What are these mysterious pills found on the roadside at Paris-Roubaix?

[stutue]

However, if we don't hear about it we can only surmise as to the reason why.

 

[SecomBe]

My interest here is how/if the information is handled by the authorities. Will we get any information. " These are the tests done, this is what we found and this is who is involved" however innocuous it may be. Or the more worrying and likely scenario of "what pills?...huh...dont know what you're talking about. Take a look at this wonderful lumpy cycling is cleaner now carpet."

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I hope we hear about it soon because if we don't the discussion/guessing game will once again turn to ridiculous.

 

[DirtyWorks]

My interest here is how/if the information is handled by the authorities. Will we get any information. "

It does not seem likely. The UCI/IOC will be all over UKAD to publish nothing as it would set a terrible precedent by empowering a NADO.

Or the more worrying and likely scenario of "what pills?...huh...dont know what you're talking about. Take a look at this wonderful lumpy cycling is cleaner now carpet."

The NADOs like UKAD are very, very weak with almost no authority. They will not use the "cleanest peloton ever" excuse, but be silenced by the sporting federation's authority.

I hope you stick around and inform us about competitive cycling in your region.

 

[Catwhoorg]

Given the profile of this event, I would be very surprised if there is total silence.


I expect a non-informative news item along the lines of:

"The container was analysed and nothing that contravenes the 2014 WADA code was found. Further details are being passed to the relevant authorities"

 

[blackcat]

roofies or suppositories?

thats my guess

 

[Catwhoorg]

Painkillers and Caffeine...

 

[JimmyFingers]

Right, because if it was actually something innocuous, keeping quiet about it would be the way to handle it.

Agree with Afrank though, we'll not likely hear anything about it.

Come on, the whole thing is a big red herring. You don't dope mid-race any more, anything they are doing is done away from racing.

I sure you'd like it to be something, and ignore the strong possibility it isn't anything, just so extra drama can be created because the story had gone dead. Add something extra to the conspiracy theory, moan about UKAD and the Brits...

 

[stutue]

Strong rumour is that they were new undetectable EPO pills being tested on a Sky rider for use in TdF.

I've no evidence at all for that, but seeing as how nobody else has come up with a viable explanation then it must be that.

 

[Franklin]

Painkillers and Caffeine...

The logical explanation considering that's prety much universal fare. Also known as "Finale Kokers".

Seems a tad more in line with expectations than a mystery drug one takes during a race.

 

[Benotti69]

Come on, the whole thing is a big red herring. You don't dope mid-race any more, anything they are doing is done away from racing.

Why not dope mid race. UCI anti doping are a decade behind on what is in use now.

I sure you'd like it to be something, and ignore the strong possibility it isn't anything, just so extra drama can be created because the story had gone dead. Add something extra to the conspiracy theory, moan about UKAD and the Brits...

I am sure you hope it is nothing.

Unless the police turn up to a race to bust someone, no one gets busted for doping. The sports major doping busts have come because the police did it, not the UCI and Cookson has not done anything to change that. Too busy approving cameras on bikes and the hour record.

 

[red_flanders]

Come on, the whole thing is a big red herring. You don't dope mid-race any more, anything they are doing is done away from racing.

No, no one takes finishing bottles anymore, right. And that's just what people have admitted...

I sure you'd like it to be something, and ignore the strong possibility it isn't anything, just so extra drama can be created because the story had gone dead. Add something extra to the conspiracy theory, moan about UKAD and the Brits...

I don't care one way or the other, and I don't know who the rider is, so I don't know if they're a brit. Nor do I care if they're a brit, because I don't think the brit riders or brit AD entities are any different than anyone else. Maybe you do, and that's your issue.

 

[bewildered]

if there's no doping during races why carry a vial? was it an empty vial, a good luck charm perhaps?

It is labelled 'test product', so highly unlikely it's detectable. Plenty of riders will dope during a race with an undetectable product. Have you never watched cycling before?

 

[King Boonen]

if there's no doping during races why carry a vial? was it an empty vial, a good luck charm perhaps?

It is labelled 'test product', so highly unlikely it's detectable. Plenty of riders will dope during a race with an undetectable product. Have you never watched cycling before?

You're confusing "detectable" and "known" in this case. Both may or may not be applicable.

 

[Granville57]

was it an empty vial, a good luck charm perhaps?

Um, no. It was not empty.

 

[bewildered]

sorry i was being sarcastic, someone is hardly going to carry an empty vial are they.

should have used

 

[Will Carter]

sorry i was being sarcastic, someone is hardly going to carry an empty vial are they.

should have used

Well to be honest I dont think we will ever hear the full story on this, for the following reasons.

For ALL of below the following should apply - there is no chain of custody : which means whoever it may belong to cannot be named and/or charged.

So from there we have:

1. The vial is full of banned bits & bobs and a team / rider has been named by those spectators : No-one will be named publicly for (a) legal reasons (b) the suspected rider & team is targeted for more testing. In English : The team & substance (if illegal) will be kept quiet to faciliate testing.

2. The vial is full of banned bits & bobs and a team /rider has NOT been named by those spectators : No-one will be named for (a) legal reasons (b) the suspected rider & team is targeted for more testing. In English : The substance (if illegal) will be kept quiet to faciliate testing.

3. The vial is full of non-banned substances. Regardless of teams nothing will be said, but something could be 'implied' to put people on notice. In English : nothing illegal.

4. (And not my view) - the whole thing is a cover up and no-one will be named. Personally I cant see this as it would be easy to cover it on 1-3.

So I guess we wont hear anything for a long time (if ever).

Just my thoughts - feel free to agree / add to / detract from.

Thanks

Will

 

[Granville57]

sorry i was being sarcastic, someone is hardly going to carry an empty vial are they.

Nope. They would leave such things at home, as souvenirs and memorabilia to their sinful past...carefully tucked away until uncovered by French Police.

 

[Granville57]

Regarding the argument that no rider would be dumb enough to carry such a vial on their body during a race...

Let's not forget that FLandis once had a blood bag handed to him (concealed as a gift of some sort) by one of his boys posing as a "fan" right after a stage. He simply tucked it into his jersey pocket and rode away.

What if he had been knocked over by a drunken fan (or Phil Liggett) and a blood bag splattered on the ground? How in the hell would he have explained that?

What if he had been stopped by French police and searched?

Doping has a history of blurring one's senses in regards to risk vs reward.

 

[red_flanders]

Um, no. It was not empty.

That's totally legit. I always ride with a vial packed with several different kinds of pills. Usually it's vitamins, antihistamines, aspirin and caffeine. I find these take at least 2 seconds off my Strava time up King's Mountain. I ride cleans, always.

Regarding the argument that no rider would be dumb enough to carry such a vial on their body during a race...

Or the simple fact that someone was in fact carrying this vial...

 

[Franklin]

if there's no doping during races why carry a vial? was it an empty vial, a good luck charm perhaps?

It is labelled 'test product', so highly unlikely it's detectable. Plenty of riders will dope during a race with an undetectable product. Have you never watched cycling before?

Sorry, but you clearly do not know pro cycling. "Finale tubes" filled with painkillers and Caffeine are age old and very much still in use (at all categories!). This is not illegal.

On the possibility of an experimental drug: If you take it during the race, what should it affect? Clearly it's short term boost, so not only are you looking at stimulants (notoriously easy to detect) but also at a rather a high dosage considering it needs to be effective at such short term.

But if it were stimulants I'm extremely sceptical about it being undetectable, even if it's "new and experimental" due to the nature of those drugs. And there's also no legal wiggle room there, that whole family of drugs is flat out banned.

I would not surprised it would be doping as this is still pro-cycling, but chances of this being nothing else than the usual "finale koker" are imho a lot bigger.

 

[WillemS]

Or the simple fact that someone was in fact carrying this vial...

You don't know that, or, you don't know that a rider was carrying this vial.

The same goes for the question why no one has come forward to identify the bottle, we don't know if it is something identifiable by anyone except the one who shot the photo. All I need is printer, a label sheet, a generic vial, a few generic capsules, some paracetamols to crush, and a camera to create an almost identical hoax, with no one, except me, who could come forward to identify it.

I haven't seen any evidence, except a speculative photo of a Lotto-Belisol rider that proves nothing, that this vial was actually dropped by a rider during a crash on the PR route. We don't even know if the photo is taken at PR, that asphalt concrete isn't exactly unique.

But, hey, I think a lot of the posters here adhere to this general motto:

 

[manafana]

over done all this story for me, I will drop a vial by an athletics track and say same that some runner dropped it.

 

[HSNHSN]

over done all this story for me, I will drop a vial by an athletics track and say same that some runner dropped it.

That'd be fun, a pole jumper who in the middle of the flight pops out a vial and takes a pill. I'd love to see someone doing that.

 

[Granville57]

That'd be fun, a pole jumper who in the middle of the flight pops out a vial and takes a pill. I'd love to see someone doing that.