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Geraint Thomas in Bayern Rundfahrt leader's jersey 2014 (picture credit Bayern Rundfahrt)Geraint Thomas says claim 90 per cent of riders still doping is “insulting”
Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas says a claim that as many as 90 per cent of riders in today’s peloton could be doping is “insulting” and says he would bet all the money he has that team mates Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome are riding clean.
The Welsh rider, currently 10th overall at Paris-Nice, was speaking to BBC Sport following the publication yesterday of the report by Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) into the culture of doping in cycling, including the years when use of substances such as EPO was commonplace.
The report suggested that use of performance enhancing drugs is still rife in the sport, although estimates of just how much vary widely, with the CIRC saying one “respected former professional” putting the figure at 90 per cent of riders, while another interviewed by the commission estimated 20 per cent.
Inevitably, it’s the higher figure that has received most attention, with many media outlets – including BBC Sport – highlighting that one, instead of the lower one in what is, after all, a very wide range.
In a video interview at the end of yesterday’s stage, Thomas told the BBC: “I think it’s a hell of a lot cleaner. I didn’t race back then, but all the stories you hear it’s certainly not like that now. Whole teams were doing it back then.
“I can only comment on me and this team and I know we do it [ride clean], and I certainly do it 100 per cent.
“It’s quite insulting when people say it’s still really filthy, because that’s saying that I’m doing something wrong, and I dedicate everything to this.
“You do everything you can, you sleep well, you try not to eat, try and get skinny. It’s hard bloody work and it’s insulting when they say something like that. It’s not very nice.”
The CIRC’s report was based partly on interviews with 174 individuals including past and present riders, the majority of whom have been sanctioned for or admitted doping, including Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and Alexander Vinokourov.
It found that in contrast to the past when many teams ran internal doping programmes, for today’s peloton, “a common response ... when asked about teams, was that probably 3 or 4 were clean, 3 or 4 were doping, and the rest were a 'don’t know'."
Thomas said: “I can only comment on this team I don’t know what other teams do, if they were doing something I’m sure they wouldn’t tell me.
“But the thing is also, the older riders who have done it in the past, they’re the most cynical about it all because they don’t know anything else and they don’t think you can do it any other way.
“You certainly can,” he maintained. “Look at Brad, look at Froomey, I’d put all the money I have that they’re clean. Obviously I can’t say 100 per cent, but 99.9999, you know.”
Those interviewed by the CIRC were able to ask for their identity not to be disclosed, but the names of most were published in the report, with 2013 Tour de France champion Froome the only current rider listed.
That led the recently retired David Millar, who said the report did not reflect the reality of the peloton now, to ask yesterday, “Where are the others?”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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[/quote] 6/10 on the UCI's suspicion of doping index
http://road.cc/content/news/35792-lequipe-publishes-ucis-secret-index-do...
Ahh - the one that had Wiggins as suspicious as Vinokourov... and both of them more dodgy looking than Armstrong...
When did all the cast offs from Cycling News come onto this site?
Hang on - is this the same Geraint Thomas who registered a mighty high 6/10 on the UCI's suspicion of doping index along with Egoi Martinez, Francesco Reda, Alessandro Petacchi and Mauro Santambrogio, all of whom have been sanctioned?
Maybe that's a different Geraint.
The same report gave Lloyd Mondory 0/10.
Maybe old Lloydy was indeed clean in 2010 when the list was done but got fed up getting hammered by the 90% that the headline says are on the gear so made the switch in 2014 onwards?
I was very surprised that there were Team Sky riders that ranked over 1/10. I mean didn't the writers of the report know that the team is BRITISH and therefore not able to cheat??
I feel sorry for the lads thinking they need to keep taking the Tramadol and caffeine and then wondering why they keep falling off. May be legal but not the sort of high end sport you would want to get your own kids into.
As Joe Queenan said last week: the internet is ⅓ porn and ⅔ hate.
Nice to see so many footie fans taking up cycling but if you've nothing constructive to add then don't post.
It's boring and hypocritical. If GT turned up on your Sunday ride you'd have your phone out for a selfie straight away.
Roche and Kelly retired years ago anyway. How are they relevant?
One guy says 90% - we don't know who he is or how he would know. It's not like you'd happily be telling everyone what you are on.
Another guy says that's rubbish and there's no positive tests from his team so I will go with his views.
Of course other pro sports have massive drug problems but don't want to scare sponsorship off so don't really look for the drugs.
Whats the average wage in the premier league? That would buy a Lot of PED's.
There's a lot of hate on the forum here. I don't know why you bother with cycling? Stick to your footy.
Sorry to be a pedant, but Roche and Kelly are Irish.
A report base on "the majority of whom have been sanctioned for or admitted doping". Is that meant to give creditbility?
Can't say I'd bet more than a tenner that any rider is clean. We've been told before how it's now clean, and it's not been the case. And these Astana and AG2R riders that are busted aren't exactly the fastest guys ... Even a tenner is probably a bit much to risk.
GT can only know what he himself does. And should leave it at that.
8% of the general population of the Europe / US suffer from Asthma.
What percentage of pro riders are sufferers?
You've not heard of Exercise-Induced Asthma? It's rife within elite-level athletes, not just cyclists, and is why Chris Froome can take a pull from an inhaler before a big climb, prompting some to suggest substance abuse. I think the better question is whether the sport/fans/governing bodies are happy with that.
..... and the thing that induces that type of asthma is exercise, and in most cases it is brought on by high levels of exertion. It makes perfect sense that the higher the level of athletic endeavour the higher will be the prevalence of this form of asthma.
It is important to realise that the medication will not enable the lungs to take in any more air than they would when an asthma attack is not taking place. It doesn't boost the baseline performance but does mitigate the effect of an attack if one occurs, not always to a 100% benefit. Were the inhaler to be used only after the asthma attack had started the rider's race would already be over.
I had occasional trouble racing in the 80s with either exercise induced, or allergic asthma (never clearly diagnosed as to which or whether it may have been both). Any time an attack started the race was over and without an inhaler I could not have walked, yet alone ridden a bike.
Still not a Froome fan but I wouldn't criticise him for using the inhaler.
8% of the general population suffer from a genuine allergy induced constriction of the bronchial airways requiring the use of medication as the only viable and effective means of relieving symptoms. What percentage of pro riders suffer from this medical affliction as opposed to getting the wheezies occasionally caused by breathing through your arse for a few hours tearing your lungs out running marathons, yomping over mountains or riding a bike for 300 miles?
Are you counting Froome's TUEs? LOL...
This is not a hard problem to fix... first time rider is caught- lifetime ban. No more TUEs, if you got asthma you don't get to be a pro... sorry but life sucks. The DS and doctor of the team of the rider also get lifetime bans, no matter if they were involved in or had knowledge of the doping.
Simple.. no more doping.
is it ? Paul Kimmage is not of the same view and thinks it is as dirty as cycling now.
No other athletes are tested as much as cyclists, look at Jamaica for instance and I can not believe in Bolt anymore ...
Football - Dr Fuentes, need we say more plus we know players have been injured when failing drug tests - see Garry O'Connor
I don't think the 90% is too far from the truth. I don't really blame Thomas. If no one said anything it would be more damning in a way. It at least keeps those that prefer suspension of their disbelief to continue in the same vein.
But the report is quite damning. The problem is that foping is endemic in sport. Rugby and football are probably the worst offenders on the basis that they do not pull up anyone on doping yet the physiques and speed of the game have changed greatly.
Unfortunately we live in a world where the expectation is that we can constantly be moving forward, but genetically we are unlikely to keep creating individuals who are stronger and faster than our predecessors because we have not done selective breeding to create über sportsmen. It might be true if you had outliers who bred together, but that simply isn't happening. Quite the opposite.
I don't know about football but in 20 years of playing rugby i came across one single incident of a guy taking illegal drugs (steroids), and he quit the sport to take up bodybuilding anyway. All we ever did was take a shit load of protein in various formats. I got tested and monitored for PEDs in rugby all the time despite the fact I was an amateur.
In 4 years of amateur cycling I've come across across it all the time. There is a guy in his mid thirties on my club run openly on EPO. I mean honestly, WTF is the point? I have never been tested once.
To say that rugby is 'probably' the worst offender is a stupid statement based on a stupid assumption.
You Welsh fellas are a laugh a minute!
If it is allowed (and the TUEs are allowed) - then the discussion should be about how to better frame the regulations, not pointing at 'cheating' riders.
I really (really, really) hope G is right.
However, while I find the '90%' GUESS rather sensationalist - with the vast majority of the current pro pellaton not engaging with the CIRC at all - you can kind of see why they were looking at the more negative estimate.
Perhaps G should be addressing why the current riders failed to register their voice?
Wow - such hatred doesn't reflect so well on your attitude either...
I might have read the report incorrectly but I thought the 90% figure came from someone who was including every kind of drugs including those using TUE in that case they are probably correct. 90% taking illegal drugs is taking the piss. Is it acceptable that a rider takes pain killers etc because they've been riding their arse off or have mild asthma so get an exception?
I trust that GT and hopefully all his Sky colleagues are clean. I appreciate his upset at the 90% claim. I don't know whether he spoke with CIRC, but the pro-peleton in general appear to have missed an opportunity in that so few volunteered to do so. From what I've heard, only a handful of current riders did so, and only Froome had the courage to say so publicly. If a lot more clean riders had taken the trouble to engage, might their message have been better reflected in the report?
Thomas, there is a difference between "I believe" and "I know"...
In the report, the commission notes that despite statements from riders and teams today that they are clean, less than 5% of riders tick the box on the doping control forms giving permission for their samples to be used anonymously for research into developing new methods of drug detection.
I'd err towards the 90% end of the scale!
Fair play to Froome - he tweeted a pic of his box ticked. Said he has always ticked the box.
How the hell does he know its clean,like he admitted,his knowledge only extends to himself and his immediate colleagues
The fool is talking out of his backside in more ways than one,never liked him or his attitude
keep sucking off murdoch Thomas,thats what you do best
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