By Eddie Arnet
From the Canadian Cycling Association:
National team mountain bike athlete Chris Sheppard was given a two year suspension yesterday after he was found to have evidence of recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) in his system.
Mr. Sheppard was subject to an out-of-competition urine test at his home in Kamloops, BC, on May 29, 2005; the presence of rEPO in his A-sample was communicated to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport on June 15, and confirmed in his B-sample on July 4.
The matter was referred to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada as provided for in the Canadian Anti-Doping Program rules, and the final decision of the arbitrator was handed down yesterday. In accordance with CCES and WADA rules, Mr. Sheppard was given the minimum two year suspension for a first time doping offense. In addition, he is now permanently ineligible to receive financial support from the federal government.
The Canadian Cycling Association is firm in its commitment to the fight against doping, and is satisfied the CCES and the SDRCC fulfilled their roles in an exemplary manner during this process.
"Every positive doping test is profoundly disappointing and has a negative effect on the image of cycling and elite sport in general," said CCA High Performance Director Kris Westwood. "Canada enjoys a reputation for fair play in the international arena, and we must do our best to preserve our good image by catching and punishing doping offenders. If there is a silver lining to this incident, it is that the system works."
Chris Sheppard rides for Haro. He placed 8th and 7th overall in the NORBA National XC and ST series.
WHAT IS EPO
Erythropoietin is a drug that builds endurance by boosting the amount of oxygen rich red blood cells. The more red blood cells, the more oxygen the blood can carry. When the blood is supercharged with oxygen the rider can cycle harder for longer periods of time. Erythropoietin makes a huge performance difference.
Doping with EPO used to turn the blood into molasses and would eventually cause the rider's heart to stop. The current crop of designer EPO is harder to detect and less detrimental to the athlete. But it's still cheating, just like running cheater gas in your 2-stroke.
HOW DO THEY TEST ATHLETES?
For an international cycling federation to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee, the country must be willing to adopt and implement the World Anti-Doping Code. This ruling has streamlined the anti-doping statute to a consistent set of rules that is followed by all of the different cycling federations throughout the world.
In-competition testing is easy. The athlete is on site. The officials randomly select a finish position, rider ranking, etc. to test. At any time during the competition the athlete is asked to supply a urine sample. The sample is brought to a lab and tested. If the sample is found to be positive the athlete will receive the appropriate suspension. The fitting suspension is determined through a committee formed by the sanctioning body, along with input from the IOC and WADA. The severity of the athlete's cheating is weighed, along with his racing background. Once the suspension is handed down, it will be usually be retroactive back to the date of the test. That means the athlete's race results from the test date to the date of the announcement of the positive result will be thrown out.
WHAT IS AN OUT-OF-COMPETITION TEST?
Just because an athlete tested clean during the competition period doesn't mean that he isn't engaging in performance-enhancing tomfoolery. He could be doping to boost fitness during the off-season or between breaks. The IOC, WADA and national cycling federations all want the riders to be clean year 'round. So without notice they can drop in on you at anytime and request that you supply a urine sample. If the rider's cycling federation is the one that initiates the out-of-competitions test, they must first receive authorization from the UCI or other anti-doping organization.
HOW CAN A 6 MONTH SUSPENSION LAST FOR 9 MONTHS?
This happened to Canadian Roland Green not long ago. The two-time World Champ got popped for prednisolone while competing at the World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium last year. Prednisolone is a substance commonly found in medication used in the treatment of asthma. It is also on the list of banned substances. Green has a documented history of exercise-induced asthma. Only if it is for medical reasons, it's possible to receive an exemption for a particular banned substance. To do such you must file paperwork on the doctor's orders with your cycling federation and the UCI. In this instance Green failed to have his paperwork completed before leaving to Europe. He was tested and was found guilty.
Since he was "cheating" only by faulty paperwork, the UCI's Anti-doping Commission went easy on him. He received a six month suspension commencing on July 4, 2004 and terminating on April 4, 2005. The reason it covers a nine month span is because the suspension includes the normal period of inactivity for a MTB rider from November 1 to January 31.
WHO WAS THE FIRST BIG NAME RIDER TO CHEAT?
Last year 2003 World Champion Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) was busted for EPO during an in-competition test at the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup in Canada. (A race he won.) When the positive was announced Meirhaeghe retired from mountain biking |