Do a runner

[sniper]

In UK time trialing a new rule was just introduced.
After your race you *have* to return to the event HQ and sign out and return your number, otherwise your time will not count and you will be given a DNF.
I was told the reason for the new rule is that some riders are being tipped off during the race when UKAD come by for surprise testing, prompting these riders to do a runner, i.e. they step out of the race before the finish and don't return to HQ to sign out and return their race number. They go home, put their race number on the post and face no consequences. Well, until now.

Full press release:

Please be aware of the new CTT Regulation 17(b)

For 2017 all competitors in open (Type A) events will be required to return to the event HQ, hand in their number(s) and SIGN OUT.

Event organisers can obtain the updated signing on/signing out form from the CTT website https://cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/documents/index/organisers

A competitor MUST sign out him/herself. It is not permissible for another person to sign out on behalf of the competitor.

This is a new requirement introduced for 2017. Please can organisers make this requirement clear on the start sheet for the event.

The following wording is suggested:

Attention all competitors.

Please note that for 2017 all competitors are now required personally to sign the signing out sheet when returning their number.

Failure to do will result in the competitor being recorded as DNF.
https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/articles/view/186

Reminds me of that April's fool joke in Spain where a local marathon race organizer announced in the middle of the race that there would be dope testing at the finish, prompting several participants to do a runner. Can't find a link to that.

 

[ThePopeOfDope]

Great find, ridiculous that people believe pros are clean while amateurs are loading up...

 

[kingjr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C0OEVWKZv0

 

[smaryka]

I'm not sure there's been rampant examples of riders doing a runner post-race when they hear that UKADA is there. However this new rule does close a loophole where a rider could finish a race, have a friend return his number and then claim he/she never knew that UKADA was there. Now that all riders have to personally return numbers and sign out, there's no claiming of ignorance.

It's also so that the organiser can know that all the riders are back safely and not lying in a ditch somewhere post-race. In RRing you turn in your license when you sign on and then collect it back at the end, in UK TTing there's no license. So prior to this rule, there was no way of knowing that a rider was safe if he'd DNFed and also forgotten to return his number post-race.

So yes in theory this should prevent people using that defense for a missed test. But I am not aware of any high profile cases of riders who were picked for testing and who did not show up to be tested and later claimed it's because they never went back to HQ afterwards and therefore didn't know they had been chosen. Happy to be proven wrong if you have any links to stories?

Edit in 2nd paragraph to clarify a DNF and failure to return number.

 

[sniper]

Re:

I'm not sure there's been rampant examples of riders doing a runner post-race when they hear that UKADA is there. However this new rule does close a loophole where a rider could finish a race, have a friend return his number and then claim he/she never knew that UKADA was there. Now that all riders have to personally return numbers and sign out, there's no claiming of ignorance.

It's also so that the organiser can know that all the riders are back safely and not lying in a ditch somewhere post-race. In RRing you turn in your license when you sign on and then collect it back at the end, in UK TTing there's no license. So prior to this rule, there was no way of knowing that a rider was safe if he'd DNFed and also forgotten to return his number post-race.

So yes in theory this should prevent people using that defense for a missed test. But I am not aware of any high profile cases of riders who were picked for testing and who did not show up to be tested and later claimed it's because they never went back to HQ afterwards and therefore didn't know they had been chosen. Happy to be proven wrong if you have any links to stories?

Edit in 2nd paragraph to clarify a DNF and failure to return number.

Cheers, Smaryka. Good point about rider safety, which no doubt played a major role in the decision making.

Won't mention names, but I did hear some rumors about riders. For instance, there is one who jumped out of the race a few km before the end. He later cited back problems as the reason for stepping out, which seemed weird as he was actually leading the race.

One rumor is that certain top riders never get tested. I have it from a reliable source that the event organisers know when ukad are coming and tell you at the start via a poster on the signing on table.

As I understand it, during the race CTT pick 10 riders for testing of which only 5 actually get tested.
The rumor is that some riders get tipped off through their Garmin system.
If at the finish line they cannot find a rider, they look for another rider on the list. Again, the missing rider faces no consequences.

I have absolutely nothing to back this up, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[smaryka]

Definitely possible to be tipped off mid-race if you carry your phone and have your Garmin set to notify you of text messages (the text displays on the screen on my Edge 520). That doesn't change having to report back afterwards now though. It's not illegal to carry your phone in CTT races afaik. If it ever were I'd probably stop racing, as if you puncture or get stranded it's not like there's a broom wagon to come get you...

In my experience of UKADA being at races, the sign indicating which numbers are to report for testing does not appear at signing-on but once the event is underway. However some CTT races are very short distances run over 2+ hrs so it's entirely possible that rider #1 is finished and gone home long before the last rider starts. And that rider #120 only signs on once the race is over for the earlier riders.

So I guess it would depend on whether they are targetting riders for testing or doing it randomly. If they have riders they want to target, they will make sure that the sign goes up at a time when they will have to see it so they can't slip out of it. So after they've signed on, not before.

Organisers are not supposed to know but given that they have to provide minimal facilities for testing, they probably are told pre-event.

Personally I think just having these things in place helps to discourage doping at the amateur level, because the main deterrent to doping is getting caught. If the chances of getting caught are now increased due to this rule, and the opportunity to slip through the net with a flimsy excuse is getting smaller, then that's a definite improvement.

 

[sniper]

thanks for expanding, interesting.
some good points there, and agreed, the rule looks like it's an improvement.

 

[sniper]

To be precise, CTT, the governing body, tell/recommend UKAD which events to test at and UKAD typically follow that recommendation.
So CTT can inform the organizers, who can then put the signs up to say UKAD are testing today.

As for the tipping off during the race, as you suggest, it is indeed fairly easy.
If you have a garmin 520 and someone rings you, it flashes up, so if you want to be tipped off, you just get a mate to go to HQ and ring you if UKAD show.

This is not just speculating about how it might be; rather I have it first hand that this has been happening on a regular basis.

To be absolutely sure, there's no suggestion whatsoever from my part that this is a problem specific to the UK.
Clearly I don't think it is.

 

[Nellyspania]

Re:

To be precise, CTT, the governing body, tell/recommend UKAD which events to test at and UKAD typically follow that recommendation.
So CTT can inform the organizers, who can then put the signs up to say UKAD are testing today.

As for the tipping off during the race, as you suggest, it is indeed fairly easy.
If you have a garmin 520 and someone rings you, it flashes up, so if you want to be tipped off, you just get a mate to go to HQ and ring you if UKAD show.

This is not just speculating about how it might be; rather I have it first hand that this has been happening on a regular basis.

To be absolutely sure, there's no suggestion whatsoever from my part that this is a problem specific to the UK.
Clearly I don't think it is.

I think the Edge 520 will let you see the first few words of a text on the fly too.