...med síkte på Nordic Sea bar för en välbehövd och kall drink har jag äntligen landat. Årets DN Galan veckan är här, och så är jag. Redan vi "infarten" till stan välkommnades vi "galare" och ju närmare hotellet desto mer kändes den ankommande puls som väntade. Rav4:an tickade ihärdigt då jag helt felparkerade med varningslampor tända för att checka in, checka av och check out allt och alla. Ansikten många och välbekanta. Trevligt! - "So, whats your role"? Manager? No, no Antidoping! - AH! Doping. Yeah, god damn whereabout rules! Truly!
Diskussionen i full gång och inom lopper av minuter var en större grupp från olika "roller" involverad i vår diskussion- trevlig men ifrågasättande. Att ordet "doping" triggar vet vi, att ämnet är så hett, en självklarhet. Det tickade, nästan lika högt som den bortglämda Rav´4:an, precis utanför. Whereabout...unknown.
onsdag 29 juli 2009
Wiggins: No doping here; tests to prove it
LONDON (Reuters) -- Britain's Bradley Wiggins said he would publish his blood tests from the last two years to dispel any doubts about the legitimacy of his surprise fourth-place finish at the Tour de France.
The 29-year-old triple Olympic track pursuit champion was praised by French media for his performance, which equalled the best by a Briton in the race, but suspicions regarding drug use remain high in the sport.
"I came from nowhere on the Tour and everyone knows where it's been with blood doping," Wiggins was quoted as saying by London's Evening Standard newspaper.
"I don't want there to be any suspicion or doubt that what I did was natural. I have nothing to hide and I want this transparency."
Wiggins was considered something of a time-trial specialist in the Tour but his tenacious performances in the mountain stages -- when he vied with seven-time winner Lance Armstrong for a place on the podium -- surpassed expectation.
"We had a test on Saturday that should be back soon and I expect everything to go online within the next few days," he said.
"Once the last set of bloods are in they'll release the whole thing for the last couple of years.
"British Cycling have all my blood tests results from the age of 19 and I might even release everything from the last 10 years."
Wiggins said road racing would be his priority over the coming seasons with his ultimate goal being Olympic track gold in London and Tour de France success in 2012.
"There will be no track for the next two years, it will just be full on for the Tour," Wiggins said.
"In 2012 I'll try and do both: I'd like to win Olympic gold and then win the Tour in the same year. I believe it's possible and can be done," he added.
"It's the biggest bike race in the world (the Tour) and finishing fourth has opened up a whole new set of doors for me. What a challenge winning it is: I want a go at it."
Wed Jul 29, 2009 By Reuters
The 29-year-old triple Olympic track pursuit champion was praised by French media for his performance, which equalled the best by a Briton in the race, but suspicions regarding drug use remain high in the sport.
"I came from nowhere on the Tour and everyone knows where it's been with blood doping," Wiggins was quoted as saying by London's Evening Standard newspaper.
"I don't want there to be any suspicion or doubt that what I did was natural. I have nothing to hide and I want this transparency."
Wiggins was considered something of a time-trial specialist in the Tour but his tenacious performances in the mountain stages -- when he vied with seven-time winner Lance Armstrong for a place on the podium -- surpassed expectation.
"We had a test on Saturday that should be back soon and I expect everything to go online within the next few days," he said.
"Once the last set of bloods are in they'll release the whole thing for the last couple of years.
"British Cycling have all my blood tests results from the age of 19 and I might even release everything from the last 10 years."
Wiggins said road racing would be his priority over the coming seasons with his ultimate goal being Olympic track gold in London and Tour de France success in 2012.
"There will be no track for the next two years, it will just be full on for the Tour," Wiggins said.
"In 2012 I'll try and do both: I'd like to win Olympic gold and then win the Tour in the same year. I believe it's possible and can be done," he added.
"It's the biggest bike race in the world (the Tour) and finishing fourth has opened up a whole new set of doors for me. What a challenge winning it is: I want a go at it."
Wed Jul 29, 2009 By Reuters
måndag 27 juli 2009
French agency to retest 2008 Tour samples
PARIS — The French anti-doping agency will retest some blood samples from last year's Tour de France, mainly for the banned blood-booster CERA.
About 15 riders will be affected by the retesting, AFLD president Pierre Bordry said Sunday. He refused to identify the riders, but said they had been informed of the proceedings before the start of this year's Tour in Monaco.
The retesting will be conducted in September and October.
"We have obtained information concerning those riders and we are going to retest their samples" Bordry told The Associated Press by phone. "We didn't want to do it during the Tour because it could have disturbed the competition."
No positive test has been announced so far on this year's Tour, which ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees.
"It's far too early to report on the testing because we haven't received all the test results yet," Bordry said.
Pat McQuaid, the president of cycling's governing body, has already said that all samples from this year's Tour would be stored and could be retested in the future.
Last year, 38 samples from about 30 riders were retested for CERA, a new advanced form of the endurance-boosting drug EPO.
Six competitors were caught by doping testers — four for using CERA. They included third-place finisher Bernhard Kohl, and three others — Italians Leonardo Piepoli and Riccardo Ricco and Germany's Stefan Schumacher — who combined to win five of the 21 stages.
About 15 riders will be affected by the retesting, AFLD president Pierre Bordry said Sunday. He refused to identify the riders, but said they had been informed of the proceedings before the start of this year's Tour in Monaco.
The retesting will be conducted in September and October.
"We have obtained information concerning those riders and we are going to retest their samples" Bordry told The Associated Press by phone. "We didn't want to do it during the Tour because it could have disturbed the competition."
No positive test has been announced so far on this year's Tour, which ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees.
"It's far too early to report on the testing because we haven't received all the test results yet," Bordry said.
Pat McQuaid, the president of cycling's governing body, has already said that all samples from this year's Tour would be stored and could be retested in the future.
Last year, 38 samples from about 30 riders were retested for CERA, a new advanced form of the endurance-boosting drug EPO.
Six competitors were caught by doping testers — four for using CERA. They included third-place finisher Bernhard Kohl, and three others — Italians Leonardo Piepoli and Riccardo Ricco and Germany's Stefan Schumacher — who combined to win five of the 21 stages.
If you think this is just a cycle race, you’re a dope
The French minister for health and sports, Roselyne Bachelot, raised more than a few eyebrows when she dropped in for a one-day visit to the Tour de France and declared herself delighted that not a single doping case had been discovered during the race, which began on July 4 and ends today on the Champs-Elysees. “I say bravo, it’s a great success for the organisers and the drug inspectors,” she announced.
Then she returned to her office in Paris, possibly dismayed to read in French newspapers the next day that, because journalists have heard this so many times before, her remarks rated only the tiniest headline, no bigger than the one on an article reporting that two Spanish riders had failed drug tests before the Tour.
In other words, business as usual: some riders continue to use illegal performance-enhancing drugs and some officials, well-meaning but oh so naive, continue to proclaim that the absence of convictions means nobody is doping.
Madame Minister, face facts. In last year’s Tour there wasn’t a single positive test for doping until the race was over. Then the rider who finished third, the winner of both time trials and the winners of two demanding mountain stages were all found to have been illegally drugged. All were disqualified.
On Wednesday, international authorities announced the provisional suspension of the Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca for testing positive for doping during the Giro d’Italia in May, in which he finished second. The 33-year-old LPR team leader, who is not competing in the Tour de France, won two stages in the Giro and wore the leader’s pink jersey for eight days.It is an axiom of the sport that, because of their doctors, drug users are always ahead of drug inspectors. The inspectors are plodding types – technicians really, underpaid and overworked – and the doctors are cutting edge. In the early 1990s, for example, they discovered that the drug Erythropoietin, or EPO, developed to deliver more red-blood corpuscles to the bodies of kidney patients, could boost the same oxygen-bearing corpuscles in the tired muscles of riders. Even before EPO was certified safe for patients on dialysis, it was prevalent among cycle racers, boosting their endurance by 20 per cent.
But now there are tests for EPO – so enter CERA, or third-generation EPO; and blood doping, a recent favourite, which involves drawing a rider’s blood, rich in red corpuscles, and then transfusing it back into his body near the end of a race. So far no test can detect the transfusion.
So why do riders cheat? Why is this one sport under a constant cloud of suspicion and innuendo?
Riders would say that professional cycling is an exhausting endurance sport, with six or more hours in the saddle at high speeds every day for three weeks. Temperatures fluctuate from torrid in valleys to chilling atop mountains. The sport takes a lot out of the men who practise it and they rely on medical help, both legal and, in some cases, not. As long ago as the 1960s, when drug tests began in France, riders used to say the Tour wasn’t won on water.
So corners are cut. Dismayingly, court cases show that this goes on at all levels of the sport, starting with clubs for teenage riders up to the professionals.
Some Tour de France teams – notably two from the United States, Columbia and Garmin –have instituted strict anti-doping programmes with frequent medical examinations. Many teams will automatically suspend any rider who fails a drug test, and often fire him. The governing body of the sport, the International Cycling Union, suspends for two years riders who prove positive and has begun a blood profiling programme to detect abnormal swings in hematocrit, or red-corpuscle, levels.
Yet every now and then, eyebrows are raised. A day after the French sports minister spoke at the Tour, the race stage was won by a 34-year-old Russian, Sergeui Ivanov, six times his country’s road-race champion and the winner of the Amstel Gold Race one-day classic this spring.
Also on his record, according to the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, was this: in the 1998 Tour, he and the rest of his TVM team quit the race to avoid a police investigation of doping. In 2000, he was barred from starting the Tour because his hematocrit level was too high. In 2007, he and the rest of his Astana team were forced to withdraw from the Tour because the leader was found guilty of blood doping.
Some really bad memories, L’Equipe added, without further comment. And none was needed.
Samuel Abt
Samuel Abt has covered cycle racing for more than 30 years and is the author of 10 books on the sport
Then she returned to her office in Paris, possibly dismayed to read in French newspapers the next day that, because journalists have heard this so many times before, her remarks rated only the tiniest headline, no bigger than the one on an article reporting that two Spanish riders had failed drug tests before the Tour.
In other words, business as usual: some riders continue to use illegal performance-enhancing drugs and some officials, well-meaning but oh so naive, continue to proclaim that the absence of convictions means nobody is doping.
Madame Minister, face facts. In last year’s Tour there wasn’t a single positive test for doping until the race was over. Then the rider who finished third, the winner of both time trials and the winners of two demanding mountain stages were all found to have been illegally drugged. All were disqualified.
On Wednesday, international authorities announced the provisional suspension of the Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca for testing positive for doping during the Giro d’Italia in May, in which he finished second. The 33-year-old LPR team leader, who is not competing in the Tour de France, won two stages in the Giro and wore the leader’s pink jersey for eight days.It is an axiom of the sport that, because of their doctors, drug users are always ahead of drug inspectors. The inspectors are plodding types – technicians really, underpaid and overworked – and the doctors are cutting edge. In the early 1990s, for example, they discovered that the drug Erythropoietin, or EPO, developed to deliver more red-blood corpuscles to the bodies of kidney patients, could boost the same oxygen-bearing corpuscles in the tired muscles of riders. Even before EPO was certified safe for patients on dialysis, it was prevalent among cycle racers, boosting their endurance by 20 per cent.
But now there are tests for EPO – so enter CERA, or third-generation EPO; and blood doping, a recent favourite, which involves drawing a rider’s blood, rich in red corpuscles, and then transfusing it back into his body near the end of a race. So far no test can detect the transfusion.
So why do riders cheat? Why is this one sport under a constant cloud of suspicion and innuendo?
Riders would say that professional cycling is an exhausting endurance sport, with six or more hours in the saddle at high speeds every day for three weeks. Temperatures fluctuate from torrid in valleys to chilling atop mountains. The sport takes a lot out of the men who practise it and they rely on medical help, both legal and, in some cases, not. As long ago as the 1960s, when drug tests began in France, riders used to say the Tour wasn’t won on water.
So corners are cut. Dismayingly, court cases show that this goes on at all levels of the sport, starting with clubs for teenage riders up to the professionals.
Some Tour de France teams – notably two from the United States, Columbia and Garmin –have instituted strict anti-doping programmes with frequent medical examinations. Many teams will automatically suspend any rider who fails a drug test, and often fire him. The governing body of the sport, the International Cycling Union, suspends for two years riders who prove positive and has begun a blood profiling programme to detect abnormal swings in hematocrit, or red-corpuscle, levels.
Yet every now and then, eyebrows are raised. A day after the French sports minister spoke at the Tour, the race stage was won by a 34-year-old Russian, Sergeui Ivanov, six times his country’s road-race champion and the winner of the Amstel Gold Race one-day classic this spring.
Also on his record, according to the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, was this: in the 1998 Tour, he and the rest of his TVM team quit the race to avoid a police investigation of doping. In 2000, he was barred from starting the Tour because his hematocrit level was too high. In 2007, he and the rest of his Astana team were forced to withdraw from the Tour because the leader was found guilty of blood doping.
Some really bad memories, L’Equipe added, without further comment. And none was needed.
Samuel Abt
Samuel Abt has covered cycle racing for more than 30 years and is the author of 10 books on the sport
söndag 26 juli 2009
Over 1,000 doping tests poised at World Athletics Championships
BERLIN, July 24 (Xinhua)Over 1,000 doping tests will be carried out on athletes before and during the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the president of the German Athletics Federation (DLV) has confirmed.
"We are conducting the fight against doping, including at the world championships, with an intensity that touches the limits of what is possible for the sport," Clemens Prokop sais in Berlin.
The worlds is to take place on August 15-23.
"We are conducting the fight against doping, including at the world championships, with an intensity that touches the limits of what is possible for the sport," Clemens Prokop sais in Berlin.
The worlds is to take place on August 15-23.
Italian newspaper names Jamaican dopers
An Italian newspaper has named the five Jamaican athletes, among them a promising young training partner of three-time world record holder Usain Bolt, who failed recent doping tests, calling into question their eligibility for the upcoming World Championships. Gazzetta dello Sport reported this morning that athletes involved are Yohan Blake, the 19-year-old training partner of Bolt, 200m runner Marvin Anderson, Commonwealth Games 100m champion Sheri-Ann Brooks, and 400m runners Allodin Fothergill and Lanceford Spence. Of the names on that list, the first three are the most prominent. In his last two races, Blake has finished second to Bolt in the 100m, at both the Aviva London Grand Prix on Friday and at the Areva Golden League Meeting in Paris on July 17. Blake’s time of 9.93 seconds in Paris, a personal best, ranks as the fifth fastest in the world this season.
Blake, along with Anderson, figure prominently in Jamaica’s 4x100m relay pool. Led by Bolt and Asafa Powell, Jamaica won gold at the Beijing Olympics last summer in a world-record 37.10 seconds. Brooks was a member of the Jamaican women’s 4x100m squad in Beijing. All five athletes were selected to Jamaica’s team for the World Championships in Berlin August 15-23. On Friday, the Jamaican Amateur Athletics Federation, the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, and the International Amateur Athletics Federation all confirmed the positive tests but stated that it was too early in the process to reveal the names of the athletes under suspicion or the substances involved. According to the Jamaica Gleaner, a release sent by Oliver Watt, the Director of Communications in the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, states that of the 43 tests taken at the Jamaican National Championships last month, five revealed “adverse analytical findings.”
While declining to name the substance that resulted in the positive tests, Dr. Herb Elliott, a member of both the IAAF’s Medical and Anti-Doping Commission as well as JADCO, told the Jamaica Gleaner. “I can assure you it wasn’t any major stuff.”
A Reuters source seemed to confirm that notion.
"It's frightening, but all five tested positive for the same drug, although the five trained almost under different circumstances," the official said. "I can tell you that none of the world stars are involved. The drug itself is not an anabolic steroid and is considered a minor drug, meaning that with a good explanation at a hearing, the athlete could get off with a reprimand."
Elliott added that when all of the athletes were officially informed of the test results, a hearing would be held and a request made for the B sample to be tested. That hearing could come as soon as this week. According to JAAA regulations, no sanctions can be levied against the athletes until after that hearing and the possible testing of the B sample.
While often criticized for being slack, Jamaica’s anti-doping stance has been one of zero tolerance. Last July, sprinter Julien Dunkley was dropped from Jamaica's Olympic team and banned for two years after his urine sample turned up with traces of the banned substance Boldenone. Dunkley, who maintains his innocence, would have been part of the gold-medal-winning 4x100m relay squad.
Glen Mills, who coaches Bolt, Blake and Anderson at the Racers Track Club, told The Guardian of London earlier this year that Jamaicans are proud of their track and field reputation and do not take blights lightly.
"Jamaica does not have a drug culture,” Mills said. “We have never had an athlete who has had his entire athletic life in Jamaica have any kind of drug problem. That's just not us. We take our athletics very seriously. The nation at large would be very hurt, and very hard on anybody who would bring their fun into disrepute and the athletes know that. Here we hate cheats.
"Who wants to think what they want will. We can't stop them from saying but we're willing to be tested every day and every minute of the day because we are just training and we've got nothing to hide. You only worry when you've got something to hide."
After winning the 100m at the Aviva London Grand Prix on Friday, Bolt told the BBC that he was saddened by the positive tests but said, "I'm sure it's not me so I'm not really worried."
Powell, who finished sixth in that race, shared the same sentiment.
"It's their bad luck, it's not for me to worry about, and it doesn't affect me one bit,” Powell told reporters. “People might be saying bad stuff now but it doesn't really bother me."
Sat Jul 25, 2009 By Joe Battaglia / Universal Sports
Blake, along with Anderson, figure prominently in Jamaica’s 4x100m relay pool. Led by Bolt and Asafa Powell, Jamaica won gold at the Beijing Olympics last summer in a world-record 37.10 seconds. Brooks was a member of the Jamaican women’s 4x100m squad in Beijing. All five athletes were selected to Jamaica’s team for the World Championships in Berlin August 15-23. On Friday, the Jamaican Amateur Athletics Federation, the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, and the International Amateur Athletics Federation all confirmed the positive tests but stated that it was too early in the process to reveal the names of the athletes under suspicion or the substances involved. According to the Jamaica Gleaner, a release sent by Oliver Watt, the Director of Communications in the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, states that of the 43 tests taken at the Jamaican National Championships last month, five revealed “adverse analytical findings.”
While declining to name the substance that resulted in the positive tests, Dr. Herb Elliott, a member of both the IAAF’s Medical and Anti-Doping Commission as well as JADCO, told the Jamaica Gleaner. “I can assure you it wasn’t any major stuff.”
A Reuters source seemed to confirm that notion.
"It's frightening, but all five tested positive for the same drug, although the five trained almost under different circumstances," the official said. "I can tell you that none of the world stars are involved. The drug itself is not an anabolic steroid and is considered a minor drug, meaning that with a good explanation at a hearing, the athlete could get off with a reprimand."
Elliott added that when all of the athletes were officially informed of the test results, a hearing would be held and a request made for the B sample to be tested. That hearing could come as soon as this week. According to JAAA regulations, no sanctions can be levied against the athletes until after that hearing and the possible testing of the B sample.
While often criticized for being slack, Jamaica’s anti-doping stance has been one of zero tolerance. Last July, sprinter Julien Dunkley was dropped from Jamaica's Olympic team and banned for two years after his urine sample turned up with traces of the banned substance Boldenone. Dunkley, who maintains his innocence, would have been part of the gold-medal-winning 4x100m relay squad.
Glen Mills, who coaches Bolt, Blake and Anderson at the Racers Track Club, told The Guardian of London earlier this year that Jamaicans are proud of their track and field reputation and do not take blights lightly.
"Jamaica does not have a drug culture,” Mills said. “We have never had an athlete who has had his entire athletic life in Jamaica have any kind of drug problem. That's just not us. We take our athletics very seriously. The nation at large would be very hurt, and very hard on anybody who would bring their fun into disrepute and the athletes know that. Here we hate cheats.
"Who wants to think what they want will. We can't stop them from saying but we're willing to be tested every day and every minute of the day because we are just training and we've got nothing to hide. You only worry when you've got something to hide."
After winning the 100m at the Aviva London Grand Prix on Friday, Bolt told the BBC that he was saddened by the positive tests but said, "I'm sure it's not me so I'm not really worried."
Powell, who finished sixth in that race, shared the same sentiment.
"It's their bad luck, it's not for me to worry about, and it doesn't affect me one bit,” Powell told reporters. “People might be saying bad stuff now but it doesn't really bother me."
Sat Jul 25, 2009 By Joe Battaglia / Universal Sports
torsdag 23 juli 2009
Dame Kelly Holmes: medals for all culture risks generation of bad losers
Dame Kelly Holmes has criticised the "medals for all" culture in British schools and said it risks spawning a generation of bad losers.The double Olympic champion said a culture of political correctness had made "competitiveness" a dirty word and had led to the decline of competitive sport in schools.
The 39-year-old former middle distance athlete, who won two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said: "Too often, in these politically sensitive times, it seems that competitiveness is seen as a dirty word.
"I was surprised by how many schools I came across where sports day had been abandoned. It's very important to learn how to lose.
"What you should do is pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again. If everyone gets a prize, where on earth is the incentive to push yourself to do better next time?"
She was speaking a year after the Prime Minister said Labour had made a "tragic mistake" by allowing dozens of councils to scrap competitive sports in schools amid claims children on losing teams could end up psychologically damaged.
After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Government promised to end the "medals for all" culture which had led to the demise of competitive sport.
But Dame Kelly said established policies continue to allow health and safety concerns to come first – dismissing the positive effects of sporting competition.
The retired British record-breaking athlete, who was awarded an honorary degree from Brunel University this week, called for competitive sport to play a much larger part in the school curriculum.
She told Heat magazine: "Competitive sport can increase a child's confidence, develop their social skills and get them fit into the bargain."
Fixtures between schools dropped 70 per cent in the early 1990s following a steady decade-long decline, according to figures from the Secondary Heads Association. But in 2007, Government figures showed numbers were still falling.
The full interview with Dame Kelly appears in this week's Heat magazine.
By Ben Leach
Published: 10:51AM BST 22 Jul 2009
måndag 20 juli 2009
Så knäcktes Dopingen!
Marcus Ljungqvist om varför cykelsporten är ren ”Jakten på fuskarna har blivit en industri” - I år bestämde sig cykelsporten för att det fick vara nog. Dopningfuskarna skulle bort – till varje pris.
Den hänsynslösa jakten har gett resultat, hittills under Giro d’Italia och Tour de France har bara ett enda dopningsfall hittats.
– Rom byggdes inte på en dag, och det är väl tyvärr likadant för anti-dopningsarbetet. Men vi är på rätt väg, säger svenska proffset Marcus Ljungqvist, 34.
I fjol fälldes sju cyklister för dopning under och efter Tour de France, inklusive tre etappvinnare och sammanlagda trean, Bernhard Kohl. Två stall lades ner efter de fällande domarna. En svår smäll för cykelsporten, som redan låg på knä efter alla dopningavslöjanden de senaste åren. Men samtidigt ett steg framåt för dopningsjägarna. Så gott som samtliga cyklister fälldes för att ha använt CERA, en ny form av bloddopning som cyklisterna inte trodde kunde hittas. I år har jakten intensifierats ytterligare. Samtliga ryttare fick i lördags, när touren inleddes, lämna två blodprov. Under de 21 etapperna kommer 500 tester att göras, mer än dubbelt så många som i fjol. Både toppåkare och såna som tidigare har dragit till sig dopningpolisens misstankar kommer att testas. Dessutom har det biologiska passet nu börjat komma igång på allvar. 800 åkare har lämnat både blod- och urinprov som senare tester kan jämföras med.
– Jakten har blivit en industri. Samarbetet mellan de olika myndigheterna har också blivit bättre, säger Marcus Ljungqvist.
Ingen ska känna sig säker I fjol brast samarbetet mellan det internationella cykelförbundet och den franska anti-dopning polisen. Men under vintern reddes de interna striderna ut, och parterna gör nu allt för att sätta fast fuskarna – ingen som har dopat sig ska känna sig säker.
Ljungqvist har en idé om hur dopningsarbetet hade kunnat underlättas ytterligare.
– Det bästa hade ju varit om alla läkemedel som hamnar på dopningslistan hade fått ett spårämne tillsatt, så att det lätt skulle kunna gå att se om någon dopat sig. Det görs fler tester i dag, men samtidigt dyker det ju upp nya preparat hela tiden. Med spårmedel så hade det problemet varit borta. Men det är klart, alla förstår ju att det är en miljonindustri för läkemedelsföretagen. De har tjänat stora pengar på att idrottarna proppar i sig dopningspreparat, säger han.
Cykel är den sport som drabbats hårdast av fusk, men är också den idrott som jobbat mest mot det. Ändå har sportens status smutsats ner av alla positiva test och det är inte alla som vill prata om det.
När Sportbladet ringer upp Eurosports populäre cykelkommentator Roberto Vacchi suckar han bara.
– Jag vill inte prata om dopning, det har inte varit ett positivt fall inom cykelsporten på jag vet inte hur länge.
Men det är just det artikeln ska handla om?
– Äh, skriv om någon skidåkare eller friidrottare i stället. Jag orkar inte snacka.
Marcus Ljungqvist är mer pratglad.
– Cykel har fått en stämpel som en sport full av fuskare. Nu är vi på rätt väg, men det är upp till oss att göra resultat och samtidigt hålla oss rena.
Aftonbladet Sport
Publicerad: 2009-07-19
Henrik Lundgren
Den hänsynslösa jakten har gett resultat, hittills under Giro d’Italia och Tour de France har bara ett enda dopningsfall hittats.
– Rom byggdes inte på en dag, och det är väl tyvärr likadant för anti-dopningsarbetet. Men vi är på rätt väg, säger svenska proffset Marcus Ljungqvist, 34.
I fjol fälldes sju cyklister för dopning under och efter Tour de France, inklusive tre etappvinnare och sammanlagda trean, Bernhard Kohl. Två stall lades ner efter de fällande domarna. En svår smäll för cykelsporten, som redan låg på knä efter alla dopningavslöjanden de senaste åren. Men samtidigt ett steg framåt för dopningsjägarna. Så gott som samtliga cyklister fälldes för att ha använt CERA, en ny form av bloddopning som cyklisterna inte trodde kunde hittas. I år har jakten intensifierats ytterligare. Samtliga ryttare fick i lördags, när touren inleddes, lämna två blodprov. Under de 21 etapperna kommer 500 tester att göras, mer än dubbelt så många som i fjol. Både toppåkare och såna som tidigare har dragit till sig dopningpolisens misstankar kommer att testas. Dessutom har det biologiska passet nu börjat komma igång på allvar. 800 åkare har lämnat både blod- och urinprov som senare tester kan jämföras med.
– Jakten har blivit en industri. Samarbetet mellan de olika myndigheterna har också blivit bättre, säger Marcus Ljungqvist.
Ingen ska känna sig säker I fjol brast samarbetet mellan det internationella cykelförbundet och den franska anti-dopning polisen. Men under vintern reddes de interna striderna ut, och parterna gör nu allt för att sätta fast fuskarna – ingen som har dopat sig ska känna sig säker.
Ljungqvist har en idé om hur dopningsarbetet hade kunnat underlättas ytterligare.
– Det bästa hade ju varit om alla läkemedel som hamnar på dopningslistan hade fått ett spårämne tillsatt, så att det lätt skulle kunna gå att se om någon dopat sig. Det görs fler tester i dag, men samtidigt dyker det ju upp nya preparat hela tiden. Med spårmedel så hade det problemet varit borta. Men det är klart, alla förstår ju att det är en miljonindustri för läkemedelsföretagen. De har tjänat stora pengar på att idrottarna proppar i sig dopningspreparat, säger han.
Cykel är den sport som drabbats hårdast av fusk, men är också den idrott som jobbat mest mot det. Ändå har sportens status smutsats ner av alla positiva test och det är inte alla som vill prata om det.
När Sportbladet ringer upp Eurosports populäre cykelkommentator Roberto Vacchi suckar han bara.
– Jag vill inte prata om dopning, det har inte varit ett positivt fall inom cykelsporten på jag vet inte hur länge.
Men det är just det artikeln ska handla om?
– Äh, skriv om någon skidåkare eller friidrottare i stället. Jag orkar inte snacka.
Marcus Ljungqvist är mer pratglad.
– Cykel har fått en stämpel som en sport full av fuskare. Nu är vi på rätt väg, men det är upp till oss att göra resultat och samtidigt hålla oss rena.
Aftonbladet Sport
Publicerad: 2009-07-19
Henrik Lundgren
More Asian teens 'using steroids'
A growing number of young Asians are using steroids to try and build up muscle and achieve the perfect body, according to drugs workers.
John Bolloten, a needle exchange co-ordinator in Bradford, said the number of Asians using his centre has jumped from about 5% to between 25% and 30%.
While only a small number traditionally used street drugs, they were now "primarily using steroids", he said.
Most anabolic steroids are classified as class C drugs.
The drug increases testosterone levels in the body, which then helps muscles absorb protein and boosts their growth.
Mr Bolloten told the BBC Asian Network steroid users visiting the needle exchange in Bradford were also getting younger.
"It worries us because the people who are coming forward to use needle exchanges are becoming younger, so we seeing people at their late teens to mid 20s - they are forming a big percentage."
Needle exchange centres in Luton have also reported a significant increase in Asian men using their services. They said 84% of Asians visiting them take steroids.
'Look the part'
Abu, 26, from Bradford, said he has a high-protein diet, works out every day and has been using steroids for eight years.
"It's that image, everyone wants to look good, look the part, I always wanted to look good, have the six pack, the biceps and big calves."
He describes himself as a skinny, average teenager who wanted to beef up after seeing his brothers use steroids.
But he recognises there can be some unwelcome side-effects.
"Some of my friends who take them have flipped out and done crazy stuff. It plays with your sex drive, without a doubt, it does worry me, you always think the worst, what if I can't have kids?"
“ I think if I stopped I wouldn't feel as good or great about myself ”
People who use anabolic steroids usually either inject a cocktail of hormone growth substances into their body or take them orally as pills.
Steroids are not illegal to possess but it is illegal to sell them. They can have dangerous side effects and cause aggression, mood swings, baldness, infertility and in some cases heart attacks.
Charities like Bridge, a drug treatment charity in Bradford, say most people buy them online, from their personal trainers or friends who have imported them from places like Pakistan.
'Easy fix'
Barry Langleyman, a specialist harm reduction worker at the charity, said there is too much pressure on teenagers to look good.
"They see it as an easy fix, and they won't have to put as much effort into their training. It does increase their performance in the gyms - they can lift bigger weights, their stamina increases and endurance.
"They do work, that's what we are up against - we can't argue, we have to accept they do work."
He said he is worried about the ignorance surrounding steroid use.
"They don't see it as drug use they see it as a supplement to training regime. They will often go into a shop thinking you can buy them over the counter."
Part of the problem is often when people come through the door, they have already started a course, he said.
"The practice around here is people who sell it will give them the first few injections. By the time they come to us, they've spent their money, so to try and pull them back from that is very, very difficult."
But not everyone wants to be helped.
"I think if I stopped I wouldn't feel as good or great about myself. A lot of girls come to you and look at your biceps - it can be quite flattering at times," said Abu.
"If I don't train I get depressed, I don't feel as good. When I train I feel happy."
By Gurvinder Aujla
BBC Asian Network
Story from BBC NEWS
John Bolloten, a needle exchange co-ordinator in Bradford, said the number of Asians using his centre has jumped from about 5% to between 25% and 30%.
While only a small number traditionally used street drugs, they were now "primarily using steroids", he said.
Most anabolic steroids are classified as class C drugs.
The drug increases testosterone levels in the body, which then helps muscles absorb protein and boosts their growth.
Mr Bolloten told the BBC Asian Network steroid users visiting the needle exchange in Bradford were also getting younger.
"It worries us because the people who are coming forward to use needle exchanges are becoming younger, so we seeing people at their late teens to mid 20s - they are forming a big percentage."
Needle exchange centres in Luton have also reported a significant increase in Asian men using their services. They said 84% of Asians visiting them take steroids.
'Look the part'
Abu, 26, from Bradford, said he has a high-protein diet, works out every day and has been using steroids for eight years.
"It's that image, everyone wants to look good, look the part, I always wanted to look good, have the six pack, the biceps and big calves."
He describes himself as a skinny, average teenager who wanted to beef up after seeing his brothers use steroids.
But he recognises there can be some unwelcome side-effects.
"Some of my friends who take them have flipped out and done crazy stuff. It plays with your sex drive, without a doubt, it does worry me, you always think the worst, what if I can't have kids?"
“ I think if I stopped I wouldn't feel as good or great about myself ”
People who use anabolic steroids usually either inject a cocktail of hormone growth substances into their body or take them orally as pills.
Steroids are not illegal to possess but it is illegal to sell them. They can have dangerous side effects and cause aggression, mood swings, baldness, infertility and in some cases heart attacks.
Charities like Bridge, a drug treatment charity in Bradford, say most people buy them online, from their personal trainers or friends who have imported them from places like Pakistan.
'Easy fix'
Barry Langleyman, a specialist harm reduction worker at the charity, said there is too much pressure on teenagers to look good.
"They see it as an easy fix, and they won't have to put as much effort into their training. It does increase their performance in the gyms - they can lift bigger weights, their stamina increases and endurance.
"They do work, that's what we are up against - we can't argue, we have to accept they do work."
He said he is worried about the ignorance surrounding steroid use.
"They don't see it as drug use they see it as a supplement to training regime. They will often go into a shop thinking you can buy them over the counter."
Part of the problem is often when people come through the door, they have already started a course, he said.
"The practice around here is people who sell it will give them the first few injections. By the time they come to us, they've spent their money, so to try and pull them back from that is very, very difficult."
But not everyone wants to be helped.
"I think if I stopped I wouldn't feel as good or great about myself. A lot of girls come to you and look at your biceps - it can be quite flattering at times," said Abu.
"If I don't train I get depressed, I don't feel as good. When I train I feel happy."
By Gurvinder Aujla
BBC Asian Network
Story from BBC NEWS
fredag 17 juli 2009
Poll- kids dont look up to cheating athletes!
Kids are more grown-up than you think.
A poll of more than 1,000 children conducted by Sports Illustrated Kids and C&R Research found that 30% of the 8- to 14-year-olds surveyed believe the use of performance-enhancing drugs is the biggest problem in professional sports. Eighty-six percent say athletes proven to have used PEDs should be barred from their sports’ Hall of Fame. An even more encouraging sign of young America’s intelligence: The study found that 78% of kids say a parent is their most important role model, while only 3% said their most important role model is an athlete.
July 16, 2009
A poll of more than 1,000 children conducted by Sports Illustrated Kids and C&R Research found that 30% of the 8- to 14-year-olds surveyed believe the use of performance-enhancing drugs is the biggest problem in professional sports. Eighty-six percent say athletes proven to have used PEDs should be barred from their sports’ Hall of Fame. An even more encouraging sign of young America’s intelligence: The study found that 78% of kids say a parent is their most important role model, while only 3% said their most important role model is an athlete.
July 16, 2009
måndag 13 juli 2009
'I know that some people think I'm on drugs. I know how the sport is'
Wiggins flying, but drugs not on menu
Saint Girons, France - Olympic pursuit king Bradley Wiggins has moved to end doubts surrounding his superb form on the Tour de France by insisting his performances are not drugs-related.
Wiggins started and finished the eighth stage of the race Saturday in fifth place overall at 46secs behind overnight race leader Rinaldo Nocentini, who is being trailed by both Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.
As part of a team aiming to put Christian Vande Velde into race contention after his fifth place finish last year, Wiggins has so far stolen most of the American's limelight.
'I know that some people think I'm on drugs. I know how the sport is'
A time trial specialist whose background is in track, Wiggins' new status as an emerging all-rounder has prompted some surprise at the Tour.
The Londoner believes a strict diet and a "lot of racing" have helped get him in supreme physical shape, but he insists that he is not using drugs - and that his ability to survive the killer climbs shows the peloton is cleaner as well.
"I know that some people think I'm on drugs. I know how the sport is," said Wiggins, who won two pursuit gold medals in Beijing last year.
"The sport changed so much in the past three years. I was inspired by Christian's performance last year and maybe I realised that on this Tour you don't have to be on drugs to do well."
Wiggins' Garmin team claims to base much of its philosophy on ethics; in layman's terms 'they don't do drugs'.
'I can never get away from that tag unfortunately.'
Wiggins' improving climbing form emerged most notably on the difficult mountain stage to Alpe di Siusi on the Giro d'Italia last month.
Despite finishing 1:47 behind stage winner Denis Menchov, Wiggins finished over a minute ahead of seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong.
And in the lead-up to the Tour, he had a simple philosophy.
"I've just ridden my bike. Ride my bike, eat less. It's quite simple really," he said Saturday.
Now two kilos lighter than he was at the Giro, Wiggins aims to maintain that form until the crucial third week so that Vande Velde, who crashed out of the Giro injured, can race himself into yellow jersey contention.
"I just want to keep helping Christian and be out there as long as possible. The Alps are going to be more important so I'm trying not to get too carried away with anything," he added.
"My personal objective before the Tour was to finish in top 20, but we'll see how it goes.
"I'm just going to keep plugging away, taking it day by day. I'd like to get through the Pyrenees in the same condition, then get through the second week - I've got two arms and two legs like everyone else - and we'll see how it goes in the third week.
"I believe I'm in good physical condition to do something in this Tour."
Asked again when he had found his climbing legs, he added: "I never found them really, I've always had them. I just stopped track (cycling) and lost weight. The rest is science.
"I'm two kilos lighter than I was at the Giro, so I'm kind of putting out the same power."
Although Wiggins, who is now an OBE (Order of the British Empire), is likely to resume track racing ahead of the London Games in 2012, his reputation as just a track rider continues to precede him.
"I can never get away from that tag unfortunately. I don't know what the fascination is with the track, everyone keeps asking - it's still an endurance sport," he added.
"It's easier for me to just say I'm a trackie, then everyone goes, 'yeah he's a trackie, but he's doing great at the Tour'." - Sapa-AFP
By Justin Davis
Photo: Ren Idrott
New steriod test based on oil exploration technique.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed a new, highly sensitive, anti-doping steroid test using hydropyrolysis. It’s a technique that has previously been used for oil exploration. The technique is also used to refine current radio carbon dating processes using carbon 14 isotope.
The process uses high pressure environments to investigate the chemical structure and make-up of a sample. It is refined at the University to develop highly accurate tests for detecting levels of illicit steroids in urine.
From Medical News Today:
Funding from the Natural Environment Research Council’s Ocean Margins LINK programme saw researchers take the hydropyrolysis technique and apply it to geochemical studies.
Colin Snape, Professor of Chemical Technology and Chemical Engineering at the University, said: “Steroids are produced naturally in the body, but they have a different carbon 13/carbon 12 ratios to those that have been introduced illicitly. By refining the measurements of these two isotopes we can produce a very accurate test for the presence of illegal steroids in athletes.
“We are currently working with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to develop the technique for trial and have entered into partnership with Strata Technology, a London-based company with expertise in high pressure equipment, to commercialize the technique.”
Professor Snape is an expert on hydropyrolysis - he’s been working on the technique, both in industry and academia, for the past 25 years. Over the coming year he hopes to refine the testing process, exploring optimum sample sizes and checking the sensitivity of the technique, working with WADA and experts in steroid testing from Imperial College London.
The process uses high pressure environments to investigate the chemical structure and make-up of a sample. It is refined at the University to develop highly accurate tests for detecting levels of illicit steroids in urine.
From Medical News Today:
Funding from the Natural Environment Research Council’s Ocean Margins LINK programme saw researchers take the hydropyrolysis technique and apply it to geochemical studies.
Colin Snape, Professor of Chemical Technology and Chemical Engineering at the University, said: “Steroids are produced naturally in the body, but they have a different carbon 13/carbon 12 ratios to those that have been introduced illicitly. By refining the measurements of these two isotopes we can produce a very accurate test for the presence of illegal steroids in athletes.
“We are currently working with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to develop the technique for trial and have entered into partnership with Strata Technology, a London-based company with expertise in high pressure equipment, to commercialize the technique.”
Professor Snape is an expert on hydropyrolysis - he’s been working on the technique, both in industry and academia, for the past 25 years. Over the coming year he hopes to refine the testing process, exploring optimum sample sizes and checking the sensitivity of the technique, working with WADA and experts in steroid testing from Imperial College London.
fredag 10 juli 2009
Dwain Chambers finds ally in battle to compete at 2012 Olympics
The World Anti-Doping Agency has reopened the debate about Dwain Chambers' eligibility for the London Olympics.
It expressed concern at his treatment and called on the British authorities to let him "go about his daily business untainted".
Chambers, who will be competing this weekend in the World Championship trials in Birmingham, has served a mandatory two-year ban for doping offences, yet was still prevented from representing Britain at last year's Olympics.
A British Olympic Association bylaw gives a lifetime ban to anyone convicted of a doping offence. Christine Ohuruogu successfully appealed after missing three drugs tests and went on to win a gold medal in Beijing.
UK Athletics selected Chambers for the individual events at the recent European Cup but he has been excluded from the main European meetings and has already been told that he will not be considered for the 100 metres relay at the World Championships in Berlin.
"I don't know why he is being singled out," said David Howman, the director general of WADA. "It does not feel right when you see he is still subjected to things that maybe others haven't. Is he subjected to those because he owned up? Sure he was a bad cheat. You shouldn't wear a nasty stain [because you owned up]. That's not fair.
"We are concerned from a human point of view. He has been sanctioned and he has served his sanction and he should be able to go about his daily business untainted. That is normal human behaviour for someone who has served their time.
"Fairness prevails and once you have served your time you are not subject to double jeopardy. That is a basic human, let alone legal, process. It [an admission] is significant because if an athlete has cheated and is prepared to say what is going on, then we should be listening."
Chambers failed to gain an injunction that would have allowed him to compete at Beijing. Howman, who was a practising barrister before working for WADA, said that the BOA's stance differed from doping law in the vast majority of other countries and said the bylaw needed to be legally tested.
"The BOA have a rule that I think only one other Olympic association has in the world," Howman told The Daily Telegraph. "He was challenging it and only reached an interim stage. I would have been very interested if that challenge was continued in court to see what the judge would have said. The interim judgment had nothing to do with the merits of the case, it was only whether he should have an interim injunction or not.
"The principles around that have nothing to do with it, so the case is yet to be heard. There needs to be a court decision on that rule."
Cyclist David Millar is also considering a challenge to the BOA bylaw so that he can compete in London in 2012. Millar has admitted to doping offences, served his ban and since worked with anti-doping organisations in an attempt to educate other athletes. He will decide what action he might take after the Tour de France
By Jeremy Wilson
Published: 5:26PM BST 09 Jul 2009
It expressed concern at his treatment and called on the British authorities to let him "go about his daily business untainted".
Chambers, who will be competing this weekend in the World Championship trials in Birmingham, has served a mandatory two-year ban for doping offences, yet was still prevented from representing Britain at last year's Olympics.
A British Olympic Association bylaw gives a lifetime ban to anyone convicted of a doping offence. Christine Ohuruogu successfully appealed after missing three drugs tests and went on to win a gold medal in Beijing.
UK Athletics selected Chambers for the individual events at the recent European Cup but he has been excluded from the main European meetings and has already been told that he will not be considered for the 100 metres relay at the World Championships in Berlin.
"I don't know why he is being singled out," said David Howman, the director general of WADA. "It does not feel right when you see he is still subjected to things that maybe others haven't. Is he subjected to those because he owned up? Sure he was a bad cheat. You shouldn't wear a nasty stain [because you owned up]. That's not fair.
"We are concerned from a human point of view. He has been sanctioned and he has served his sanction and he should be able to go about his daily business untainted. That is normal human behaviour for someone who has served their time.
"Fairness prevails and once you have served your time you are not subject to double jeopardy. That is a basic human, let alone legal, process. It [an admission] is significant because if an athlete has cheated and is prepared to say what is going on, then we should be listening."
Chambers failed to gain an injunction that would have allowed him to compete at Beijing. Howman, who was a practising barrister before working for WADA, said that the BOA's stance differed from doping law in the vast majority of other countries and said the bylaw needed to be legally tested.
"The BOA have a rule that I think only one other Olympic association has in the world," Howman told The Daily Telegraph. "He was challenging it and only reached an interim stage. I would have been very interested if that challenge was continued in court to see what the judge would have said. The interim judgment had nothing to do with the merits of the case, it was only whether he should have an interim injunction or not.
"The principles around that have nothing to do with it, so the case is yet to be heard. There needs to be a court decision on that rule."
Cyclist David Millar is also considering a challenge to the BOA bylaw so that he can compete in London in 2012. Millar has admitted to doping offences, served his ban and since worked with anti-doping organisations in an attempt to educate other athletes. He will decide what action he might take after the Tour de France
By Jeremy Wilson
Published: 5:26PM BST 09 Jul 2009
tisdag 7 juli 2009
Jag fångade Lance...
...två gånger! Hiken upp till Le Turpien var het och intensiv. Vi hade startat tidigt men redan under förmiddagens tidiga timmar stod solen hög. Vatten. I byn Ese fann vi ett quaint litet café, typ "hole in the wall" med underbart franskt kaffe och kicken var perfekt för att åter vara på topp inför den ankommande caravanen. Så kom den. Som barn hoppade vi och fångade. Hattar, väskor, nyckelringar och minikorvar - allt fylldes i den åtråvärda Confidis bagen vi minuter innan lyckats få. Skratt. Timmar av förväntan. Så hördes de. Först som avlägset muller för att sakta komma närmare och snart hördes de välkända "fläbbet" av de ankommande helikopterna. Närmare. Jag hade den perfekta positionen. Precis ur vänsterkurvan, lite rakt, för att sedan ta en snäv höger och ned för rakan. Alé! I ett muller av ekrar och hjul i 55km/h formligen flög dom. Killen med 9 bild a sec kameran såg förnöjd ut. Mitt finger i kramp. "Fick du han?!!" - Yeah, sure. Absolut! Vart!?". Well... Inom loppet av sekunder var uplevelse Tour de France Etapp 2 över och sakta började vi gå nerför. "Men, Jag är helt säker!"... Sure Mia, sure. Följande picknic med goda vänner och vin förgyllde eftermiddagen och trot om ni vill. Dagarna efter när allt laddats ner. Där var han! Mitt i klungan! och jag, ja lovordar kamera features som digital och förstoring!
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