Text of Howman PCC Address

[Cimacoppi48]

Available here:
http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/N...ges_and_Issues_for_Anti-Doping_2011_12_01.pdf

From his speech regarding Marion Jones:
"She insisted she was a clean athlete, “look at how many times I have been tested!!” – “I
have been tested more often than any other athlete and never been found positive. What
does that mean?” She even wrote it in her book and sued those who suggested otherwise.
It was only during the investigation process that led to her lying to a grand jury and the
eventual charge of perjury against her, that she confessed most and went to prison."

"It is pleasant to be able to compliment a government for being on the “cutting edge”. I can
do that in this instance because the U.S. has not only set a good example with the Balco
inquiry, but also others including Operation Raw Deal, Gear Grinder, and others."

 

[MacRoadie]

"...but also others including Operation Raw Deal, Gear Grinder, and others."

Hmmmm, I wonder what those could be?

Funny, he didn't mention operations Smear, Witch Hunt, or Waste of Taxpayer's Money...

 

[Granville57]

2005
DEA Leads Largest Steroid Bust in History
Operation Gear Grinder

2007
Operation Raw Deal

DEA and federal law enforcement officials from the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service today announced the culmination of Operation Raw Deal, an international case targeting the global underground trade of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone (HGH) and insulin growth factor (IGF). In addition, the investigation includes significant enforcement of illicit underground trafficking of ancillary and counterfeit medications. The investigation represents the largest steroid enforcement action in U.S. history and took place in conjunction with enforcement operations in nine countries worldwide. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) also played key roles in the investigation.

Hmmm.

 

[MacRoadie]

2005
DEA Leads Largest Steroid Bust in History
Operation Gear Grinder

2007
Operation Raw Deal

Hmmm.

Exactly...

And don't forget the "and others"....

 

[DirtyWorks]

Three Things

Three things jump out at me:

1. "The rules appear to be getting more complicated." This is a jab at the sports federations protecting their athletes with purposefully complex rules. <cough>UCI!<cough>

2. 258,000 EPO samples and 36 EPO positives. The federations aren't even testing for EPO. One wonders how many athlete vacations were inspired by a federation with test results. This gets back to my opinion that between the UCI and promoters controlling the testing process, there aren't going to be any positives.... Except for those 5 sitting in Pat's desk waiting for athlete bribes to come through. How many Sysmex machines does the UCI need?

3. Scarcity of blood collection. WADA knows that the blood collection is essential and nowhere near where it should be.

Therefore, I think it is reasonable to assume that EPO is still in use and 'blood doping' is probably the first choice in PEDs. I have no clue what dangerous methods he's referring to in blood doping context. Maybe Merckx Index can give some examples?

Overall, an excellent speech. Politically sensitive and still imparting critical information.

 

[Benotti69]

Three things jump out at me:

1. "The rules appear to be getting more complicated." This is a jab at the sports federations protecting their athletes with purposefully complex rules. <cough>UCI!<cough>

2. 258,000 EPO samples and 36 EPO positives. The federations aren't even testing for EPO. One wonders how many athlete vacations were inspired by a federation with test results. This gets back to my opinion that between the UCI and promoters controlling the testing process, there aren't going to be any positives.... Except for those 5 sitting in Pat's desk waiting for athlete bribes to come through. How many Sysmex machines does the UCI need?

3. Scarcity of blood collection. WADA knows that the blood collection is essential and nowhere near where it should be.

Therefore, I think it is reasonable to assume that EPO is still in use and 'blood doping' is probably the first choice in PEDs. I have no clue what dangerous methods he's referring to in blood doping context. Maybe Merckx Index can give some examples?

Overall, an excellent speech. Politically sensitive and still imparting critical information.

And if this is the case it blows out of the water the BS being spouted by the so called clean teams, Garmin, Sky and the former HTC. It also shines a spotlight on riders like Evans* and Gilbert** and their performances not being natural.

*Evans has avoided any real connection with doping apart from the usual dots of doping teams (Saeco, Mapei, Telekom), introduction to Ferarri by Rominger, riding for ex-Phonak and winning the TdF

** Gilbert who gave an interview to Kimmage a few years ago and his anti doping stance in it put a lot of people of the scent.

 

[Granville57]

2. 258,000 EPO samples and 36 EPO positives. The federations aren't even testing for EPO.

Careful with that. After reading your quote I thought there had been confiscation of 258,000 doses of EPO.
It seems Howman is referring to the total number of samples taken from last year. But how could that figure be accurate? Were the samples themselves taken over a longer period and then only analyzed in 2010? Otherwise we're looking at an average of over 700 samples being taken each day for an entire year.

Howman:
For example, not all samples are analyzed for EPO. With only 36 positive cases for EPO being found in 2010, from 258,000 samples surely indicates that.

3. Scarcity of blood collection. WADA knows that the blood collection is essential and nowhere near where it should be.

This does seem to be a glaring hole in the anti-doping movement.

Howman:
Our Executive Committee has now recommended that best practice should be that 10% of samples collected by any anti-doping organization be blood.

That seems disappointingly low.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Blood certainly appears to be the weak link w/r to testing doesn't it?

I don't follow 'ykw' on twitter but I wonder if he was in the audience somewhere at this meeting....

Love the Marion Jones quotes.

 

[Merckx index]

The more I hear about Howman, the more I like about him. This is the same guy who said from virtually day 1 that the DEHP test could be used in the Contador case, and who recently said he believes Contador should be sanctioned. I think he probably also took a leading role in the decision not to make CB a threshold substance.

I have no clue what dangerous methods he's referring to in blood doping context. Maybe Merckx Index can give some examples?

I didn’t see “dangerous” mentioned but only “serious”, and that was in reference to the types of substances that can be detected only by a blood sample.

Sample collection and analysis is getting more expensive. The rules appear to some to be getting more complicated. Laboratory directors and scientists in general continue to be conservative.
Indeed, it may be suggested that some err in favor of not returning adverse results for fear of the legal process and the time required to give evidence under attack. Indeed, in general, scientists do not enjoy the adversarial approach of lawyers.

I wonder if this is an indirect reference to the case in Mexico. Maybe WADA was not entirely convinced this was contaminated meat—I certainly wasn’t, though I didn’t have access to all the details—but thought it would be too difficult to prove, and would bring down the wrath of all Mexico on their heads.

Or was he implying that lab directors actually pass on borderline positive samples, because of the hassle of pursuing legal action? That would be an explosive charge. Anyone else want to comment on how s/he reads this?

some [drugs] are “stolen” during research and development stages of the regulated industry. This latter aspect is of intense concern to the industry as it is theft of intellectual property.

Hemassist?

not all samples are analyzed for EPO. With only 36 positive cases for EPO being found in 2010, from 258,000 samples surely indicates that.

Well, it also indicates many false negatives. By some estimates, as many as 90% of all EPO doping samples may be ruled negative.

What is the real prevalence of doping? Analytical findings suggest about 1-2% but recent studies suggest double digits.

That would be a minimum of about 20 guys in a GT, which covers most of the contenders. And this, of course, is almost certainly still an underestimate. By definition, you really cannot “study” the prevalence of doping, since so much of it occurs under any organization’s radar.

I must mention here the significant boost given to the Passport Project by recent decisions of the CAS in two UCI cases. Significantly the Court acknowledged the use of the Passport Program as being legally sustainable as proof of doping.

And it will be very interesting to see how big a role it plays in Bert’s case.

 

[thehog]

Available here:
http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/N...ges_and_Issues_for_Anti-Doping_2011_12_01.pdf

From his speech regarding Marion Jones:
"She insisted she was a clean athlete, “look at how many times I have been tested!!” – “I
have been tested more often than any other athlete and never been found positive. What
does that mean?” She even wrote it in her book and sued those who suggested otherwise.
It was only during the investigation process that led to her lying to a grand jury and the
eventual charge of perjury against her, that she confessed most and went to prison."

"It is pleasant to be able to compliment a government for being on the “cutting edge”. I can
do that in this instance because the U.S. has not only set a good example with the Balco
inquiry, but also others including Operation Raw Deal, Gear Grinder, and others."

The Marion Jones quote reminds me of of this doozy from Mr. Level Playingfield:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2006/06/19/armstrong-pound.html

In his letter, Armstrong called Pound's criticisms "reprehensible and indefensible" and demanded the IOC take "decisive action" against the outspoken Montreal lawyer.

"If the individuals responsible do not accept responsibility and yield their positions voluntarily, those individuals must be suspended or expelled from the Olympic movement," Armstrong said.

"I am saddened that a person with such responsibilities can issue such long-range declarations that clearly mean me or my colleagues are taking drugs," the 32-year-old American added.

"Mr Pound, if you truly want athletes to be clean, go fight for that rather than slinging dirt at them in such an irresponsible manner. Focus your efforts on the fight against doping rather than spending your time accusing innocent athletes without any evidence other than your own speculation.

"My eyes are wide open . . . [but] the way Mr Pound is pointing the finger of shame at us is offensive."

Armstrong said the IOC has the power to push Pound out because of its strong links*to WADA. He points out that the IOC appointed Pound to his post and provides*WADA with financial backing.

The IOC says it has received Armstrong's letter and will discuss it during this week's executive meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Careful with that. After reading your quote I thought there had been confiscation of 258,000 doses of EPO.
It seems Howman is referring to the total number of samples taken from last year. But how could that figure be accurate? Were the samples themselves taken over a longer period and then only analyzed in 2010? Otherwise we're looking at an average of over 700 samples being taken each day for an entire year.

This does seem to be a glaring hole in the anti-doping movement.
That seems disappointingly low.

The 10% blood sample rate is pretty good. At that rate, chances are excellent you'd catch some dopers. You don't need to test all samples to have some confidence that your testing population is good.

As for the quantity of EPO tests, I would be very disappointed if the number quoted was plain wrong on such a large scale. Lots of samples being collected! The sports federations heavily rely on sampling rates, not processed rates, to give the appearance of strong doping controls.

Merckx Index's mention of the rate of false negatives is critical to understanding the challenges in PED testing. My rudimentary understanding is they control for false negatives by only taking the very, very highest of confidence results. So, basically they catch 'dumb cheater' positives and let the smarter positives go. It's a fundamental problem where the smart doper easily stays ahead of the testing. Probably by IOC/federation design. It is why I advocate back testing. The tests catch up to the dopers if they back test. Imagine if cycling and cross country skiing disciplines adopted back testing. The inevitable positives would be a huge public relations problem for the IOC.

Finally, to quote the blood doping reference, "..these area all serious substances and very serious methods..." It seems to me they have a clear idea of the methods. Any idea what these methods are?

 

[Granville57]

The 10% sample rate is pretty good. At that rate, chances are excellent. You'd definitely catch some dopers. You don't need to test all samples to have some confidence that your testing population is good.

I have to wonder though if they'll ever even reach that goal.

Howman:
We are quite disappointed at the scarcity of samples collected for the purpose of blood analysis.

Our Executive Committee has now recommended that best practice should be that 10% of samples collected by any anti-doping organization be blood.

Without other info, we really don't know the rate at which blood is even being collected these days. It's probably very, very low.
(If anyone has verifiable numbers, please chime in.)

 

[Granville57]

One thing that doesn't seem have been mentioned is Floyd's appearance in NYC on the same day as the PCC conference. I have to wonder what else was going on behind the scenes, considering those who were in attendance.

 

[thehog]

One thing that doesn't seem have been mentioned is Floyd's appearance in NYC on the same day as the PCC conference. I have to wonder what else was going on behind the scenes, considering those who were in attendance.

No way Floyd could afford his own plane ticket........ is that what you're saying?

 

[fatandfast]

One thing that doesn't seem have been mentioned is Floyd's appearance in NYC on the same day as the PCC conference. I have to wonder what else was going on behind the scenes, considering those who were in attendance.

You don't know much about Nascar or the CRCA. The fact that the CRCA had two riders come up positive this year and would include Landis in any event carrying their name is really dumb. When they try and get access to parks and roadways in the NYC area this kind of event in the clubs portfolio can only harm them.
The profit Landis makes from his NYC appearance will help fund and further his Nascar career. This is a normal career path for all pro drivers .

I hope the CRCA does a bikini or topless car wash to further bike racing in the area.
$321 from Ontario to NYC round trip

 

[Granville57]

You don't know much about Nascar...

Well you got me there.

...or the CRCA.

Hmmm, which one?

CRCA
CRCA
CRCA
CRCA
CRCA
CRCA
CRCA

 

[MacRoadie]

You don't know much about Nascar or the CRCA. The fact that the CRCA had two riders come up positive this year and would include Landis in any event carrying their name is really dumb.

Maybe you missed his key point, that being "behind the scenes"...

One thing that doesn't seem have been mentioned is Floyd's appearance in NYC on the same day as the PCC conference. I have to wonder what else was going on behind the scenes, considering those who were in attendance.

 

[BotanyBay]

No way Floyd could afford his own plane ticket........ is that what you're saying?

Floyd lives in an outhouse in the San Bernardino mountains. He's not really the NYC "type" (even if he can afford his own plane ticket, which I doubt he can).