US Pro doping, looking for insight

[D-Queued]

This was the 165.5km road race though, not a crit. Hence my query re: course and his obvious weight disadvantage if it had anything like a hill on it. Power hills notwithstanding.

He won both the masters road race and the crit in 2011. Not sure how he did in the crit this year.

Thanks for correcting me.

Definitely a mesomorph...

Dave.

 

[DirtyWorks]

We are not talking serious competition here.

Note: I found the race very entertaining.

Well, the WT guys did not just ride everyone off their wheels either.

For sure, this is the unusual intersection of no-budget continental racing with a few WT riders thrown in. Triply strange, Thom and Steve decided to hold the Championships outside the official UCI window. Thus depriving riders of WT points.

The American federation definitely has a doping problem. We also know effective doping does not require some huge budget either. We don't know who is clean when or where, but we know there are clean racers. That's as close as we get.

SmartStop had 3 of the top-5 places. Impressive.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

snipped..


SmartStop had 3 of the top-5 places. Impressive.

Yep, indeed......

 

[IzzyStradlin]

Doping in the US is usually pretty obvious, they go to the front pretty quick, ie Adam Bergman. Some of the big teams in the past were probably more organized about it. Navigators, Toyota were always super suspicious. Successful Living was hilarious. And of course Saturn.

Zajicek is one of the biggest POSs in US cycling. Up there with Tommy D.

Really I bet US racing is pretty clean these days, just because there is no real pro circuit. NRC is a joke. The US Crits thing gets UHC's B team and that's about it.

SmartStop did a good job of getting smart riders that work hard. USPro was a good result for them. Nothing suspicious.

 

[D-Queued]

Doping in the US is usually pretty obvious, they go to the front pretty quick, ie Adam Bergman. Some of the big teams in the past were probably more organized about it. Navigators, Toyota were always super suspicious. Successful Living was hilarious. And of course Saturn.

Zajicek is one of the biggest POSs in US cycling. Up there with Tommy D.

Really I bet US racing is pretty clean these days, just because there is no real pro circuit. NRC is a joke. The US Crits thing gets UHC's B team and that's about it.

SmartStop did a good job of getting smart riders that work hard. USPro was a good result for them. Nothing suspicious.

I always like Chevy - La Sheriffs, especially when the Drug Abuse thing was so front and center to the sponsorship. (Some of) these guys were the best examples thereof.

Dave.

 

[Dear Wiggo]

SmartStop had 3 of the top-5 places. Impressive.

Yep, indeed......

I came back to update with this info, beaten to the punch.

1,2, 5th.

Not quite Gewiss. Still impressive though.

And race report says Marcotte did get dropped on the climb but made the reconnection on the descent, so weight probably was a disadvantage. All the riders around him in the finish photo look like roadies.

Also want to clarify: I am posting this in the clinic, yes, but more seeking info rather than intentionally casting aspersions - his size and team dominance does seem iffy, but I don't know enough of the course etc to be confident.

 

[durianrider]

LOL! Look at those traps! Totally normal for a cyclist to develop traps like that if you pull up on the bars a lot right?

Nothing abnormal about this at all.

 

[42x16ss]

Just wondering if anyone knows any shady rumors about individuals or teams in the US pro teams.

I have heard some sketchy things about the Fly V guys. I know Zajicek was seen taking an IV at a host house during Tour of Utah last year, after they were banned. He was of course implicated in Joe Papp's list.

I have heard some things about Ben Day as well, from former team mates. They said they thought it was pathetic that he takes what he does and isnt able to do much in the NRC. That was all they said, nothing specific as far as what they claimed he was taking.

Any one else have rumors or first/second hand info on any guys in the US?

Fly V I know a few of the Aussie guys from that squad quite well and the stories they have from their time there would leave you all ROFLing. And that's putting it mildly. Those guys knew how to prepare and how to party afterwards!

If anyone wants to call me out, feel free to PM. Not naming names in the main thread.

 

[durianrider]

Marcotte looks like your every day road racer for sure. Nothing suspicious. Looks like a guy that takes his health seriously.

 

[durianrider]

Glucose IV is common though so IV doesnt really mean anything.

 

[42x16ss]

Glucose IV is common though so IV doesnt really mean anything.

It does when you're expecting a test the next day

 

[durianrider]

.

Lets talk tofurkey. PM sent.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Marcotte looks like your every day road racer for sure. Nothing suspicious. Looks like a guy that takes his health seriously.



What an @ssh@le comment

DR pretty sure there are photos of you with bananas hanging out of your mouth that make you look like a monkey

maybe the SmartStop guys finished in the top places because they were working well as a team up til the end.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Marcotte looks like your every day road racer for sure. Nothing suspicious. Looks like a guy that takes his health seriously.

What an @ssh@le comment

DR pretty sure there are photos of you with bananas hanging out of your mouth that make you look like a monkey

maybe the SmartStop guys finished in the top places because they were working well as a team up til the end.

I would guess he takes his health pretty seriously as he's a doctor of chiropractic

 

[Benotti69]

Glucose IV is common though so IV doesnt really mean anything.

I thought there was a no needle policy in cycling. IV included....

 

[Benotti69]

JV giving it the Sky spin

Jonathan Vaughters ‏@Vaughters 8h
Gotta say, love this guy's story @EricDMarcotte ... Hard working Midwest Chiro trains his *** off after work and wins USPRO. Respect.

See it is not doping, it is training and hard work, these things dopers are too lazy to do...........

Keep selling snakeoil JV

 

[proffate]

To be fair, Marcotte's "work" is self-employed chiropracty. I don't think it sucks up a lot of his time.

He is way more jacked than the typical roadie. So is Andre Greipel. Accusing someone of doping based on morphology is akin to phrenology. Pictures of him sipping podium champagne don't really trigger the radar either.

How fast did they really go up the climb(s)? How much does Marcotte weigh? What does that imply about his power figures? That's what I'd like to know before jumping to conclusions. I mean seriously, he outsprinted the field, it's not like he dropped big names on a climb.

 

[Granville57]

LOL! Look at those traps! Totally normal for a cyclist to develop traps like that if you pull up on the bars a lot right?

So I guess he must've developed his traps by doing some other supplemental workouts then, huh?

Unless you're suggesting that he doped...and magically developed lats...just from doping.

 

[D-Queued]

To be fair, Marcotte's "work" is self-employed chiropracty. I don't think it sucks up a lot of his time.

He is way more jacked than the typical roadie. So is Andre Greipel. Accusing someone of doping based on morphology is akin to phrenology. Pictures of him sipping podium champagne don't really trigger the radar either.

How fast did they really go up the climb(s)? How much does Marcotte weigh? What does that imply about his power figures? That's what I'd like to know before jumping to conclusions. I mean seriously, he outsprinted the field, it's not like he dropped big names on a climb.

Sure. But not recognizing the obvious is stupid.

Dave.

 

[IzzyStradlin]

How fast did they really go up the climb(s)? How much does Marcotte weigh? What does that imply about his power figures? That's what I'd like to know before jumping to conclusions. I mean seriously, he outsprinted the field, it's not like he dropped big names on a climb.

And let's not overstate the quality of the field here. US cycling is not exactly in a golden era.

 

[DirtyWorks]

LOL! Look at those traps! Totally normal for a cyclist to develop traps like that if you pull up on the bars a lot right?

Nothing abnormal about this at all.

Really?

Was he riding people off his wheel? No. Read the race report.
Zero to hero? No. He's been around this level for a long time.
WT guys did not have deep teams to help either.

Unless the Bank of Mom and Dad are financing the kid's efforts, racing at an elite level in the U.S. requires another job just to make ends meet.

Again, do I know *for sure* he's clean? No. Do we know *for sure* who is/isn't doping in the U.S? No. But, we know there are some clean racers.

What's probably more impressive is SmartStop getting three spots in the top 5.

 

[jw1979]

I believe Eric had a passion for bodybuilding before getting into cycling. Once you put on enough muscle it's very difficult to get rid of it, but he's lost a ton of weight. I know bodybuilding has a tarnished image, just like cycling, but having once been into lifting weights I can say that you sure learn how to use your body well, and very symmetrically at that. Being able to have great control of all the muscles is a huge advantage in any sport.

He's very smart, focused and most importantly, consistent. I've seen his power files before and the w/kg are very good, but nothing to make me shake my head (~4w/kg for 4 hours indicates discipline, but is not insane). He fits the mold for domestic success, where most races typically don't have climbs more than 8 minutes and are 100-180K at most. High absolute power, especially for his height (aero advantage), combined with a respectable strength/weight power means that he's going to be very good when it comes to sprinting to the line from a breakaway.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to see guys who came to the sport later in life do well later in life too. They still have the fire that guys who've been doing it for 20 years can't sustain. It's very difficult to keep the passion more than 8-10 years (just ask your ex-wife!). Without the need to be elastic/resilient, as in running, cycling is very well suited for the seemingly-past-the-prime endurance athlete THAT IS STILL MOTIVATED to train their butts off. If the genetics are there waiting to be developed as a 15 year old, they are still there waiting as a 25 year old, so I don't see it mattering too much which age one starts at in regards to cycling so long as they are passionate about sport and athletic development of oneself consistently all along the way.

Obviously there are great age barriers that can be difficult to get past due to the rules of requiring a bunch of young guys on a Continental team, but if you can get yourself to enough of the big races every year on an elite amateur team you'll eventually realize your talent 5-8 years after getting started, just as any 15 year old does. Think of how much more discipline, financial and emotional consistency you had at 35 versus 25. As a 35 year old, given the same fire to train and compete, and with the same amount of time invested in the sport (say 10 years) the 25 year old version of myself with identical passion and time in the sport (10 years) would never stand a chance.

I reckon a LOT more 30 something year olds would be winning if people didn't wrap their lives into a big drama (car, wife, kids, house) straight out of high school and not be able to financially support "living the dream" beyond the age of 21.

Congrats to Eric, he's really a stand-up guy.

 

[mewmewmew13]

To be fair, Marcotte's "work" is self-employed chiropracty. I don't think it sucks up a lot of his time.

He is way more jacked than the typical roadie. So is Andre Greipel. Accusing someone of doping based on morphology is akin to phrenology. Pictures of him sipping podium champagne don't really trigger the radar either.

How fast did they really go up the climb(s)? How much does Marcotte weigh? What does that imply about his power figures? That's what I'd like to know before jumping to conclusions. I mean seriously, he outsprinted the field, it's not like he dropped big names on a climb.

Fair comment. The others' comments including DR are unfair and ridiculous

 

[zlev11]

while watching it I thought the guy just rode a really smart race. he was in the breakaway all day (as were many of the guys in the lead group at the end) so he didn't have to do the final big climb as fast as the main group did it. a lot of guys raced really dumb, making senseless attacks off the front from really far out only to be caught relatively easily. the 5-hour energy guy did this probably 9-10 times. Alex Howes, who looked like the strongest guy in the race by far, bridged to the break and then rode hard on the front for no apparent reason for about 10-15km if I remember correctly. Marcotte followed some attacks but there was only one small steep climb on the finishing circuit so he didn't have to do a lot of climbing.

 

[mewmewmew13]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZiAfSU3Eks

worth a watch
Team SmartStop recap