Can you stop doping without being caught?

[Wigwan]

Do you think that a former doper can stop doping without being caught?

For example, I'm pretty sure that Cunego was doped to the gills when he won the 2004 Giro. However, he seems clean (or maybe some will say less doped) since a few years. Can we believe in him? Is there any rider who stop doping by themself?

 

[hrotha]

Can you do it? Of course you can. Why not? Of course if you haven't been caught or at least had a scare it's not very likely that you'll find an incentive to stop, but hey, it can happen.

Now, can you do it without being detected by the biological passport?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Can you do it? Of course you can. Why not? Of course if you haven't been caught or at least had a scare it's not very likely that you'll find an incentive to stop, but hey, it can happen.

Now, can you do it without being detected by the biological passport?

That's probably what he meant.

 

[hrotha]

That's probably what he meant.

That's what I thought the thread was about when I saw it, but after reading the OP and the example of Cunego I don't think that's it.

 

[Benotti69]

with the way the UCI is being run, yeah why not? It is a matter of keeping on the right side of the UCI.

It also beg the question of can you ride clean and then start doping without being caught?

I point to Gilbert and Voekler, both had prety amazing seasons in 2011!

Kimmage interviewed Gilbert a few years ago and he was anti-doping, but after the season he had i would say that he got over that moral decision.

 

[Nilsson]

Now, can you do it without being detected by the biological passport?

Yes, if you make sure you do not exceed any limits and did not use any products that retroactively can be found. So if you were only (micro) transfusing or micro dosing EPO it's no problem. The same, of course, counts for non-blood (and therefore passport) related doping...

If you, however, were using a more sophisticated product which could not be found back then (and with usually a longer half-life) but can be now, you're parameters are OFF-limit and they decide to re-test some samples, you may end up like Thomas Dekker.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Can you do it? Of course you can. Why not? Of course if you haven't been caught or at least had a scare it's not very likely that you'll find an incentive to stop, but hey, it can happen.

Now, can you do it without being detected by the biological passport?

Yes, without a doubt. A WADA lab may detect changed values, but it's up to the UCI to enforce and that's not going to happen.

Two possible scenarios here:
1: Hypothetical rider's values return suspicious and stops doping. I'm reminded of levi's UCI recommended 'vacation' for suspicious values.
2: Hypothetical rider's values are negative and stops doping.

Neither is an Adverse Analytical Finding event. What's the UCI going to do? Probably nothing regardless of your stature inside the UCI. That's a big maybe though. Look at how some Operacion Puerto riders were chased all over the world for years and others went untouched.

Imagine if they started announcing findings on riders whose values did not generate an AAF yet the values decrease. That kind of action generates many, many more questions than the message, "See how great the bio-passport is? This rider's non-AAF values went down too much!" It would be a great opportunity to shake a rider down for some money though.

Come to think of it, not doping doesn't produce super-human efforts on mythical climbs for TV consumption, so the UCI is not going to encourage clean racers.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Yes, without a doubt. A WADA lab may detect changed values, but it's up to the UCI to enforce and that's not going to happen.

Two possible scenarios here:
1: Hypothetical rider's values return suspicious and stops doping. I'm reminded of Hincapie's(?) UCI recommended 'vacation' for suspicious values.
2: Hypothetical rider's values are negative and stops doping.

I think you mean Levi - when Holczer was supposedly warned by UCI.

 

[DirtyWorks]

I think you mean Levi - when Holczer was supposedly warned by UCI.

Yup. Fixed it. Thanks for clarifying.