Paracycling

[Alex Simmons/RST]

This hurts to read:
http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2016/09/02/paralympian-michael-gallaghers-sample-positive-epo

I know Michael and have raced with him. Makes me sad.

 

[Captain Serious]

I'm stunned. This news is flying through the Melbourne racing scene like wildfire!!!
I've raced against this guy many times.
From my point of view, it's opened a can of worms about club riders.
I realize he's more than just the average club racer, but still, fark me dead!

 

[timbat]

Not the first time a Masters racer in Aus has gone pos .....

 

[Captain Serious]

Re:

Not the first time a Masters racer in Aus has gone pos .....

who else? In recent years?

 

[sniper]

Did he do something to piss off Asada or the Australian cycling Fed?

 

[Robert5091]

"a training camp in Italy in July" - thought no one would notice so far from home?

 

[Huapango]

Re:

Just another reason why I will never race bikes again. Heck, I don't even want to buy a bicycle because I'm afraid I might get the itch once again.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Michael Gallagher's statement on Facebook:

Although the B sample is yet to be tested, It will not change the situation. I have done the wrong thing. People deserve an explanation and I want to give it. Although there are never any excuses for something like this, you do self-analyse and look for reasons. No one in my life saw this coming and if you asked me over a year ago I would never have seen it coming either.

Worsening mental health issues (depression) and other personal issues in life lead to inability to train and hurt myself like I used to. With the expectations of living up to past performances in a Paralympic year and the need to do so to pay my bills the pressure mounted. Rather than seek help l self-medicated to motivate, crossed the dark line, took short cuts and cheated. I had many ways of justifying this use for Para sport which in hindsight were merely just dark, paranoid and selfish justifications to talk myself into it.

I ended up using performance enhancers in the lead up to Para road nationals and Track worlds at the start of the year and then again before heading to Europe mid-year. The performance benefits were not going to be there by race day in Rio but it allowed me to stay motivated and do training I was never going to do in my mental state. I will completely be honest and transparent on this to anyone that needs to know more. I think complete honesty is my first road to recovery. I cheated at sport and put an end to a chapter in my life which has given me so much by my own wrongdoing. I will need to accept and live with that.

But all this doesn’t sadden me as much as the feeling of letting the important people in my life down.
I sincerely apologize to my wife, family and close friends. People who are standing by me and would have no matter what. It seems so stupid now to have not let them in sooner before things got this far. I feel I have let them down. Also my coach Dan who had no idea and I’m sure is devastated.

Huge apologies to all the people I have raced during this period, everyone is entitled to an honest performance and I know how cheated people would feel.

Sorry to the Paracycling team who are about to go into the biggest event with this blow and an unfair link to my stupid actions. The support staff, coaches and athletes were all so supportive of me and it breaks my heart to have let them down. I will be following their results and wishing them all the best I can. The apology also extends to the whole Paralympic team.

The APC, CA and the VIS who have made my dreams and goals possible for years and I would like to thank them for the way they have supported and treated me on this matter. That’s what they do, they support and they are great. I am so sorry I never reached out sooner and for the extent of which I have let them down.
My personal sponsors and teammates back home, you guys don’t deserve a link to any of my stupid actions. I have let you guys down and I hope I have not lost some good mates.

The coaching group and all the athletes I worked with. This is something that they do not stand for, they are a great bunch, a hard working culture and take no short cuts. Any link to my wrongdoing is undeserved. I will miss working with some of the athletes whom at time motivated myself with their own fresh motivation and hard work ethics. I feel I cheated them with a double standard and am sorry for that.

Lastly, the greater cycling community and those who looked up to me especially the youngsters. I was in a role model position, whether I was fit to be there or not. I am saddened that I have let you all down as well.
I want to thank everyone who has sent messages over the last few days to find out how I’m going and to offer their support. Honestly, I am not ok but will be working with good people to hopefully find the person I used to be.

 

[timbat]

Credit for putting the record straight ....

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

Credit for putting the record straight ....

If you believe his "I only did it a little bit" and "I did it independently" claims...

 

[veganrob]

Re: Re:

Credit for putting the record straight ....

If you believe his "I only did it a little bit" and "I did it independently" claims...

Or" the performance benefits would not be there race day in Rio"

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

Credit for putting the record straight ....

If you believe his "I only did it a little bit" and "I did it independently" claims...

Or" the performance benefits would not be there race day in Rio"

Yes, I very well crafted sentence. Increased training load doesn't equal a performance benefit apparently...

 

[sniper]

Re: Re:

Credit for putting the record straight ....

If you believe his "I only did it a little bit" and "I did it independently" claims...

Or" the performance benefits would not be there race day in Rio"

Or "my coach Dan who had no idea". Sure.

Loads of omerta there.

 

[simoni]

Re: Re:

Credit for putting the record straight ....

If you believe his "I only did it a little bit" and "I did it independently" claims...

Or" the performance benefits would not be there race day in Rio"

Or "my coach Dan who had no idea". Sure.

Loads of omerta there.

Whether you believe it all or not its rare for an "apology" to use the words "I cheated". Usually we get a load of waffle about "mistakes" or "bad choices".

 

[sniper]

Perhaps.
But I'm not sure if that excuses him for insulting my brain.

 

[jahn]

I recall reading that the performance benefits of EPO still remain (but less) a long time after taking it, perhaps even years, which makes things even more depressing if you're lifetime clean.

 

[T_S_A_R]

Re: Re:

This guy is angling to be the Para-MIllar.

 

[Night Rider]

Re:

Perhaps.
But I'm not sure if that excuses him for insulting my brain.

Both opinions can be right here. I share Simoni's opinion that it's rare to get these dopers come out and acknowledge their doping and cheating and apologize, especially even before the b sample results. For that part of his statement i applaud him.

I share your opinion that the guy even in his apology is trying to deflect and minimize the benefits of doping, and I also don't believe for one moment he only doped the occasions he's admitting to.

All his samples leading up to his previous medal performances should be re-tested.

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

Not the first time a Masters racer in Aus has gone pos .....

who else? In recent years?

Andrew Gerber, former WC Masters pursuiter. He's a Brisbane local, has all but disappeared now.

A large bunch of triathletes also popped + over in Perth fairly recently as well, rumour is there was an "anti-aging" clinic making some money on the side.

 

[42x16ss]

This hurts to read:
http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2016/09/02/paralympian-michael-gallaghers-sample-positive-epo

I know Michael and have raced with him. Makes me sad.

I bet! Were you ever in direct competition with him for a paralympic spot? That would make it really hurt.

 

[Captain Serious]

Re: Re:

Andrew Gerber, former WC Masters pursuiter. He's a Brisbane local, has all but disappeared now.
A large bunch of triathletes also popped + over in Perth fairly recently as well, rumour is there was an "anti-aging" clinic making some money on the side.

Thanks.

 

[Captain Serious]

So, he's played the depression cards. I hate to be cynical, but.. hmmmm. That's happened a bit here, with sportsmen mucking up, then telling us they've got depression. Maybe he has, I've got no idea.

Is it just me, or is doping against other disabled athletes much worse than 'regular' doping? It's kinda like the difference between robbing and hitting and robbing a helpless person, compared to robbing and whacking someone who's big, tough and able-bodied. Right?

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

This hurts to read:
http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2016/09/02/paralympian-michael-gallaghers-sample-positive-epo

I know Michael and have raced with him. Makes me sad.

I bet! Were you ever in direct competition with him for a paralympic spot? That would make it really hurt.

I mean more that it hurts when it's someone you know.

Michael is/was C5 category. I was C4 (lower the number from 5 to 1 the greater the classified disability) and you are chosen based on your relative ranking in your own category AND whether you are considered a strong medal chance. So, no, not directly in competition for a spot.

That said, the nature of paracycling road races means the categories are combined and so while results are split, the races are impacted by the combination of categories, it impacts things like composition of breaks, who is / is not willing to chase, etc. Some days it can work against you, others days for you.

If the selectors don't think you are a strong medal chance at paralympics/world champs, then they really don't give you the time of day. They are paid to get medals, not develop the sport or encourage riders to race/participate. It's a model I don't agree with as para is just another form of category racing, like masters, and tying funding to medals means many para athletes lose interest. Some of the things said to me were pretty demotivating. I wasn't alone in that respect, many have left the sport disillusioned. Consequence of course is that competition is pretty limited and that's never a good thing.

My best para results were a bunch of medals at road and track nationals and Oceania RR and TT, and at UCI para road world cup where in the TT I was 2nd fastest Aussie for all categories (Michael was quickest) but not quick enough that selectors were ever going to be interested in my prospects beyond that. I never had unrealistic expectations/ambitions in that regard in any case. The top riders have near pro level W/kg.

In any case, having done that and also won several regular masters races on track (incl team pursuit national record) and road all within 4 years of having my leg amputated, well those things can stand alone as things to be proud of.

Doping never crossed my mind as an option, but maybe I was never good enough to be truly tempted.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Re:

So, he's played the depression cards. I hate to be cynical, but.. hmmmm. That's happened a bit here, with sportsmen mucking up, then telling us they've got depression. Maybe he has, I've got no idea.

I'm inclined to believe it, and certainly having been popped would not be good for his mental state in any case given his status (OAM, world champ, dual para champ etc) and so hopefully he is getting good assistance, advice and support no matter the cause of mental illness.

Is it just me, or is doping against other disabled athletes much worse than 'regular' doping? It's kinda like the difference between robbing and hitting and robbing a helpless person, compared to robbing and whacking someone who's big, tough and able-bodied. Right?

Well it's disabled athletes doping against other disabled athletes. Like masters doping against masters. Except the rewards are much higher for the paras that do well. Some are national icons.

Having in the past had a (masters) team mate get popped, it's always harder when it's someone you know. It's an ethical dilemma, a clash of values (e.g. friendship/loyalty v anti doping ethics) and that always creates a stress point.

e.g. Say you found out your mate was doping. What would you do?
I've not had that situation but I have considered what my approach would be.

 

[42x16ss]

This hurts to read:
http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2016/09/02/paralympian-michael-gallaghers-sample-positive-epo

I know Michael and have raced with him. Makes me sad.

I bet! Were you ever in direct competition with him for a paralympic spot? That would make it really hurt.

I mean more that it hurts when it's someone you know.

Michael is/was C5 category. I was C4 (lower the number from 5 to 1 the greater the classified disability) and you are chosen based on your relative ranking in your own category AND whether you are considered a strong medal chance. So, no, not directly in competition for a spot.

That said, the nature of paracycling road races means the categories are combined and so while results are split, the races are impacted by the combination of categories, it impacts things like composition of breaks, who is / is not willing to chase, etc. Some days it can work against you, others days for you.

If the selectors don't think you are a strong medal chance at paralympics/world champs, then they really don't give you the time of day. They are paid to get medals, not develop the sport or encourage riders to race/participate. It's a model I don't agree with as para is just another form of category racing, like masters, and tying funding to medals means many para athletes lose interest. Some of the things said to me were pretty demotivating. I wasn't alone in that respect, many have left the sport disillusioned. Consequence of course is that competition is pretty limited and that's never a good thing.

My best para results were a bunch of medals at road and track nationals and Oceania RR and TT, and at UCI para road world cup where in the TT I was 2nd fastest Aussie for all categories (Michael was quickest) but not quick enough that selectors were ever going to be interested in my prospects beyond that. I never had unrealistic expectations/ambitions in that regard in any case. The top riders have near pro level W/kg.

In any case, having done that and also won several regular masters races on track (incl team pursuit national record) and road all within 4 years of having my leg amputated, well those things can stand alone as things to be proud of.

Doping never crossed my mind as an option, but maybe I was never good enough to be truly tempted.

I understand, I've raced against guys who've been busted (see upthread for an example) it's a gross feeling.