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news
London 2012 Anti-Doping Laboratory (picture credit LOCOG)British amateur cyclist aged 55 handed two-year doping ban
A 55-year-old amateur cyclist from Burnley has been banned from all sport for two years after testing positive for banned substances that he said were contained in medication given to him by a friend before a race to treat his mouth ulcers.
Michael Ellerton, from Burnley, tested positive for the glucocorticoids prednisone and prednisolone following an in-competition test at the Port Talbot Wheelers Cycling Club’s 25 Mile Time Trial on 11 September 2016, organised under Cycling Time Trials (CTT) rules.
UK Anti-doping (UKAD) says that “Glucocorticoids are currently prohibited in-competition, when administered by a systemic route of administration (orally, rectally, intravenously or intramuscularly),” but “are permitted out-of-competition regardless of the route of administration.”
Ellerton, who was a member of the North Yorkshire-based Team Swift Cycling, said a friend had given him a packet of ten 5mg Prednisolone Tablets to treat his mouth ulcers and that he took two a day for five days in the lead-up to the event.
As a national- rather than international-level athlete, UKAD invited him to apply for a retrospective Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) but when he did so, its TUE Committee held that he did not meet the conditions for one to be issued.
In its decision, the TUE Committee said:
(a) The TUE Committee are unable to approve TUEs for Athletes who have self-medicated using
another person’s prescription medication,
(b) the Athlete did not seek medical advice prior to using the drugs.
(c) There is no evidence to show that the athlete would experience a significant impairment to
health if the Prohibited Substance been withheld.
(d) There are permitted therapeutic alternatives
(e) Glucocorticoids have the potential to performance enhance.
UKAD accepted that his committing an anti-doping rule violation was not intentional and was out-of-competition which, together with his prompt admission, led to him being banned him for two years, instead of the maximum four that would otherwise have applied.
It noted however that he had “used the medication without undertaking any research into its ingredients or any further checks,” including that he “failed to conduct any rudimentary internet research into the medication.”
The ban was backdated to 11 September 2016, the date of the positive test, and will expire at midnight on 10 September 2018.
UKAD Director of Operations, Pat Myhill said: “The World Anti-Doping Code is based on the principle of strict liability – every athlete, no matter what level, is solely responsible for any prohibited substance which is found in their system, regardless of how it got there or whether there was an intention to cheat or not.
“Athletes can easily check the prohibited status of medications before use by visiting Global DRO,” he added.
While Ellerton’s anti-doping rule violation was held to have been unintentional, UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead has expressed in recent days her concerns over doping among amateur athletes.
Responding the findings of a BBC Sport survey of amateur sportsmen and women, she said that doping in amateur sport as a whole is “becoming a crisis.”
> Doping in amateur sport “becoming a crisis” says UK Anti-doping boss
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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40 comments
Banned from what lol? The Sunday morning 30 miler!?
From the off I should point out that in no way do I compete on a bike or otherwise.
I suffer from Ulcerative Colitis, which during a flare up is medicated with prescription Prednisolone, it is a drug that once the flare up is under control, you have to wean yourself off (something about stopping abruptly doing serious liver damage).
I have found that whilst weaning myself off, cycling is a piece of piss.......................
Real men put salt on ulcers. It's the medical equivalent of eating spicy food.
Maybe you have been using them too long, a quick google reveals this... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17805102
You're probably right. But it's the illness that's slowing me down, I'm sure the medicine is helping.
Maybe when I come off the drugs I'll hold some back for
performance enhancementtreating my mouth ulcers.It's interesting as I suspect there are quite a few competitors I've been up against who have taken substances that would flash red lights in anti doping tests. It is a problem in amateur sport for sure. But perhaps this guy's mouth ulcers are so bad he needs steroids. And perhaps competing in cycling events is one of the things that helps him live his daily life. As a middle aged rider the long term health issues regarding steroid use would not be so serious as for a younger rider, whether not the use was intentional or unintential. However UKAD seems pretty sure the use was uninentional at least so I'll side with that viewpoint.
I've not seen any dope testing in any of the events I've competed in though i do suspect a few, as I've said.
You can get drug tested at 55 years old on a club TT.....who knew ?
That won't come as a surprise to many people doing Club TTs. I reckon I've done between 30-40 and never been close to being tested, but there are plenty of murmurings and rumours...
The bigger surprise to me was that you're subject to the same anti-doping rules just by being a British Cycling member, whether you race or not, though you've got a better chance of being tested if you order some dodgy steds from India that get intercepted by Customs.... http://road.cc/content/news/209429-amateur-cyclist-who-says-hes-never-ra...
Does a two year doping ban mean that he's not allowed to dope for two years?
Blimey Gary, I've got these killer mouth ulcers right now, doing me head in! You don't know of any miracle prescription only medication that I might be able to get without the hassle of asking my gp for it do you? You do!? And you've got some of your own that your willing to give me?! Cor, now thats a stroke alright!
TJuice: if he was unwell enough to require extra strong medication then I would suggest he is better off reducing his stress levels and so competing was not a good idea.
Personally I don't buy his excuse for the above factor, and that he didn't get a prescription. If you're so unwell you need something like that wouldn't you reasonably seek medical attention?
If this was America and he had to pay to see a doctor then perhaps you could understand the need to circumvent the process from a cost point of view.
And, to the twit that thinks this sort of thing is OK, perhaps he can explain this to the relatives of any athlete who has died or suffered serious reprocussions from taking PEDs because the success of one dick eventually leads to others following - no matter what age group.
Perhaps he was being concientous and trying to save our beleagured NHS some money
Or perhaps "his mate" gets free prescriptions and he was trying to save himself some money.
On the subject of performance enhancement: I'm currently taking prednisolone for a medical problem and it's a struggle to do just one mile on the rollers. If the drugs are enhancing my performance I dread to think what it would be unenhanced.
Not intentional? For the love of God how naive are these muppets. Some tablets his mate gave him, oh right yeah. Of course, all very normal then.
Said, 'T juice'.
Haha! I hadn't thought of that angle.
When I came up with that moniker some 20 years ago, the T actually stood for tomato. I have absolutely no idea why I came up with it because I really don't like tomato juice! But somehow it stuck with me in online forums over that time.
Like everyone I'm sceptical about the riders intentions here (steroids for a mouth ulcer?!)
I was also interested in what was really meant by 'banning him from all sport'?!
I know British Cycling events and those goverened by 'Cycling Time Trials' can be in scope for anti doping controls, as they sign up to UKAD principles - but it does seem a little ridiculous for middle-aged amateurs and potentially non-competitive events to be covered by this?? Is that what we're talking about here?
I get problem with youngsters in amateur sports (e.g. steroids in Rugby as highlighted by the BBC article this week), where they're not yet professional but want to be, and so under huge pressure to bulk up at a young age, but that's a little different to MAMILs and weekend warriors racing for strava kudos or whatever.
It's not what we're talking about here. UKAd attend regional and national open TT's, not club events (although in theory club events might be in scope).
These are events where you can qualify for national chamionships,setting times that allow national fields to be selected. It's not just about Strava kudos, and often, in the same event as fat old guys like me are the youngsters coming up who are the next generation.
This guy has no excuse, not least because retro TUEs are the norm in order to enable riders to have a sense of proportion. I had a long discussion with my GP and our local officials this winter when the GP needed to prescribe prednisolone for me. It matters.
Methinks Jimmy is over 50..
You on the 'roids there Jim? On the gas son? Who's your source, you hook me up?
You cynical lot...
The guys 55, hes riding club TT's... it really doesn't matter.
He was riding an open TT, not just a club TT.
It matters because we can't object to doping at one level but say it is OK at others.
It matters because Prednisolone is really quite effective at boosting performance.
It matters because some of us have always played fair and others taken advantage.
Having raced in the 70s, 80s And 90s I am well aware that this is not a new phenomenon at any level.
I have no sympathy with anyone who takes any kind of PED and gets caught, I also have no sympathy with any competitor who takes prescription medication that is not their own. If you make choices like that then you risk getting caught and if you do then accept the consequences of your own actions.
It matters because he was 10th overall in a fast event on a fast course, and although I can't now find my results/prizes email he may well have taken prize money off a fellow V5.
Clubmates of mine have been tested. The new 'sign out' rule is at least partly to stop people not returning to HQ after the event and then potentially 'not knowing' they had been selected for testing.
But still, it really doesn't matter when push comes to shove. Maybe its because its testing that I don't care, maybe its his age.
Ultimtely he cheated himself and diddled someone out of a few quids prize money.
if he was road racing in anything that was forming potential careers of young racers, I'd probably feel differently. But he wasn't.
He doped, he got caught, such is life, you make your bed, you have to lie in it. I can't get all gnarly teethed about this one.
When does it matter then?
Did I not answer that in my very next sentence?
He's not earning a living from his sport, or more importnatly, he is not stopping someone else from earning money from the sport through his cheating.
He is not a role model for younger generations, he is not someone of influence. all of these things to me limit how much of a care I give.
For the sake of clarity, reversing the above, outlines where I do care, where it does matter.
What I'd love to know however, is whether this was a random test, or a 'random' test based on intelligence provided.
Agreed. I reckon there's a lot out there whose bodies can't cash the cheques their egos are writing. PEDs seem to be easily available. Ego food. Catch them. Ban them. Humiliate them.
On a related subject, someone got busted around Notts recently. Word from the strong riders apparently was "its unfair, he didn't compete". Where does this empathy come from?
BANNED FROM ALL SPORT.
I use bonjela. Had i known i could take steroids instead... no hang on. Its a mouth ulcer.
Could riders, oh i don't know, maybe not ride if they are ill?
I'm not going to comment on the legitimacy of this rider using this particular medication. I'm not qualified to pass judgement.
But wanted to make the point that mouth ulcers *can* be pretty nasty and Bonjela is absolutely useless in treating them (there's nothing active in it AFAIK). The only thing it does is protect and potentially soothe.
I am very prone to mouth ulcers, and I do need something to help the healing process. Many people get mouth ulcers far, far worse than I do - having something to treat them can be essential for them. I would not want to be without some form of treatment for mouth ulcers, so I can imagine the need that others might have for a treatment. And as a general point, would seem pretty harsh to tell someone that they could not compete if they wanted to treat mouth ulcers (again, not trying to draw parallels with the particular case in the main article, but just responding to thelighterthief's point about ulcers)
Iglu and Bonjela are useless. I used to use adcortyl in orabase, but this was discontinued some years ago. Since then, the best I have found OTC is Hydrocortisone Muco-Adhesive Buccal Tablets. And yes, this is a steroid (widely used for a number of complaints).
I had a quick look at the WADA banned substances list and couldn't find hydrocortisone on there, but it's a moot point for me in any case, given that I'm not even training at the moment, let alone competing!
Anyhow, I'll shut up now and crawl back into my cave, having waffled on in an unstructured way for far too long.
I'm with you - I've had mouth ulcers so bad I can't talk or eat.
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