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The Tour de France, shown in 2006 above, has come under fire as many cyclists have been linked to doping. This week’s Cascade Cycling Classic in Central Oregon brings U.S. cycling under the microscope, though many feel the sport is cleaner here than abroad.
AP file; Melissa Jansson / The Bulletin file
The dope show?
Doping casts a shadow over international cycling and the Tour de France.
By Mark Morical / The Bulletin
Published: July 09. 2007 4:00AM PSTThe Tour de France has become the Tour de Farce. The doping scandals that have shrouded cycling in Europe have left followers of the sport to wonder if any of the riders are clean. Last year’s Tour de France winner, American Floyd Landis, may be stripped of his title for using performance-enhancing drugs. Doubt has once again been cast over the validity of Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories. And several high-profile cyclists have recently admitted to doping during their careers.
It’s obvious that cheating is running rampant in cycling in Europe, where the best cyclists race.
But what about in America? Is domestic cycling in the United States facing the same issues? Will there be doped riders at this week’s Cascade Cycling Classic here in Central Oregon?
The Classic, which starts on Wednesday, includes many of the top cyclists in this country. Are they doing the same things that riders in Europe are doing to gain an advantage?
Many involved in U.S. cycling say most domestic riders are clean.
“I feel the sport is definitely cleaner here in America,” says Toyota-United’s Chris Wherry, last year’s CCC winner. “I don’t think it (doping) has cast as much of a shadow over here. (The sport has) suffered worldwide. But cycling in America is healthy and strong, and I think we’re in a good position here.”
While Landis tested positive for synthetic testosterone, which increases strength, other leading cyclists in Europe have tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), which boosts red blood cells to increase endurance. Because of advances in testing for EPO, leading riders have reportedly turned to another form of blood doping: storing their blood, spinning it in a centrifuge to rid it of plasma, then re-injecting the red blood cells — a process designed to increase stamina.
The level of cheating sophistication in Europe, cycling experts say, does not exist in America. There is just not enough money in domestic cycling here to fund such elaborate drug regimens, says Kirk Willett of Bend, team director for Toyota-United, one of the most successful American domestic teams.
“It’s definitely a different level in Europe,” Willett says. “It’s much more sophisticated, with much more money involved. That doesn’t mean it (cheating) doesn’t happen here. But in general, it’s much cleaner. Things are going in the right direction. The vast majority of cyclists competing in the U.S. are up-and-up clean athletes.”
Scott Moninger, a four-time Cascade Cycling Classic winner, says a cyclist in Europe making $1 million per year can probably afford to give 10 percent to what Moninger calls a “medical program.” A domestic cyclist could likely not afford that, Moninger says, noting that while cyclists racing in the United States can earn up to $10,000 or more per month, the figure can also be as little as $1,000 per month, or less.
And they probably would not bother with doping even if they could afford it, Moninger says.
“A lot of guys here got into the sport for the love of the sport,” he insists. “In Europe, they look at it as more of a job.”
Moninger says he knows of only two domestic cyclists who have tested positive for EPO in the last two or three years. He also says he knows of no United States racers who have tested positive for the more extreme form of blood doping.
But domestic racers are not tested nearly as frequently as competitors in Europe, according to Ed Beamon, team director for Navigators, which races in Europe and the United States and will bring eight riders to the Cascade Cycling Classic.
“A race like Cascade, there might be some testing, but there probably won’t,” Beamon says. “The Tour de France, on every single stage there’ll be testing, before and after.
“Here in the states, if you’re in the elite pool, with Olympic potential, you’ll get randomly tested periodically. At the very least, one to two races a month will have testing at it. It’s not few and far between, but compared to Europe, it’s not as prevalent. But there is increasingly more of it as the sport grows.”
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) conducts most of the tests on domestic racers. In Europe, the International Cycling Union (UCI) oversees the testing.
Wherry, who says his Toyota-United team has a zero-tolerance doping policy, would like to see more testing in the United States.
“We get randomly tested at any time and we also get tested at events,” Wherry says. “I think the more testing there is, the better it is for the sport.
“I know when I win races, I’m a clean racer and I can compete at the highest levels of the sport.”
Moninger says he is among 40 or 50 highly ranked domestic cyclists who are tested randomly, two to three times per month. The USADA officials will show up unannounced at his home in Boulder, Colo.
“They’ve shown those tests to be more effective,” Moninger says. “You may not see testing at Cascade, but there’s a chance the top 10 guys were tested in the days before.”
Moninger says he is tested at about every second or third race in which he competes.
Beamon says that despite relatively infrequent testing, doping in United States cycling is not nearly as widespread as in Europe.
“I don’t think doping is the norm in America,” he says. “I would say there probably are athletes who dope, but I don’t think it’s an epidemic. When you look at percentages, and look at the number of guys who got tested, the percentage of guys who test negative, it’s truly not the problem the media plays it up to be.”
Stories like this one have come to dominate coverage of cycling both in the United States and in Europe. Beamon and others close to the sport believe cycling is getting an unfair spin in the media. Daily race coverage of cycling in American mainstream media is a rarity, they contend, while stories on drug scandals are easy to find.
“In America, the media doesn’t report a lot on the competition,” Beamon says. “We live in a society that thrives on sensationalism, and the spectacle of controversy always grabs headlines. We don’t have any race reporting in the media to counterbalance this negative reporting, like other sports.”
Beamon says that cycling, certainly in the Unites States and probably in Europe, will survive the scandals.
“Sponsorships may be harmed, but it’s a very rewarding game,” Beamon says. “It’s a community festival. You look at Bend (the CCC). There’s very few sports that bring that kind of community and that kind of intimacy. It’s a beautiful game to watch, even if you have no idea what’s going on.
“It’s way too complex and rewarding of an endeavor to be permanently tarnished by the actions of a few.”
Mark Morical can be reached at 383-0318 or at
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