How is Doping Like a Pregnancy?
Apr 29 2009
How is doping like a pregnancy? Because—according to the IOC, anyway—you’ve gotta wait nine months to find out whose responsible.
I don’t know if they’re still sleeping in Boulder, but Velonews has yet to report that Rebellin’s positive has indeed been confirmed by IOC. Not that this means his guilty, of course, but just that “due process” against him is underway. Still, I’ve gotta commend VN for not leaping into the fray of condemnation after Gazzetta dello Sport named him as the Italian positive. Rebellin himself protests innocence, the B sample is still out, but Twitter has already handed down its verdict.
And because that just wouldn’t be enough doping news for the day, more word on Andreas Klöden’s recently revived doping story has come out. Kloden’s performances throughout his career certainly don’t meet the Cosmo test (rides away one day, can’t hold a wheel the next), but I’m more than willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. After all, that’s what we have testing procedures and arbitrative committees for, even if they do take 9 months to return a single positive.
Beyond all that, though, I’m looking forward to the Tour of Romandie. Great results all around from yesterday’s prologue—a relative unknown taking the lead, Alejandro Valverde showing maybe his lackluster performances this spring were just a case of Lance Armstrong syndrome, and Tyler Farrar showing no ill effects from his crash last month. I wonder if Mark Cavendish (+0:09, 29th place) will be feeling a little bit nervous tomorrow.
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Are you serioulsy trying to say that Davide might be innocent? Let’s see….positive test from Beijing, Gerolsteiner took away it’s sponsorship early because of CERA doping on his team…37 years old and losing a step…don’t be a moron, you moron! Let me guess – you still think Hamilton adn Landis got a bum rap too?!
Dan,
Thank you for your thoughtful and nuanced feeback.
Landis and Hamilton were found to have broken the rules through the established process, even after exhausting their attempts at appeal. Despite my skepticism of the Vanishing Twin and Jack Daniels defenses, I extended them a nominal assumption innocence.
By the same token, I’m unwilling to condemn Rebellin as a doper until he has had his day in court, if he chooses to take it.
Thank you for the level-headed commentary on doping. Solving the doping problem needs to be balanced with the riders’ due process rights.
The holier-than-thou and over-the-top outrage at the first leak of a non-negative/positive “A” sample isn’t productive; Neither is the declaration: “He tested positive once now every one of his results are suspect.”
Agreed on the need for a more timely testing process. It would have been nice if Schumacher’s TdF positive test precluded him from competing in the Olympics.
Of course, testing the samples didn’t take 9 months. They went back to the stored samples with a new test.
I’m an avid cyclist, but I am so sick of hearing about guys continually testing positive. I don’t care if its just the A sample—-I don’t want to wait for the B sample, and I can’t honestly keep up with who has tested positive on the A, is waiting for the B, is contesting the charges, and who is appealing to a higher court.
It’s so damaging to ALL riders when a leader tests positive. Totally demoralizing.
The timeframe needs to be sped up, though, so that we don’t have to wait a pregnancy’s time to find out what’s going on. If Rebellin tested positive at the Olympics, then why in the world is he allowed to race the Fleche Wallonne?
I am so sick of positive tests!
Tommy:
Rebellin won Flèche Wallonne about 10 days before CONI
announcedleaked Rebellin’s CERA positive from the Olympics. The IOC didn’t start testing the Olympics samples until January (as Susan alluded).Hmm… I guess I was too fancy with my HTML 101. “Announced” should have a strikethrough.
Not to mention all the gynecologists.
The <s> and <strike> elements were deprecated in HTML 4.01. <del> is the wave of the future. I’ve added it for you.
It’s not like pregnancy at all! After the nine month of terror fear adjusting and acceptance you aren’t left with something you can cherish for life.
Aka, its worse!
Being a male I’d sooner be pregnant!. Being a cyclist, I wish I’d taken up tidily winks!