From Festina to Bio-Passport: a retrospective

[Dr. Maserati]

I had read this piece by William Fotheringham when it was issued on CyclingNews some weeks ago*.

IMO it is an interesting piece - as it shows the mindest to anti doping by Heinz Verbruggen in 1997.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/from-festina-to-the-biological-passport-a-retrospective

..............
*I had actually read this piece when it was published on CyclingNews but when I went back to retrieve it i could not find it - one of the difficulties in the new CyclingNews site.

 

[usedtobefast]

i was thinking.(i know, dangerous in these times) but what is the bio passport
but just that? as long as your papers are in order, no worries? you are free to pass. you are within the prescribed boundaries.next. chomsky would say it better.

 

[Cerberus]

i was thinking.(i know, dangerous in these times) but what is the bio passport
but just that? as long as your papers are in order, no worries? you are free to pass. you are within the prescribed boundaries.next. chomsky would say it better.

UCI has used anormalous, but legal values to focus test resources on suspicious riders. Di Luca was caught because UCI requested more thorought testing of his samples due to abnormal blood values.

 

[elapid]

Good article. The 50% hematocrit rule has some interesting parallels to the current biological passport. As long as there are limits to hematocrit, OFF score, reticulocytes, etc there will be some cyclists who see these as moral limits. As long as you are within these boundaries, then morally you are not really doping even if you are doping or transfusing to enhance performance.

 

[the truth.]

2009 doping cases- dark, secretive passport caught one! WASTE

ril 17th Tyler Hamilton tested positive for banned steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after an out-of-competition control in early February. He faces a lifelong ban, and decided to retire with immediate effect.

April 29 Davide Rebellin and Stefan Schumacher tested positive for Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA) during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

March 19 Christian Pfannberger tested not-negative in an out-of-competition test. He was suspended by his team Katusha several days prior to the Giro.

April 2nd. Antonio Colom tested positive for EPO in an out of competition test. He was targeted for additional controls using information from his blood profile. Colom's positive drug test is the second within the ranks of Katusha.

27 April Tom Boonen tested positive for cocaine in an out of competition test. He had previously been found to have taken the same substance in May 2008.

April 28th Clement L'Hotellerie has been dismissed from Vacansoleil's team roster after the French 23-year old had tested positive for methylhexanamine.

July 1st Thomas Dekker found positive for EPO by retesting a sample from December 2007 whilst he was a member of the Rabobank Team. In 2008, Dekker had transferred from Rabobank to Silence-Lotto. Silence-Lotto immediately suspended Dekker.

July 17th Two Spaniards, Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel) and Ricardo Serrano (Fuji-Servetto), provisionally suspended by the UCI after testing positive for the banned blood booster Cera, the UCI announced.

July 16th 2009 30 people arrested by Italian police in elite cycling doping network. Ex Quickstep pro and coach Aleksandar Nikacevic was part of the ring which included 12 professional cyclists, drug company reps, cycling team coaches and doctors. Over 10,000 drugs were seized.

22 July 2009, It was announced that Danilo Di Luca had tested positive for CERA on 20 and 28 May 2009, during the Giro d'Italia.(where he finished 2nd) He was provisionally suspended with immediate effect by the UCI.

31 July 2009, it was announced that Mikel Astarloza had tested positive for Recombinant Erythropoietin (EPO) on 26 June 2009 and was being provisionally suspended by the UCI

1 Aug 2009 Bissel Pro Cycling has announced the immediate dismissal of rider Kirk O’Bee for violation of his contract, implying that the rider has broken anti-doping regulations.
“I deeply regret that a mistake I made as an individual will reflect poorly on the entire sport.”

Sept 11th, 2009 Italian track rider Annalisa Cucinotta suspended for two years for doping. She tested positive for anabolic steroid in a control taken at the World Cup race in Cali, Colombia, December 11.

September 12th 2009
Italian Maurizio Biondo of the team Ceramica Flaminia, caught for EPO in an out of competition test.

September 14th, 2009
Three Ukrainian riders (19-22 years) on the national team arrested for possession of banned substances and blood doping. The team physio and one of the riders parents were also arrested during the Tour de l'Avenir.

 

[Anonymous]

Good article. The 50% hematocrit rule has some interesting parallels to the current biological passport. As long as there are limits to hematocrit, OFF score, reticulocytes, etc there will be some cyclists who see these as moral limits. As long as you are within these boundaries, then morally you are not really doping even if you are doping or transfusing to enhance performance.

+1, nailed it.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

ril 17th Tyler Hamilton tested positive for banned steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after an out-of-competition control in early February........

Great post - I had meant to sit down and look through all the doping cases this year and list them as you have - so thank you.

All these cases ask the question what ever happened to the 'health checks' that would see a rider whose profiles fluctuate get a suspension on health grounds.

 

[issoisso]

No surprise there. It's always been clear that Verbruggen's idea of the perfect sport involves the athletes doing whatever they want as long as there are no scandals and no one ever mentions doping.

 

[usedtobefast]

No surprise there. It's always been clear that Verbruggen's idea of the perfect sport involves the athletes doing whatever they want as long as there are no scandals and no one ever mentions doping.

guys coming up positive are bad for business. we see the good old boy's just
pay lip service to the real issues.

 

[BikeCentric]

ril 17th Tyler Hamilton tested positive for banned steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after an out-of-competition control in early February. He faces a lifelong ban, and decided to retire with immediate effect.

April 29 Davide Rebellin and Stefan Schumacher tested positive for Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA) during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

March 19 Christian Pfannberger tested not-negative in an out-of-competition test. He was suspended by his team Katusha several days prior to the Giro.

April 2nd. Antonio Colom tested positive for EPO in an out of competition test. He was targeted for additional controls using information from his blood profile. Colom's positive drug test is the second within the ranks of Katusha.

27 April Tom Boonen tested positive for cocaine in an out of competition test. He had previously been found to have taken the same substance in May 2008.

April 28th Clement L'Hotellerie has been dismissed from Vacansoleil's team roster after the French 23-year old had tested positive for methylhexanamine.

July 1st Thomas Dekker found positive for EPO by retesting a sample from December 2007 whilst he was a member of the Rabobank Team. In 2008, Dekker had transferred from Rabobank to Silence-Lotto. Silence-Lotto immediately suspended Dekker.

July 17th Two Spaniards, Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel) and Ricardo Serrano (Fuji-Servetto), provisionally suspended by the UCI after testing positive for the banned blood booster Cera, the UCI announced.

July 16th 2009 30 people arrested by Italian police in elite cycling doping network. Ex Quickstep pro and coach Aleksandar Nikacevic was part of the ring which included 12 professional cyclists, drug company reps, cycling team coaches and doctors. Over 10,000 drugs were seized.

22 July 2009, It was announced that Danilo Di Luca had tested positive for CERA on 20 and 28 May 2009, during the Giro d'Italia.(where he finished 2nd) He was provisionally suspended with immediate effect by the UCI.

31 July 2009, it was announced that Mikel Astarloza had tested positive for Recombinant Erythropoietin (EPO) on 26 June 2009 and was being provisionally suspended by the UCI

1 Aug 2009 Bissel Pro Cycling has announced the immediate dismissal of rider Kirk O’Bee for violation of his contract, implying that the rider has broken anti-doping regulations.
“I deeply regret that a mistake I made as an individual will reflect poorly on the entire sport.”

Sept 11th, 2009 Italian track rider Annalisa Cucinotta suspended for two years for doping. She tested positive for anabolic steroid in a control taken at the World Cup race in Cali, Colombia, December 11.

September 12th 2009
Italian Maurizio Biondo of the team Ceramica Flaminia, caught for EPO in an out of competition test.

September 14th, 2009
Three Ukrainian riders (19-22 years) on the national team arrested for possession of banned substances and blood doping. The team physio and one of the riders parents were also arrested during the Tour de l'Avenir.

Thanks for putting that together. As usual it's sobering to see the list on paper and all in front of you. I missed the news on Kirk O'bee - he has been a dominant US Domestic pro crit racer for a very long time here in the US for those of you who don't know. I met him at a race one time and he was a very nice guy to us amateur scrubs.

 

[Cobblestones]

Thanks for putting that together. As usual it's sobering to see the list on paper and all in front of you. I missed the news on Kirk O'bee - he has been a dominant US Domestic pro crit racer for a very long time here in the US for those of you who don't know. I met him at a race one time and he was a very nice guy to us amateur scrubs.

Sobering indeed.

However, I think the blood passport might have been beneficial in that it indicated which rider should be subject to targeted testing. At least I hope it is used that way and may have contributed to catching a few on the list.

There's no question that the passport does not perform as advertised. The problem seems to me more a legal one than a scientific one. I would argue the results of the passport make it pretty obvious to everybody who's taking stuff and when. However, for whatever legal reasons, it has not been used to set stringent individual limits on riders which would make it effective in weeding out cheats. Maybe that's still in the works. As I understand it, the UCI is not willing (or does not have the resources) to fight a prolonged legal battle such as the Landis affair based only on passport data.

 

[BikeCentric]

Sobering indeed.

However, I think the blood passport might have been beneficial in that it indicated which rider should be subject to targeted testing. At least I hope it is used that way and may have contributed to catching a few on the list.

There's no question that the passport does not perform as advertised. The problem seems to me more a legal one than a scientific one. I would argue the results of the passport make it pretty obvious to everybody who's taking stuff and when. However, for whatever legal reasons, it has not been used to set stringent individual limits on riders which would make it effective in weeding out cheats. Maybe that's still in the works. As I understand it, the UCI is not willing (or does not have the resources) to fight a prolonged legal battle such as the Landis affair based only on passport data.

My cynical take is that the bio-passport is the new 50% rule. The 50% rule used to be construed as a free ticket to jack your crit to 50%, but not higher. Similarly the passport is the license to dope within the confines of looking good on the passport with the added bonus that you get feedback from the UCI on how well your doping program is doing in terms of your bloodwork numbers. And the UCI is unwilling to fight legal battles based on the passport because that is (even more) negative publicity for cycling. In essence the Landis affair made them realize they should just fold in the face of legal challenges to their "regulation" because long drawn-out court battles make the entire sport look bad. The peloton played chicken and won because the UCI blinked first.

All that being said I do think the passport limits doping in the sense that it prevents certain riders from jacking themselves to the gills and crushing their competition. But it does allow the masses of the peloton to microdose and therefore evens out the competition. Which makes the racing itself look good and competitive in the short run and yet further undermines the long term future of the sport, which has been the modus operendi of the UCI since day 1. This sport is on a downward spiral and I don't see a way out.

Yeah yeah, boo-hoo, go watch a different sport then BikeCentric, we don't need your negative opinion spoiling our hero-worship say the doping appologists. Well of course I will do that because it's the start of American football season here and I won't get excited about cycling again until the Classics start in the spring. At which point I'll enjoy a few races and then get ****ed off about the never-ending drug busts again. It's a stupid cycle that never ends with this sport and every year I see a few more fans throw up their hands in disgust and walk away.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

My cynical take is that the bio-passport is the new 50% rule. The 50% rule used to be construed as a free ticket to jack your crit to 50%, but not higher. Similarly the passport is the license to dope within the confines of looking good on the passport with the added bonus that you get feedback from the UCI on how well your doping program is doing in terms of your bloodwork numbers. And the UCI is unwilling to fight legal battles based on the passport because that is (even more) negative publicity for cycling. In essence the Landis affair made them realize they should just fold in the face of legal challenges to their "regulation" because long drawn-out court battles make the entire sport look bad. The peloton played chicken and won because the UCI blinked first.

All that being said I do think the passport limits doping in the sense that it prevents certain riders from jacking themselves to the gills and crushing their competition. But it does allow the masses of the peloton to microdose and therefore evens out the competition. Which makes the racing itself look good and competitive in the short run and yet further undermines the long term future of the sport, which has been the modus operendi of the UCI since day 1. This sport is on a downward spiral and I don't see a way out.

Yeah yeah, boo-hoo, go watch a different sport then BikeCentric, we don't need your negative opinion spoiling our hero-worship say the doping appologists. Well of course I will do that because it's the start of American football season here and I won't get excited about cycling again until the Classics start in the spring. At which point I'll enjoy a few races and then get ****ed off about the never-ending drug busts again. It's a stupid cycle that never ends with this sport and every year I see a few more fans throw up their hands in disgust and walk away.

+1 Unfortunately I think you have hit the nail on the head - the Bio-Passport is being used as a PR tool.

I am not critical of the Biological Passport - I think it is an excellent initiative however under its present interpretation it allows too much fluctuations in parameters.

But - I do hold out some hope for the Sport. I think it will be only a matter of time before we have another Police investigation that will again lift the lid on what is happening in the sport and will expose the flaws in the current incarnation of the Bio-Passport.

Of course the question then is what will be left of Pro Cycling and will the sport be able to recover and retain investment in it?

 

[Kingsley A]

After reading many posts on many threads here over the last few months, I'm starting to wonder if maybe the answer needs to come from Brussels in the first instance (given that the vast majority of major races take place within the EU and the vast majority of top pros are based here).

Couple an EU Directive mandating all member states adopt a law criminalising sports fraud (which I believe only France, Italy and Spain currently have) with a similar directive mandating a UK style Proceeds of Crime Act (I don't know how widespread such legislation currently is), and you have a situation that can lead not just to riders being suspended, but managers, doctors, support staff, etc. facing possible jail terms and the seizure of their assets.

I get the impression most on this forum agree that a majority of the pressure on youngsters to start doping comes from within the teams more than the individual's desire to win, so gaining a method to criminalise those higher in the structure could only be good. Especially as we have seen from Festina onwards that customs/police actions are far more effective at routing out doping than any testing regime.

The biggest barrier I see to such an approach is not the UCI however, but EUFA. From the OP leaks we know that only around a quarter of the athletes implicated were cyclists. Several were La Liga stars and FC Barcelona and Real Madrid may or may not have been implicated. If (and it is an if) clubs of that stature do have organised doping programs, it is impossible to believe that the top flight of the Premiership, Serie A, the Bundesliga, etc. don't have similar programs given that they remain competitive. However the sums of money in football are vastly greater than in cycling and are hugely important to the economies of many major cities. Thus there is no political will to do anything that may bring football into disrepute as the economic downside and political fallout will be far greater than any benefits from other sports becoming cleaner (at least as the politicians see it).

I'm no great fan of EU regulation in general but this is one of those rare situations where I can see that if they did bite the bullet it would be good, not just for Europe but the world as a whole.

 

[Martinello]

Looking back from 1997 (year where the 50% hct rule was introduced) and until now it seems that:

Only a minority of second tier riders have been caught by in competition tests

Some have been caught in out-of-competition tests

Some high-profile riders have been caught by new assays (unannounced capability to test for CERA, synacthene etc).

The most damage has been done not by testing, but by good, old police investigations (phone tabs, raids, whistle blowing).

In other words:
To really catch the big fish shift resources from the lab and the in-competition testing to the investigations in co-operation with the national law enforcement agencies.