CCA president: ‘This is not a victimless event.’
Following yesterday’s disclosure that the 2010 Canadian Under 23 champion Arnaud Papillon has been suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO, the Canadian Cycling Association has stripped the rider of his results from this year’s championships.
Papillon finished sixth in the Elite event at the Canadian road race championships in June, and was second in the Under 23 classification behind Hugo Houle (Team Spidertech Powered By C10). He also took two top ten finishes on stages of the Tour de Beauce plus nineteenth overall.
“As a result of this finding, the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) has revised the results of the 2011 Canadian Cycling Championships races in which he participated, as well as updated the podium for the U23 category, a race in which Papillon finished second,” the federation said in a statement.
“The Canadian Cycling Association is calling upon Arnaud Papillon to cooperate fully with the CCES [Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport – ed.] in its investigation on the source of the banned substance and the possible involvement of others in this doping matter.
“In accordance with the Canadian Anti-doping Policy the CCES has imposed a two-year ban from competition on Arnaud Papillon. He also receives a lifetime ban from receiving Sport Canada funding.”
Papillon admitted his breaking of the rules yesterday, releasing a statement via the Veloptimum website which acknowledged his guilt.
“The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has suspended me from competition for a period of two years,” he wrote. “The cause: taking a banned substance. I do not deny the decision which I took and I take full responsibility for it. I admit having done something unacceptable and I regret it.”
He didn’t name the substance in question, but the CCES later clarified that it was the banned blood-booster EPO.
CCA president John Tolkamp was strong in his condemnation of what had happened. “This is not a victimless event; from our athletes to the broad cycling community, the repercussions are felt and it tears at our identity,” he said. “We are more proud of a single fourth place earned by sweat and perseverance than any tainted gold medal and will continue to be vigilant and expect our athletes to uphold themselves to the highest standards.”
The CCA’s Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General Greg Mathieu promised to continue fighting performance-enhancing drugs in sport. Papillon, meanwhile, has implied that he won’t race again.