Controls proven easy to circumvent by Frei, surprise is the key
Pierre Bordry, the president of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD), has expressed his concerns that the doping controls carried out by the International Cycling Union (UCI) during this year’s Tour de France will be ineffective. On a program set to be aired on German TV channel ZDF this evening he claims that the riders are too familiar with when they will be tested.
“They [the doping controls] are organized so that riders are aware before they intervene,” he said, leaving time for potential cheats to manipulate their test results.
“There are not enough targeted and random checks, so it allows those who want to cheat to know the system perfectly.”
Several significant positive results were recorded during the 2008 edition of the Tour de France when the AFLD was in charge of the testing. The list includes Manuel Beltran, Moises Duenas, Riccardo Riccò and Dimitri Fofonov. Subsequent retroactive testing was also done by the French lab and found Leonardo Piepoli, Stefan Schumacher and King of the Mountains winner Bernhard Kohl all positive for EPO.
Bordry reiterated that the UCI has refused to entrust the AFLD with their “whereabouts” system so they could actively test the riders preparing for the race in France. The two bodies had a dispute that dates back to the 2009 Tour de France, where the AFLD and the UCI worked in partnership to collect samples during the race.
The French agency was critical of the UCI in a report published in October of last year. Among other things, the AFLD accused the UCI of preferential treatment of the Astana team of race winner Alberto Contador and seven-time-winner Lance Armstrong, who finished third. They pointed out that once the UCI was again in control of collection and testing, no riders had tested positive.
The head of the German anti-doping agency, Armin Baumert, was also critical of the UCI during the broadcast, adding that “much must be done [for the UCI] to be more credible.” Part of the solution, Baumert said, was for the sport’s governing body to have an independent agency organize the doping controls. The UCI’s president Pat McQuaid told ZDF that the UCI regulations do not allow such a scenario.
Recent revelations from the confession of former BMC Racing rider Thomas Frei have opened eyes of the public even further when it comes to cheating. The Swiss admitted to doping for the past two years and detailed just how easy it was for him to produce a negative test while using EPO.
“It is true, I have taken EPO. Therefore it doesn’t make sense to ask a counter-analysis. I don’t have any hope that there is the possibility of negative,” Frei said candidly in a press conference following his positive test.
Frei acknowledged that he had been doping since the summer of 2008, when he rode for the Astana team. He confirmed that his “inner circle” of close friends knew what was going on. “I am not a liar,” he said, “that’s why I am doing this [admitting guilt].”
He explained that he had taken a micro-doses of EPO the previous day and was caught by chance. His way of getting around the controls was as simple as hydration.
“If I would have drank 1 liter of water after the injection, I would now be preparing myself for the Giro,” he said confidently.
The doping control was performed at 6 a.m. the day after his injection, and Frei hadn’t yet taken the time to change the outcome of the test by drinking enough water.
His confession and willingness to give details about how he stayed under the radar for so long sheds some light on how easy it is to skirt controls with a little effort. His statements also underscore the reason riders are sometimes subject to surprise doping controls during off hours as well as multiple times during a day.