and EMBA will respect and assist any National Cycling Federation operating anti-doping controls at Enduro World Series events.'' In this case the federation is the FFC and AFLD because the race was in France.
While the EWS might be largely hands-off and waiting for the news like the rest of us, they're also a big part of why this is all going down given that Chris Ball, Founder and Managing Director of the Enduro World Series, requests that the national federations carry out tests at every EWS race.
While the EWS might be largely hands-off and waiting for the news like the rest of us, they're also a big part of why this is all going down given that Chris Ball, Founder and Managing Director of the Enduro World Series, requests that the national federations carry out tests at every EWS race.
Chris Ball, Founder and Managing Director of the Enduro World Series.
Ball commented that ''As is standard practice in situations like this, although we as EWS specifically asked for anti-doping tests to be carried out in France by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD), we are not included in the details and discussions about any findings or open cases that follow thereafter."
The EWS will, however, have to make decisions about sanctions for the riders who failed the test in Olargues. The EWS refers to WADA for their policies on doping, just like many other professional sports do, but their stance has always more black and white with a "zero tolerance" policy. The 2018 EWS rulebook says that ''... any cyclist, regardless of cycling discipline, who has previously been found guilty by any court or regulatory body of any use of or involvement with banned, performance-enhancing drugs will not be entitled to compete or take part in any Enduro World Series event.''
What's next for Richie and Jared?
At this point, it's a waiting game for the AFLD to release their findings. This will be the first official announcement, and it will name the substances found in Graves and Rude's systems and include sanction recommendations. Remember the three tested racers who have yet to be identified? If any of them had an adverse analytical finding as well, we'll get confirmation in the same press release.
There will likely be WADA sanctions for Jared and Richie, and then the EWS will make their own ruling.
For the WADA sanctions we may get an idea of what Richie and Jared might be facing by looking at past cases. When it comes to Oxilofrine, Flávia Oliveira got dinged with a two-year suspension for Methylsynephrine (a chemical equivalent of Oxilofrine) but - and this is very important - it was trimmed down to eighteen months after she was able to prove that the substance was both unknowingly consumed and not on the product's ingredient list.
Higenamine has a similar, albeit shorter, history in sports, with the most notable case being when a French soccer player was briefly banned by UEFA. That sentence was overturned, yet again, when he argued that there ''was an absence of significant negligence,'' and pointed out the rulebook's rather vague wording at the time.
There are a lot of factors to the sanctions—the presence of two substances, whether or not the tribunal accepts Richie and Jared's explanations, and whether the EWS enforces additional sanctions on top of what WADA and the AFLD announce.
With Graves currently kicking the shit out of cancer, the Australian wouldn't be competing in 2019 anyway. ''I wouldn't be racing anyway because I've got another six months of high-dose chemo coming up,'' he told us when we interviewed him about the failed test. ''So that won't end until the middle of the year, and then it can take months before you're back to normal energy levels.''
Richie, on the other hand, would no doubt be racing if there isn't an enforced timeout of some sort. However, one possible outcome could be that his EWS sanction is longer than the AFLD/WADA sanction. If that's the case, will we see him racing World Cup downhill instead?
Team responses
We reached out to Jared and Richie's major sponsors for statements. Some have not yet responded.
 | As you probably already know, Jared is currently fighting cancer—it’s a situation that requires 100% of his focus. Right now, our sole concern is supporting Jared in that journey, any way we are able. Everything else is secondary for the time being. |
| We are aware of Richie Rude’s statement regarding a positive test at an Enduro World Series event in France earlier this year and are awaiting an outcome from the French Anti-Doping agency. We strongly believe in clean racing and the anti-doping process. We have advocated and will continue to advocate for consistent testing in the EWS and all cycling disciplines. Based on Richie’s statement and his commitment to clean racing and training, we believe this was an isolated incident and that he didn’t knowingly take a banned substance. Yeti Cycles stands behind Richie as he goes through this process. Out of respect for Richie, the anti-doping process, and the EWS, we will wait for a final decision before we make any further comments. |
The trophies everyone was chasing in Olargues, France.
Interview: Richie Rude
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WTF?!
They don't have to have an atypical weight to be scary mate, come to NorCal and see what an illegal stripper/pro looks like. My friend in the Navy used to always have me pick him up in front of the one and only strip club in Butte County, Northern California.
It was a great joke, it was horrible sitting out there looking like I was waiting to go inside as the "working girls" showed up for their shifts.
Ever seen Boondock Saints? Because the only way to describe it is as "...scary man, f*cking scary..."
Yeah, the lack of communication and statement from Ryno here is a concern.
Or maybe we should just burn one down and share some narwhal. My mom is calling me home for supper
Good to get an insight from a sponsored athlete though.
really? that's the concerning thing here? Since they were sponsored by Ryno are they contractually banned from using any other medication or supplement out there?
????
I bet they both used some pre-workout from some semi-sketchy brand. EWS has such a relaxed vibe I bet they never thought twice. Sucks for everyone involved.
“My response to them wasn't to go see Chris ball and Wine about it,”
I would love if you had because maybe we would have had doping controls sooner. The first step to solving a problem is to expose it. It’s simply not fair on the clean guys.
"My response to them wasn't to go see Chris ball and Wine about it"
Well I guess he has read your comment now. Let's see how the EWS react to all this, their credibility is at stake at the end of the story, even if Graves and Rude are found not guilty.
What is worrying tho is the drug use is filtering down to the everyday punter these days. It’s so easy to get your hands on gear! Problem is if your going to do it you need either a Dr helping or to be educated, or both! These weekend warriors are just shoving shit into their bodies and don’t know how, who, when or why! Dangerous shit!
What about the chess guys? Beta blockers?
www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/06/study-avoid-nutritional-supplements-higenamine/1208664002
Page 4. This is the definitive list of banned substances. There is an app that goes along with it so you can easily look things up on your phone.
As far as banned by the EWS, here's the WADA list:
www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/prohibited_list_2018_en.pdf
The fact is that if you take anything, you're rolling the dice. You really have no clue what's in that powder you put in your bottle every morning.
I compete in weightlfting. I check all my labels against the banned substances list, but for a week pre-comp, I don't take any of my supps - just to make double sure I don't get pinged for something.
EWS rule 15 states that there is a zero-tolerance policy and that racers are subject to the normal rules per their national federations. Therefore WADA is the authority on what is a banned substance. WADA has both of these stimulant drugs on the banned list.
The stimulant Oxilofrine is listed here: www.wada-ama.org/en/content/what-is-prohibited/prohibited-in-competition/stimulants
The stimulant Higenamine is listed here: www.wada-ama.org/en/content/what-is-prohibited/prohibited-at-all-times/beta-2-agonists
This is my last time of trying to explain the matter. To race in an EWS, you will need to hold a licence of the cylcing govering body of your sport. In my case, a British Cycling Licence that is affiliated to the UCI. So regardless of if I was doing an EWS, or messing around with my mates, I have signed up to the rules and regs of my governing body. So if tested in the period that you hold that licence, and you fail, then you haven’t got a leg to stand on.....
reasons), but it is like a fog with a bone about anti-doping science, even if it isn't squeaky clean either.
@lee-jordan: how does that thick brick wall feel against your forehead?
Both of these guys would have had to take some sort of anti-doping course at some point in the their careers. They cannot claim ignorance.
p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2018/11/26/7011/s1600_CorralChile2016_pitbits.jpg
The main point is don't assume/imply that someone that weighs more than 65 kg and has endurance is juicing. If anything, the track record of endurance cyclists with "traditional builds" racing clean is infinitely worse.
But you're right, they may not be climbing at threshold but the effort is accumulative. Also if you're racing multi 5 min plus stages with short climbs and extended pedalling, interspersed by long climbing transitions, it's an endurance sport and I just don't believe that Rude's physique wouldn't cost him major fatigue over a day of racing.
I might be wrong but you just have to look at literally everyone else's physique.
Rock climbing that is. He’s not stacked like a crossfit bro. Big belly, lots if weight to carry around but he sure can tug hard on those small holds.
Although Power to weight has been proven beneficial, it is not always the case.
Plus it's all relative. Maybe you're nowhere near as strong as you think. Hand strength especially.
Almost 50, probably 10-15 extra I wouldn’t mind loosing. Still do circles on a bike around kids 25 years younger than me.
A fit person is not just in the looks. Body most likely will dictate how it will shape up. Graves & Rude couldn’t be skinny even if they tried...
Drugs or not, to 50 guys in the EWS are fast as hell. I even coach mtb with a young lad that goes unreal fast. No drugs there but the recreational kind...
That said I've been riding/racing road and MTB since the early 90's and all the major anomalies in body type I've seen except Sagan, and to a lesser extent Cancellara, have been down to PED's. I'd imagine you can get away with more mass on the road due to drafting and the variation in courses. Pick and choose events etc but name an endurance sport where body types like Daily are competing with ones like Rude.
''someone should have told graves'' is the dumbest thing you have written yet ( thats saying a lot)
Graves has been competing in both UCI and Olympic events for the better part of a DECADE. He and his team are most certainly aware of the doping regulations set forth by both WADA and UCI.
Just because you are unaware of how this all works, does not mean that well paid professionals are also clueless.
But my argument was about Power to Weight ratio being the only measure to measure performance and arguing that even though Graves & Rude are big guys, doesn't necessarily mean they should be slower because of their body weight.
Lots of folks on supplements. No excuse for not knowing but I had an opportunity to ride with some EWS riders. They're fast, regardless of their muscle mass and what they take. Like really fast...
Anaerobic fitness has only a small part to do with enduro success, since like XC you're going to be spending most of your time climbing. If you're spending a ton of time in the red you're sapping power, plus it takes valuable energy to turn lactic acid back into glucose in the liver.
You should question his achievements and ethic given the recent findings.
It was true. He did train hard. He also doped his entire career.
Got links where I could learn more on that?
Thanks
So drugs can definitely have a direct effect on skill level.
Obviously I've skirted over may things with that statement, for example the hard work that is still required and the base skill set to even get down some of those tracks. I'm not for one moment saying that I, with help of some tasty drugs, could go compete with these guys - I know that.
I think Cedric Gracia released a vlog where he talked about drugs in the EWS. I didn't watch it but, after this, I'm tempted to go watch it now.
As with all supplements.... You can be fast /make gains just as good.
Most people I know who religiously take supps are the ones who dont train as hard or find excuses most often.....Just rely on healthy foods.
I have a pro roadie in my family, I can see first hand how this job take it's toll on the riders. What for you is stoke and fun and riding with friends is what puts food on their table. It's not sick edits, a day in the life, living a dream. You would not change with them. Hence I don't expect you to understand that instantly. Take your time.
the lazy fukkers arent interested in the marginal gains, and their supps are wasted on them, but the honed athletes that bury themselves daily are interested in the marginal gains, and their supps are pretty damned important to them.
The correct supps, are important for recovery, and a numerous other benefit's that if you tried to match with food you'd end up putting massive amounts of weight on...... obviously the last thing any athlete wants....unless they are a sumo wrestler of course
I was reading up on Froome's case awhile back. pro teams have doctors who pretty much exploit any wiggle room regarding acceptable levels of supps if it means more wins. they don't always get it right. remember the Australian Rules Football sage with the Essendon team?
"here, take these.... vitamins. you'll sleep better."
"they need to be injected doc?"
"Yeah sure"
While an interview one of the anti doping officials was asked what he thinks how many pro athletes are doping and his answer was simply 'All of them'.
But be warned, especially if you are an enthusiast of olympic sports, you will loose your rose-tinted glasses.
@mkotowski1: taking food from clean racers? Really? What a fantastically simple single liner calling up to a higher value. I upvoted you myself. A knee jerk reaction, it was that good on my amigdala. This is even more naive than believing Enduro was clean. First off you don't know what happened here, I will not believe Ryno for an inch, that they don't mix stuff into their products if only by accident. Second off, I am happy to realize in few months that they did take these drugs, what makes them "cheaters", in the meaning that they took something from forbidden list. Cold simple. They broke the rules. After all Asthma is a disease taking it's toll on so many pro athletes (like Nordic Skiers) that one may have an impression that when their kid gets diagnosed with it, that it is a sign from heaven that it has prime genetics for endurance sports right away! Nonetheless, nobody from the last or even the middle row juices himself up to the first spot. Nobody. People from the first row juice themselves to the first spot more consistently. This is how it works. So in a way, you still deserve it and clean Bobby simply didn't put himself in a position where it is worth for him to risk it. Clean is a nice way for him to deal with his shortcomings.
The funniest bit would be if Sam Hill or Danny Hart would be found juicing. oooooh nooo, not them! They would never... But Gwin! Gwin is suspicious! One thign is sure, some low lives out there are licking their lips, touching their groin and gasping at the very thought of Gwinny or Gee Atherton getting caught.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32983932
Absolutely fascinating stuff
But at the race were he entered while on a doping program the program was running for just a few month if I remember correctly. And at this point he was achiving far better training results than without the doping.
The top riders (which he described to be on another level) however were/are possibly doping for a much longer periode of time, which means they are at the form of their lives, while Brian was just getting there.
And unfortunately he also had some bad luck for his di2 battery died mid race and he virtually had to race a singlespeeder for 100 km.
I am convinced that if he would have continued the doping program he would have been part of this top riders group within the next years, but presumably at the expense of his health.
And if the stuff is really good, you've got additional obstacles popping up just in front of you. Rocks, roots, Smurfs, Elfs.. even berms. Where you never ever spotted one.
Btw; don't take it.
Kids look up to these guys
Why cycling has to go so hard out to f*ck itself is beyond my comprehension. How about all those guys a hundred years ago in the tour who were known to be taking or drinking anything they could get their hands on? Some even took trains! But no, that is in the past so no one cares. Everyone who won before the Lance era more than likely got creative with the rules.
The UCI should take a leaf out of FIFA's book. Hand balls, fouls, diving, goals disallowed that were goals, goals given that weren't. If the ref didn't see it in that six second window immediately afterwards, it never happened. We accept that this is entertainment first and sport second. The show must go on. It's supposed to be a spectacle that generates revenue. It's not an exercise in puritanism.
Bunch of guys shooting up to race bikes, now that’s a load of rubbish. Why do we give these people a pass and not junkies on the street. They literally have to shoot up all the time to during a race series to keep the same edge
Imagine you as kid worked you whole life day in and day out to be a sponsored racer, once you finally get on that big team all of a sudden a hushed culture becomes apparent and the team “trainers,” or “doctors,” are like here take this and you ask your teammates and they are yeah take it no biggie. That’s the culture that accepting dopers breeds.
I have always found it curious that the act of cheating is what upsets people the most. People howl on and on about lifetime bans for hidden motors! What about pressuring the young to take poison for glory? What about violating the sanctity of a sporting war, which is our best hope of preventing the real thing?
What about all of these things? And I know you havewell thought out and informed opinions on this. Most of us do.
Bike racing, it's a participatory sport!
And for those who want to make it a moral issue, imagine you've passed on college, devoted your life to bike racing, finally scored a pro contract, are living in a new country where you don't speak the language, and you're all of 22 years old, totally dependent on your new team for the roof over your head and any chance of making your pro career a reality. You could have been clean your whole life and you might struggle with the decision, but it's pretty unfair to come down on the athletes if they are all in on something and only presented with the true cost of admission once they're 99% down the road.
The problem is not the riders. It's the people running the sport (UCI and WADA). Make common-sense, realistic rules, enforce due process and be ethical about the rights of the accused - and finally sanction the teams and officials heavily and the riders lightly. It's impossible to take almost any doping case seriously when WADA doesn't hold themselves to anything close to the standard they seek to impose on athletes.
I love meat. I'm never going to stop eating it.
Where I am getting at with this is, you cannot present an isolated example as a norm. I have keto traithletes on my gym, they don't really lift much, even their push ups are pathetic. They look sexy but are worthless. Should I judge keto based on them? or that loud powerlifter who is easily 95kg. I outlift him on squat and DL. He has me only on bench. Does it matter? no. Yes you can achieve great things while being vegan on ketogenic interminnent fasting, whatever you want to add. It is not omptimal though and hard to do for amateurs. I won't be eating and sitting on the loo all day long to get 120-150g of protein through vegan diet.
BTW I use "vegan" protein powders now...
No way. No way a vegan diet can go farther than somebody taking anabolic steroids. If you had said a vegan diet is naturally better for you than steroids, sure, but being a competitive bodybuilder means you are constantly tearing your muscles and in recovery. The only way to do this and win competitions is to take steroids. People like Nimai only make a name for themselves because they only talk about their vegan diet, not because they win competitions. Seriously, compare his body to Jeremy Buendia's.
The same is true for pro cyclists and most pro athletes. You won't find a significant amount of pro athletes on a vegan diet.
taken from waki broscience journal 2018
and yes, Damien looked like me almost when RR passed him!
"Lebron'ed it!"
www.thedailybeast.com/banned-stimulant-oxilofrine-hiding-in-at-least-14-supplements
www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/06/study-avoid-nutritional-supplements-higenamine/1208664002
so is there a reasonable doubt for the time being?
* Supplements are not required by the FDA in the United States to list ingredients. There is no way to know, for sure, what you're ingesting with these things.
* Supplements are not regulated or tested in the United States by the FDA. The company that sponsors Richie and Jared said they are tested, but by whom?
* They are not the first athletes, nor will they be the last, to claim accidental ingestion. I'm skeptical in every case, but it's plausible.
* My guess is they will serve some fraction of a longer sanction. If they are banned for two years, they will be reinstated after 9 months or something. In time for Worlds or whatever.
Valuable lesson too, you really have to check because a banned substance might be an unlisted ingredient in something that looks harmless according to the label.
Personally if I was racing I would just avoid supplements unless I was trying to get away with doping. The right lifestyle, diet/nutrition, exercise, meditation, regular and sufficient sleep, make all that uneccessary. In my entirely unprofessional and uneducated opinion, I could be way wrong.
Or do athletes have to go down to the supplement store and try to snag what is closest in context to what they use back home?
I don't fly internationally with food supplements so would love to know how athletes get their powders and pills all over the world in the quantities they need to consume and maintain a level of uniformity in what they ingest.
I mean...if you're not lugging that stuff around or you run out...you know your body will need the concentrated nutrients, so you simply have to run to a store and get something right?
Aussie supplements however....
Get that stuff easy!
Lives in most pre-workout/thermogenic powders.
Perhaps Ritchie was using the same gear Jared did for pre workout and hence both got stiffed?
But everyone also fully understands that supplements are anyone's best guess at any point what's in them. Not assuming innocence or guilt in this instance, but it's plausible.
Hardest part for my brain is that I do want to declare them both guilty because coincidences only happen at the grocery store (when that potato just happens to look like a dead president). That both are great friends and former teammates and both had similar traces of the exact same substances in their systems at the exact same moment at the exact same race is not something that would fall under the "random" category without a VERY solid piece of trace evidence pointing to them both being at the same place and same time sharing that one supplement that snuck extra elements into it illegally.
When I type it out...sounds pretty bad.
I personnally stay away from that crap because I suck at racing and I m convinced I would still suck if I was doped, so at least I am a little less ashamed of my results by being clean.
How would I know? Well, I've taken all those substances and I know their effect on the body. Without some of this stuff you simply can't maintain muscle mass AND cardiovascular fitness at the level they do. It's the same as really jacked mma fighters with a gas tank. Shit ain't natural.
enduro-mtb.com/en/crossing-enduro-line-racers-cheating
You're very much putting words in my mouth there.
What I mean to say is that while that is the correct response, don't confuse that with Specialized as a 500 million-dollar business giving a single shit about Graves (though I'm sure those that are involved personally with the team do)
A bit like the comment inked-up has made (rolls eyes)
And to be fair you did reply to me directly so I'm just saying what I felt about your comment.
Having lost my farther to cancer under some pretty shitty circumstances it's one of the very few topics I struggle to find any humour in.
Nothing personal man.
I think you'd struggle to find anyone on here who hasn't lost someone to cancer. I've lost multiple family members to it. Doesn't change the meaning of my comment.
James Stewart (one of the fastest men on the planet on a dirt bike) got caught, and it turned out to be a prescription (Adderal). They banned him for 16 months and it ended his career.
Then lesser athletes (Cade Clayson) got caught doing something similar, but the issue was more that WADA were terrible. He submitted paperwork confirming he could use the drug from the doctor, and they came back with errors. He rectified them, sent them off again and didn't ever get a reply. Then he got tested and was positive, so they banned him from competing. He was a mid-low pack rider and it ended his career.
I'm all for drug testing, but WADA/USADA are a complete joke, impossible to get hold of, a law to themselves and do not have a place in our sport. Drug testing is needed, when done properly. I worry for these guys, because the banned substances lists are insane and when you're in a small sport like this - super tough to know what's good and bad.
And Adderall is a quite serious drug and some say it is tailor-made for SX. Look into the history and current misuse of it or even where the naming comes from - it is horrible. So absolutely no excuse, if someone hides information there. And do we know, if JS7 really needs Adderall or if the prescribed dose is reasonable (Yeah, his Doc is 100% trustworthy)? In my mind the little drama queen is 110% guilty. Perfect example of illegally bending the rules and using loopholes, in my opinion. F*ck that. Athletes and their teams have the responsibility and know, or at least should know, all about prescriptions, food additives, creams and what not...
The fact that he was able to use the drug afterwards, by WADA/USADA proves that he needed it. His team of advisors well and truly made a mistake, but he took something he was prescribed and was allowed to continue taking it afterwards. Lance Armstrong sure as heck couldn't have said the same thing.
JS said himself that he messed up and that he understood what he did wrong. As for saying it's tailor made for SX...It's quite of a stretch, unless you have his lap timing with and without drug.
I have asthma and at high school I was sometimes getting asthma when I was forcing a bit too much (running or swimming). I always took salbutamol before the sport exams, just to ensure I would not start breathing with difficulty during the exam. Taking salbutamol never improved my time, always between 1.28 and 1.33 for 500m run for ex. But in road cycling it was considered as doping (froome) even though studies show it is not really helping thorax.bmj.com/content/56/9/675.
This study looked at athletes and found that oral salbutamol gave a greater than 20% performance gain. That's similar to the amount of effect that EPO has.
www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jappl.2000.89.2.430
Inhalation makes way more sense than oral absorption as the target is the bronchi/lungs. I don't understand how oral could be more efficient. I'll read that paper
Looking at figure1, if I was a reviewer I would have asked for a real control without placebo to check whether the placebo has an effect. Then you see that the time to exhaustion was increased mildly in 3 subjects (maybe 10%) (no detailled stats) and greatly in 5 subjects (30%).
Then this test is pretty far from the kind of effort that road cycling or enduro require.
And then there is that "our results show a significant fall in blood glucose concentrations after Sal but not after Pla during the trial ride (...) Generally, a fall in glucose is detrimental to endurance performance, so it appears difficult to relate this decrease in blood glucose after Sal intake to the improvement in performance".
So i don't know, but I would definitely not compare it to EPO...
Case #1, when you inhale it, it works therapeutically as a bronchodilator.
Case #2, if you eat it, it's a beta-2-agonist and it stimulates nerves in many areas of the body producing different effects. Including cardiovascular effects that aid athletic performance.
There's nothing special about the drug that makes it work on just the lungs, it works just as well on every part of the body -- it works through the nervous system. Bottom line, what you experienced with your asthma inhaler is not what is really going on in cheating in sports, and don't get confused just because it's the same drug name.
If you're an asthmatic athlete, you can get permission to be using the drug for case #1, but then you have a plausible excuse for case #2. Quite a bit of research seems to have gone on about why there are so many "asthmatic olympians", if you catch my drift. It's no surprise WADA has a policy that reveals this same understanding. Specifically, WADA says these drugs are all prohibited UNLESS inhaled, and unless within a specified dosage...
www.wada-ama.org/en/content/what-is-prohibited/prohibited-at-all-times/beta-2-agonists
So having too much of this drug in your system proves it's case #2. This is a very illuminating quote about where WADA draws the line in terms of what you can get away with:
" The presence in urine of salbutamol in excess of 1000 ng/mL or formoterol in excess of 40 ng/mL is not consistent with therapeutic use of the substance and will be considered as an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) unless the Athlete proves, through a controlled pharmacokinetic study, that the abnormal result was the consequence of a therapeutic dose (by inhalation) up to the maximum dose indicated above. "
In other words, if you go over the limit, you're busted unless they administer the drug via inhaler in a supervised manner and get the same lab result. If that doesn't happen, deductively they know you ate/overdosed the drug.
From the study:
> check whether the placebo has an effect
It was gelatin. It was a double-blind crossover study. There WAS a "habituation trial" which was compared to the "placebo trial", if you read the study, and a final "drug washout" trial. These guys went much farther than you implied or would have wanted to see. This isn't a real problem.
> Then this test is pretty far from the kind of effort that road cycling or enduro require.
The test was performed on a cycling ergometer at 85% of maximum VO2 and calibrated via blood testing. Multiple trials were done. Like...this is cycling. What on earth would be a better study of cycling performance, in your mind? This is basically a high-quality, high-intensity lactate threshold effort, which is highly correlated with athletic success in cycling. This is a race effort performed on a bike. I am having trouble understanding your issue here.
> Generally, a fall in glucose is detrimental to endurance performance, so it appears difficult to relate this decrease in blood glucose after Sal intake to the improvement in performance
Again, this isn't a problem for this study. It's an observation that they don't explain, along with lots of other metabolic changes, but this isn't the point of the study.
The point of the study is that there was a very large effect with a P0.05. There is a very strong signal here that this is a massive, huge performance gain.
I hate papers where authors don't put tables that give readers all the values. What if there was a correlation between VO2max and the effect of salbutamol ? As they dont put the VO2 max of each subject, and it's known there is a huge variability in individual VO2max, I'm curious if the 3 subjects that were less responsive have different VO2 max compared to the other 5.
You explain well how the mode of absorption changes the effect, and you indicate the "1000 ng/mL in urine" limit value. This study did not mesure the amount in urine, so how can we know if the dose they took would put them above or under this "legal" threshold ?
The main result is interesting, and I understand that they can't get pro roadies in their studies but the n=8 with important variability and unexplained results leave me a bit unconvinced.
For anyone else reading this far who wants a high-level overview, this study was specifically designed to challenge the questions of whether this drug can enhance **cycling performance**. It does appear to do so. You can eat this drug on your race day and instantly perform on a bike up to 30% faster. This is a quite large performance effect, similar in size to EPO or some of the more famous performance enhancing drugs.
Details and nitpicks:
@zede: Pretty much all your other questions you are posing here can be answered by Google or by carefully reading the study as it was published.
If 85% VO2 max truly wasn't a good model for racing success as you seem to imply here, I truly wonder why they do that exact thing to test racers when as pick the national cycling teams? Hmm?
As far as it being an n=8 study, given the large effect and a positive, not null conclusion, what difference do you think it would make to have used a large sample size? It's not as if they're picking up a statistically-tiny non-null hypothesis with a huge group of people and magnifying the meaning of it. This is a statistically significant finding (p.05, it's a very clear, very strong signal !) that looked at these athletes doing about 320+ simulated races daily over a couple of months, and the results were extremely clear-cut. Like, totally obvious. If you ate the real drug, you had a major, major performance advantage from it, and if you didn't your performance was totally normal.
It's true we can't know how this would affect ALL other types of questions, it would take much more research to cover every piece of knowledge possible. What about the effect for non-athletes? What about other sports? What if you ate it 15 days ahead of time? This research really doesn't look at those questions. It's just tailor-made to answer the cycling/cheating question. This is an effective race-day way to cheat in cycling.
But anyhow, to go back to the conversation that started this, this study shows that @zede 's personal anecdote about an experience with an asthma inhaler has no relevance whether an athlete could gain a serious cheating advantage by using these substances orally. These drugs are officially banned in competition after being looked at by a bunch of world experts in sports performance. No, @zede, you aren't personally convinced (yet?), but I'm not really worried about it. A lot of people think these are performance enhancing and they're already illegal if taken for an unfair advantage in competitions. I think the conclusion that it works has already been drawn by lots of other people in this field.
Not worth arguing more, you make a terrible scientist
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9819287
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16195983
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16687481
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564312
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11071049
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4933613
If anyone is saying that this finding relies on "one study", they are being willfully ignorant.
Is anyone actually surprised? When there's money and fame on the line, people will always cheat. What we have to do is push for a zero tolerance policy so the potential upside of cheating is far outweighed by the downside of being caught.
I really hope that EWS stand by what they have said in their own rulebook. Really shitty for the riders involved. Even more shitty for clean riders who finish behind them.
If some supplement claiming to enhance performance actually does enhance performance superior to regular foodstuffs it is per se doping and must contain illegal substances to pyrvey this effect.
These poor athletes would not have been the first to fall into this trap as many olympians before them have blindly trusted their supplement sponsor.
If you want to keep your path clean; train, eat regular food, and drink water.
Not sure this is relavant but we can’t rule out the possibility of aerodynamic advantage in the trouser department
Pro cycling lost all credibility for me after supposedly clean cyclists, who had never tested positive admitted to taking painkillers and diet-suppression pills to increase the effects of their training and improve their time-trial performance. I was shocked that such methods were considered 'legal' And yet it's no surprise that Pro cycling and road cycling in general has such a bad rap.
As much as I like Richie and respect Graves, the book must be thrown at them for the sake of the sport. To have 2 former champions (and former team-mates), who by all accounts are the most physically imposing of all of those competing at EWS tainted by a PED scandal makes a mockery of the idea of a fair and level playing field. Whether they simply made a mistake, or pushed their supplements to the limit, if this is not dealt with harshly, then what's to stop others from taking deliberate actions to cheat? And where would that end? The powers that be must decide what kind of sport they would like Enduro to be in 10 years, and to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that it remains true to that vision.
Since this video, I had doubts : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg_vlPvGOPc
Yeah, i'm almost serious
A positive test result for banned substances does however.
I imagine he grey area being that at the time of these tests the EWS was not affiliated with the UCI. I would hope the EWS does have a zero tolerance policy.
Is it not the responsibility of the athletes to make sure they are not taking anything containing such substances? And as I would think the answer is yes, the onus is on them to prove they took it accidentally.
Whether the riders intentionally ingested the substances or not (either through negligence or tainted supplements), WADA's stance is that they're responsible for what they've ingested."
As sad as it is, this really needs to be a career ending decision by the riders if the EWS has any chance of trying to maintain a clean reputation.
This. They’ve backed themselves into a corner on this one.
"Any cyclist prevented from competing or taking part in any Enduro World Series event by virtue of the foregoing paragraph may appeal to the Board of EWS for exemption from that rule and in exceptional circumstances the Board of EWS may at its absolute discretion grant such an exemption. However, in the interests of transparency within the sport of enduro mountain bike racing, the Board of EWS reserve the right to maintain a zero tolerance approach to drug taking in cycling and will communicate any appeal decision publicly."
m.pinkbike.com/news/A-Day-in-the-Life-with-Richie-Rude-Jr-World-Champion-2013.html
"fat burner (...)come from a variety of sources including fruit and orchids (...) Related to improved vasodilatory signals, higenamine has been shown in animal modeks to (...) contribute to enhanced vasodilation and arterial integrity"
OXILOPHRINE
" is a stimulant drug and is an amphetamine chemically related to ephedrine and to synephrine"
"Oxilofrine is thought to increase adrenaline production, boosting endurance, focus, alertness and heart rate and increasing oxygenation of the blood(...)However, there is a greater likelihood that these substances could be susceptible to a credible non-doping explanation"
Now if they turn out at a later time to have no excuse and further confirmation of their guilt, so be it. Let them take the appropriate punishment.
But, ethically wouldn't it be a good idea to wait until full details are available before throwing them under the bus, especially when one is recovering from major surgery and about to start long term chemotherapy?
1. a sport with little prior drug testing
2. enormous financial rewards for winning
3. one athlete (Rude) often performing at another level from his competition
4. dude built like a f*cking linebacker but destroying his top competitors on long steep climbs.
I mean, duh.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg_vlPvGOPc
Here's the questions and answers:
Q: On his Instagram Marco Osborne has a video from La Thuile, where Richie passes you on a climb, and then passes Jerome as well. Obviously, to catch Jerome, that's a good run 99% of the time, so to then have Richie come past both of you, how does that feel from your side?
A. It was unbelievable [laughs]. I was in super good shape, because I was working with my coach towards this race, and I said, "I want to be fast here." On the climb, I felt super strong. I dropped two or three gears, I felt like I had a lot of power. I saw Jerome just in front of me, like fifteen seconds ahead, so I said, "Yes, I'm fast. Let's go!" And just boom! [laughs] Like, what? What was that!? It was crazy. And then I was second at the bottom. And he passed me, and like was 32 seconds in front of me, and I said, "Oh, Damn. Maybe I feel good, but maybe I am not." And I see the results and I say, "What, I'm second?!" It's just a tough one.
Q. Does that give you more motivation?
A. Yeah, definitely. It definitely gives me more motivation. I say, "Okay, I need to train harder." But to be honest, it was just crazy. It was not a small stage, it was maybe 8 or 10 minutes, and the climb was steep. Normally when it's not so steep Richie is super strong, I guess because he's heavy and he has a lot of power. But that one was steep, so I say that's more for me because I'm light and I have less weight to climb. But no, definitely not... It was crazy."
I mean, duh.
www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=272102&article_id=2265638&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5#{%22issue_id%22:272102,%22view%22:%22articleBrowser%22,%22article_id%22:%222265638%22}
Oton is 5-6. And the other guy Rude is annihilating in that video is Jerome Clementz. Clementz finished 3rd on the stage, right behind Oton. (Sam Hill was 2nd overall but 24th on that stage.) Clementz is 5-5, 137 pounds.
Like Oton said with a laugh, it was unbelievable.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg_vlPvGOPc
Here's the questions and answers:
Q: On his Instagram Marco Osborne has a video from La Thuile, where Richie passes you on a climb, and then passes Jerome as well. Obviously, to catch Jerome, that's a good run 99% of the time, so to then have Richie come past both of you, how does that feel from your side?
A. It was unbelievable [laughs]. I was in super good shape, because I was working with my coach towards this race, and I said, "I want to be fast here." On the climb, I felt super strong. I dropped two or three gears, I felt like I had a lot of power. I saw Jerome just in front of me, like fifteen seconds ahead, so I said, "Yes, I'm fast. Let's go!" And just boom! [laughs] Like, what? What was that!? It was crazy. And then I was second at the bottom. And he passed me, and like was 32 seconds in front of me, and I said, "Oh, Damn. Maybe I feel good, but maybe I am not." And I see the results and I say, "What, I'm second?!" It's just a tough one.
Q. Does that give you more motivation?
A. Yeah, definitely. It definitely gives me more motivation. I say, "Okay, I need to train harder." But to be honest, it was just crazy. It was not a small stage, it was maybe 8 or 10 minutes, and the climb was steep. Normally when it's not so steep Richie is super strong, I guess because he's heavy and he has a lot of power. But that one was steep, so I say that's more for me because I'm light and I have less weight to climb. But no, definitely not... It was crazy."
I mean, duh.
Jared dropped a nice big pot of pills out the back of his jersey right in front of me during a stage in Maderia (2017). With Richie being a unit and so close to him- no surprises.
No you're mistaken.
That was monkeys flying out of his ass.
If you had chosen to wear an aluminum foil hat that day instead of the tin foil hat you put on, you would've clearly seen it.
You’re incorrectly assuming these riders are assuming the same testing paradigm as uci athletes on road/mtb/bmx (which as a BMX Olympian, Graves is definitely aware of). It’s been openly discussed for a long time that EWS is very different.
I like them both, but that doesn’t mean they’re not responsible for their behaviour.
You're wrong. Or you're confused. Or both. Sure probably nobody takes anabolic steroids or testosterone during a race...or EPO. But stimulants for both mental and physical advantages? Adderall? Bronchodilators? Of course they do it during a race. How dumb can you be? You're trying to prove how much you know and you just failed miserably.
You just called someone out saying that they got something wrong that a 15 year old would know....and made a fool of yourself. How embarrassing.
Anabolic steroids and EPO and testosterone will all of course offer advantages when taken while training. Taking stimulants and bronchodilators could theoretically have a benefit during training but those would likely be minimal benefits compared to the boost in performance they might give during an actual race (I'll point out before someone else does that a bronchodilator would give training benefits to someone with asthma and stimulants would help someone with ADHD who is also in training)
As much as they both seem like amazing ambassadors for enduro (and other bike disciplines), the pressure to get that extra 1% may have got to them. So sad with gravey given his cancer treatment and rude because he seems very humble.
Shame there's no "World Series" for prolonged dream-state sedation...
#lookingforsponsor
Both of these guys have raced in sports (DH, BMX) where there is drug testing, and their national governing bodies would have made them take an anti-doping course. They should known better. Yet they still took supplements knowing the risk. Why, because they were looking for an advantage.
If anybody is interested it is super easy to see if any drug you are taking is on the banned list. Go to www.globaldro.com/Home
Anybody who competes in a sport that is part of the WADA code should check anything they take against this.
And it's almost 2019 and they couldn't find ONE female official to test the female competitors?!
I'm curious to find out who else tested positive and for what. The EWS is a business with professionals trying to make a living. This was bound to come up sooner than later, and leaving it up to the 'spirit of enduro' was a pipedream.
I honestly don't want to see them racing ever. I'm really sorry but they blew it off and took the wrong turn.
It's so bitter to see especially after all the love and support these 2 received from the fans, the community.
These 2 guys will have to reinvent themselves outside of racing. I won't support them and their support until they redeem themselves on some positive way. We also need to think about the other racers that have been robbed.
As a community, for the sponsors and clean athletes, we need to make it loud and clear that fans don't tolerate doping.
Free Brock Tickle.
Shame if this turns out to be fact as it will wipe out majority of the men's EWS' history!
EWS will have to come down hard on them if the claims are found to be true to have any credibility after this....
Everyone should be on dope, the competition would be nuts! Bike components have not gotten any stronger or that much better with the years, so imagine what all those dopes would do to a bike. They'd taco a wheel and eat it after! Sram would finally have a true statement why they came up with a new "standard". They could then have a competition like the WRC, which dope brand has the best athlete, so they get "builder points". The amount of money that could be raked in is insane, they could be followed by drones and dudes on motos, trying to keep up with a 29er
I’m sad for the results and I’m sure the consequences will make no one happy.
The worrying thing from the test is that of 9 riders tested, 3 were found to have positive samples. Surely this would prompt the sport and WADA to test a significantly higher number of riders, I mean if 33% of the field has potentially taken a substance of some form that may or may not enhance their performance, there is a worry for the integrity of the results at these events! Personally I would love to see 100% testing of all protected riders throughout the season and the top 10 at least tested to ensure that the sport is cleaner. Even if the majority of cases of a positive test are down to inadvertent consumption.
The statement at the end of the article would make a joke of the system if you can just move sports! A ban should be a ban I am afraid.
Richie, on the other hand, would no doubt be racing if there isn't an enforced timeout of some sort. However, one possible outcome could be that his EWS sanction is longer than the AFLD/WADA sanction. If that's the case, will we see him racing World Cup downhill instead?
There is no place in sport for drugs, off season or during the season.
I remember (being an asthmatic myself) hearing of a road cyclist doing really will in a race and he took his inhaler enough in a single day that most asthmatics would have been in hospital bed and pretty much passing out all the time due to the lack of oxygen in our systems, yet he pleaded his innocence. Cheating is cheating...
But then it comes down to who can afford the best dope an the best avoidance of getting caught out!
don't get me wrong I'm against it but then i'm not a world class racer with sponsorship's an podium £$£$ on the line.
Another thing I find suspicious.. is how fast some athletes come back from serious injury................?
What’s most important is Jared’s health. Get well soon, man.
www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/29/wada-unfit-for-purpose-claim-athletes-anti-doping-agencies
Isn't eating a bag of skittles before a race illegal? should be...
I mean unless you drink your own urine for fuel, you gotta get stuff from elsewhere...
Higenamine HCL 50mg
Synephrine HCL 30mg
So easy. I had to check the ingredients list carefully to get it.
Lets see if it makes me faster !
ps: Oxyliphrene/Synephrine has been found in many pre-workout gear without being on the ingredient list.... easy to make the mistake of ingesting it.
Those with best "Vitamin" win the game.
Professional Sport has been a joke for sometime.
The banned substance was not in the item when sold in the uk but was when he used in the country he was competing in.
He and his coach took full responsibility for the mistake.
It seems pretty easy as an athlete in a sport that doesn’t have millions to spend on nutritionists etc (I bet a premier football player earning top level salary wouldn’t make the same error) it’s to cock things up for yourself.
You miss one of those ingredients, forget about being at the top.
Consider any drugs an opportunity. Doesn’t replace talent and hard work.
Also, the amount of shit there is in every, I wouldn’t be surprised if I am on drugs every minute of the day.
And I wouldn’t come close to the top 100 riders at an EWS!
Just stop giving a voice of reason for being “clean”. Pretty much impossible.
Lol
www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jappl.2000.89.2.430
It's as if everyone on PB has suddenly become a detective looking for any signs of a cover up.
The only way to stamp this out is going to be, in ANY and EVERY race of any significance, 1st 2nd and 3rd get tested as they come off the podium, and some big bans get thrown around.
And I think a lifetime ban from.all contests must be the answer from EWS. Especially as it is demanded by the rules.
Eating all kinds of supplements and strange powder shit is not the way to go. If you can't keep your fittnes level by eating healthy and normal food you can't claime to have taken illigeal substances by accident. It is just too obvious that if you get 3000kcal out of a teaspoon of white powder it's not normal and probably not very good for your body on the long run.
getting 3000kcal out of a white powder is not normal because it doesnt exist. and your uneducated speech does nothing to clarify the truths in sports science. there is no athlete with a brain that doesnt focus on healthy eating first , then training and recovery , then basic supplement to keep them healthy like protein and carb mixes, then highly specifc training and recovery plans, before they get any where near specified subsatnces like beta alanine etc. never mind the illegal ones.
however rules are rules....... but these rules are arbitary descisions made at some point when the previous arbitary decision become untenable.
pre 1900 - it was seen as cheating if you trained for your sport in the olympics
mid 1900s, if you were paid to do a sport it was classed as cheating in the olympics (research -Jim thorpe)
1930s, Russia and eastern bloc start sports schools, and the olypmics has to start changing it ideals of professional athletes
mid 60s the banned susbstances starting in olympics
mid 70s, caffeine was introduced to the banned list
mid 80s, caffeine ban changed to stipulated amounts and professional athletes now allowed to enter
1988 - carl lewis and 100 other olympians fail drugtest - shortly after the rules were changed to his benefit
2002 - skier Alain baxter stripped of bronze medal due to having a cold/blocked nose and his brother buying the wrong type of nasal clearer from the pharmacy
2004, caffeine off the banned list........ a substance that is clinically proven to enhance athletes performance and increase metabolism, burn fat and increase focus.
at what point do you consider the following cheating
training for the sport
eating healthy for the sport
dieting for the sport
taking protein to aide recovery in a demanding training schedule
taking carb mixes during the event to maintain energy
taking specialist suppliments like caffeine, beta alanine, glucosamine, condensed beetroot juice, arginine etc
hiring a coach/trainer to get the best out of you
hiring a massuer to deal with your ailments
being on a team with chefs,doctors,physicians, masseurs and mechanics
high alititude training to get more oxygen in blood
barometric chamber to get more oxygen in the blood
blood doping to get more oxygen in the blood
taking EPO to get more oxygen in the blood
those last 4 are important..... the first 2 are legal but cost a shit load to implement and thus only available to the rich teams, the last 2 are illegal but very easy and cheap to do........ a system in place where only the rich teams can benefit from getting additional oxygen into the blood.
sorry thats my rant over
When it's not allowed by the rules. I understand rules change thru time. But at any given time they are the same for everyone.
...... but at the end of the day, if the rule is you are not allowed to take a carb drink during the competition, then......well thats the rule, doesnt matter how silly you think the rule is and doesnt matter when they change the rule after the fact. ..... you are right - at that given moment everyone needs to compete under the same test conditions
Them two, or some one else, effective, deliberate doping in Enduro is only a matter of time; the sport is getting serious, venues are excruciating and every athlete gets older every year....
youtu.be/TLVOvIxO4TM
There will always be rumors, but in this case simply avoiding photographing the doping control queue would have protected the identity of those tested (most importantly the clean ones) and allowed the process to run its course.
Hahaha...
Now welcome into reality.
It is down to every athlete to ensure that they do not take any banned substance for the sport they compete in, ignorance is not an excuse, mishap is not an excuse.
www.pinkbike.com/news/john-tomac-american-mountain-bike-legend-video.html
Wada can suck a gigantic testicle
Protip: the UCI has no credibility in antidoping
The timing of this information release reaks of a bad PR move to discredit some folk in the name of driving home the point that UCI+EWS = best thing since sliced bread.
So, what's funny about the way the UCI handle doping?
-Shane Warne
anybody who hasnt seen IKARUS yet? Clean sport diet a long time ago...
Love Richie but he has the HGH face...that shit f*cks you up and makes you look like a monkey...always thought that about him.
www.cityofhope.org/blog/lance-armstrong-oprah-doping-cancer
www.cityofhope.org/blog/lance-armstrong-oprah-doping-cancer