General Doping Thread.

[Tim Cahill]

39-year-old Argentine Juan Pablo Dotti has been provisionally suspended by the UCI after returning an adverse doping test whilst riding at the Glasgow World Championships.

Whilst Dotti, a former Argentine national time-trial champion was unable to pull up any trees in Glasgow, finishing 45th in the individual time-trial, over seven minutes down on the eventual winner Remco Evenepoel, Dotti's routine doping control has shown up EPO CERA in his system.

Whilst Dotti does of course have the option to appeal the UCI's findings, the chances of an appeal being successful are slim EPO CERA is only found in systems in suspicious circumstances. As mentioned, Dotti is also aged 39 currently, so this may spell the end of his cycling career.

Someone send the Argies a shipment of Roxadustat, CERA is so 2008.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Someone send the Argies a shipment of Roxadustat, CERA is so 2008.

It's actually been quite en vogue in the South American scene more recently than that. The issue for CERA in the pro péloton was that it had a long marker and so once it was testable it quickly fell from popularity as the risk associated was too high.

Both CERA itself and testing for it had prohibitive costs for a while, so it's hard to tell exactly when it became the drug of choice in the LatAm péloton, but the testing for it is now there to at least some extent; it's hard to tell how prevalent it is because of the inconsistency of drug testing at many of these races, especially the non-UCI ones. There are a few riders from the Central and South American péloton serving CERA bans, though.

Duban Bobadilla, then 24, tested positive for it last October after the Clásico RCN in Colombia, Luís Largo is currently on an eight-year hiatus for it in 2017, Wilson Rincón tested positive for it in 2016 when Funvic came over to Europe to do the Volta a Portugal and decided to go full CSF-Navigare for it (João Gaspar also tested positive for it but has returned, while Kleber Ramos tested positive before the race), Clinic favourites the Rojas brothers in Costa Rica both tested positive for it in December 2017 (no wonder they were so dominant, clostebol appears to be the drug of choice in the Costa Rican péloton so if they were going full 2008 Emanuele Sella on the bunch...), Alejandro Serna tested positive for it in a domestic Colombian race in 2018.

It seems to be fading from use again, but I also think that rioplatense cycling is a bit behind Colombia on its testing and controls.

 

[Mayomaniac]

It's actually been quite en vogue in the South American scene more recently than that. The issue for CERA in the pro péloton was that it had a long marker and so once it was testable it quickly fell from popularity as the risk associated was too high.

Both CERA itself and testing for it had prohibitive costs for a while, so it's hard to tell exactly when it became the drug of choice in the LatAm péloton, but the testing for it is now there to at least some extent; it's hard to tell how prevalent it is because of the inconsistency of drug testing at many of these races, especially the non-UCI ones. There are a few riders from the Central and South American péloton serving CERA bans, though.

Duban Bobadilla, then 24, tested positive for it last October after the Clásico RCN in Colombia, Luís Largo is currently on an eight-year hiatus for it in 2017, Wilson Rincón tested positive for it in 2016 when Funvic came over to Europe to do the Volta a Portugal and decided to go full CSF-Navigare for it (João Gaspar also tested positive for it but has returned, while Kleber Ramos tested positive before the race), Clinic favourites the Rojas brothers in Costa Rica both tested positive for it in December 2017 (no wonder they were so dominant, clostebol appears to be the drug of choice in the Costa Rican péloton so if they were going full 2008 Emanuele Sella on the bunch...), Alejandro Serna tested positive for it in a domestic Colombian race in 2018.

It seems to be fading from use again, but I also think that rioplatense cycling is a bit behind Colombia on its testing and controls.

Poor Diniz was smart enough to never glow during races, but Funvic going PCT and the Bio Passport still got him...

That said, Cera is probably easy to get and handle.

 

[Rob5091]

At least they catch them.
When did amateurs ever get busted in, say, Denmark?

Yeah, must give them their due, they do catch the amateurs. The pros on the other hand have no such worries!
(In Denmark they wait until riders retire, then get them to admit doping, or better still, an oldie but goldie from 2012 a board member of the Clearidium anti-doping agency, and the Danish Cycling Union, amateur 47 year old Soren Svenningsen tested positive for 3 different substances (http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/1...hocked-after-board-member-tests-positive.aspx). You would think he would know what not to take! )

 

[Sciatic]

Someone send the Argies a shipment of Roxadustat, CERA is so 2008.

I was curious about how the mechanism of those two drugs differ, and found this article:

Banned blood booster a challenge for anti-doping authorities, expert says

An anti-anaemia drug is making the fight against doping much harder, a top Swiss expert said on Thursday, although he added that there was currently no miracle product on the testers' radar.

www.reuters.com

Apologies if this was posted and discussed previously, but the eye opening thing (though it should have been obvious) is the mention of it being harder to test riders training at altitude because some of the towns “can only be reached by cable cars” which don’t run at night.

 

[Rob5091]

Now that WADA is banning Tramadol from Januray 1 next year, what is a drug cartel to do with all that Tramadol in the backroom?
Sweden's ongoing gang warfare is being fueled with the help of Tramadol - apparently it is taken by the youngsters on a hit mission, to, "give them an extra testicle" (maybe a certain Texan should have taken it!)
In Swedish at
https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/unga-tar-kokain-och-tramadol-for-att-vaga-skjuta--2

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I'd probably also need a lot of Coke to survive being Swedish.

 

[Nick2413]

Wondering how clinical aspects are handled with mergers like this and all sorts of riders changing teams. Is it just assumed Roglic, Remco etc are going to have the same program no matter where they go?

 

[Sciatic]

Wondering how clinical aspects are handled with mergers like this and all sorts of riders changing teams. Is it just assumed Roglic, Remco etc are going to have the same program no matter where they go?

That’s a good question—my assumption has been that team’s that have an internal doping program would still have it compartmentalized so that only certain riders and docs would be “in” on the program. I probably got that idea from Tyler’s book where he mentions only the top riders on Postal getting the special lunch bags.

 

[fmk_RoI]

If you're relying on Tyler "The Truth Freer" Hamilton, you're fighting the wrong war.

What doping programmes have been exposed since The Fall and how have they functioned?

 

[Sciatic]

If you're relying on Tyler "The Truth Freer" Hamilton, you're fighting the wrong war.

What doping programmes have been exposed since The Fall and how have they functioned?

Hmm, where did you see me state that I thought my assumption was correct, or vouch for the validity of my source? It’s certainly out of date as well. As soon as our brains turn on to active mode, we have assumptions about a topic. It’s a fairly normal conversational style to respond to a good question or new perspective with “Huh, that’s a good point, I guess I had always assumed . . . x, y, or x”

But some people don’t really do conversations do they?

 

[fmk_RoI]

But some people don’t really do conversations do they?

The ones who don't answer direct and relevant questions put to them certainly don't, now do they?

 

[Sciatic]

The ones who don't answer direct and relevant questions put to them certainly don't, now do they?

Oh, the direct answer is “I don’t know.” Which is a reason (just speaking for myself) to have a conversation.

 

[fmk_RoI]

This doesn't feel like a conversation. It feels like you're just trying to lecture me.

 

[Sciatic]

This doesn't feel like a conversation. It feels like you're just trying to lecture me.

Point taken.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

This doesn't feel like a conversation. It feels like you're just trying to lecture me.

It sounds more like you are being argumentative for the sake of it, without addressing the question that Sciatic was responding to:

Wondering how clinical aspects are handled with mergers like this and all sorts of riders changing teams. Is it just assumed Roglic, Remco etc are going to have the same program no matter where they go?

 

[Rob5091]

Erik Zabel interview -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...e-the-new-generation-learns-from-our-mistakes
"In a conversation with Relevo colleagues, he recalled some of his former rivals such as Óscar Freire, Alejandro Valverde or Alessandro Petacchi; he talked about what the Vuelta a España meant to him and again acknowledged his doping and what he thinks of cycling today in those terms.

Yes, of course I doped. Everything I said at the time is true. I did use doping substances, but that's in the past. Unfortunately it happened like that, but I hope that the new generation learns from our mistakes. Today I believe that cycling is clean. I hope so."

 

[Sciatic]

Erik Zabel interview -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...e-the-new-generation-learns-from-our-mistakes
"In a conversation with Relevo colleagues, he recalled some of his former rivals such as Óscar Freire, Alejandro Valverde or Alessandro Petacchi; he talked about what the Vuelta a España meant to him and again acknowledged his doping and what he thinks of cycling today in those terms.

Yes, of course I doped. Everything I said at the time is true. I did use doping substances, but that's in the past. Unfortunately it happened like that, but I hope that the new generation learns from our mistakes. Today I believe that cycling is clean. I hope so."

Thanks for posting that. Of course doping in cycling is “all in the past.” I don’t know what Revelo is, but if he has any current connection to cycling he would have to say it’s all cleans. At least he added “I hope so” to indicate he couldn’t no for sure. Obnoxious that editors pulled the “learned from our mistakes” as the headline even though that was a very small piece of the article.

 

[Tim Cahill]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715301855503265996

Raúl Alarcón's four-year sanction ends

 

[Rob5091]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715301855503265996

Raúl Alarcón's four-year sanction ends

So who's going to sign him up?

 

[RedheadDane]

So who's going to sign him up?

Some Portuguese team?

 

[Ilmaestro99]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715301855503265996

Raúl Alarcón's four-year sanction ends

I can't be the only person that had this date in my calendar.

 

[Mayomaniac]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715301855503265996

Raúl Alarcón's four-year sanction ends

 

[Rob5091]

Some Portuguese team?

He's only 38 in March next year,so he's still got a good few years left. The Vuelta starts in Portugal next year, so hopefully someone signs him up so he can be there!

 

[Eviter]

Anyone feel that's those heart problems are linked to some new product that has heart tissue as hidden side effect? You'd think they detect enlarged hearts before people crash their car or end up death on their hotel room.