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Chris Boardman calls for one year bans for teams whose riders are caught doping

Harsh measures called for to restore cycling's credibility after Armstrong scandal… harsh words too for Pat McQuaid and the UCI...

Chris Boardman has called for WorldTour teams to be banned from the sport for a year if any of their riders test positive for performance enhancing drugs. He also described the UCI as a mess and was equally scathing about its president, Pat McQuaid.

Speaking exclusively to road.cc in London today, Boardman said the evidence gathered by the USADA of organised and sustained doping surrounding Lance Armstrong was "a massive blow for cycling, just when things have been so positive following on from the lovely summer of sport at the Olympics and Brad winning the Tour."

He also called on cycling's law makers to seize the opportunity presented by the Armstrong scandal to push through tough measures  - statements of intent aren't enough to restore credibility," he said.

"Personally I've always been in favour of life bans, but they are very hard to enforce.  I really believe in the concept of making the risk greater than than the reward. For cycling to become credible whatever comes next has to have proper teeth."

Boardman's solution is an immediate one year ban for any WorldTour team if one of its riders tests positive.

"You have a single positive and you're out for a year.

"The implications of that are huge. The sponsor is going to have a clause in the contract and the team will have contract with the rider saying 'if you're caught for doping you're going to be penniless.' So the rider's got no incentive to do it, the team's got no incentive to do it. The sponsor is going to police the team, and everybody self polices.

"The penalties are so harsh for everybody in the chain. and that's the kind of thing when you've got the ProTour and it belongs to you, it's the kind of harsh measure you can push through."

Boardman believes that this moment of weakness for the sport caused by the Armstrong revelations is exactly the time when the UCI could get teams to sign up to the sort of strong measures they would usually shy away from.

However whether the current leadership commands the authority within the sport to push through such changes remains in doubt. Amongst the evidence compiled by USADA in its case against Armstrong were details of payments from the rider of $125,000 to cycling's governing body, mot of which the UCI later spent on a blood analysis machine.

Amongst the rider testimony given to USADA were claims that the UCI leadership covered up a suspect test for EPO.

Boardman was equally trenchant on the subject of the UCI, describing cycling's world governing body as "a mess" and while he fell just short of saying that the UCI president, Pat McQuaid should resign, the implication was clear - the Irishman's time is up as the head of world cycling - or it should be.

"There has to be a world governing body, and it's the UCI. It’s a mess right now and how we fix it I don't know, but in most companies when things go badly wrong, people are so emotional about it. They need to see some change and generally the person who leads it resigns,” Boardman told road.cc.

Pressed on whether he was saying that McQuaid should go, Boardman responded:

"Pat McQuaid staying in his position after this… it doesn't give you a great deal of credibility."

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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42 comments

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shay cycles replied to Paul J | 11 years ago
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No Paul, I don't have a citation (reference) for that.

However at that time I had been racing myself and following his career with some interest for a long time and his naturally low testosterone levels were common knowledge long before his bone condition was diagnosed. That was an era where testosterone hit the headlines a few times because testing found some riders who had much higher than expected levels at some times but not at others.

Boardman did have the option to apply for dispensation to use testosterone which could have been done to a level where he was still within the limits - BUT he also understands the demands that racing places on the body and the effect that medication could have. He therefore made the sensible decision, rather than risk his health further, to retire from racing so that his condition could be treated properly.

Not the actions of a person who would happily dope and risk their health to win.

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The Rumpo Kid | 11 years ago
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I'd be interested in how Chris Boardman's master plan would be applied in a case like that of Marcel Six. Unfortunately, we do not live in a world of absolutes, where automatic harsh punishments bring about desirable results, and I think a more pragmatic approach is needed.

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KirinChris replied to TrekBikesUK | 11 years ago
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Trek claiming the high moral ground.  13

Yes, of course, you're the real victims here - how could we have forgotten.

Is this the new marketing spin to salvage something from the Armstrong years.

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Paul J | 11 years ago
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Shay: But that was perhaps mid-way through his career then? At which stage he'd already had ample time to abuse steroids. I know his condition was known about before the end of his career, because it's referred to in his hour record film.

It doesn't take *that* long for steroid abuse to start causing your body to break down (though, osteoporosis takes times). Quite young top cyclists (e.g. still in teens, or very early twenties) have suffered badly from it.

That he quit doesn't really tell us anything other than that by the time he got into his early 30s, the osteoporosis was bad enough he couldn't risk cycling anymore. I don't think it tells us whether or not it was caused by doping or a natural, but quite rare condition.

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antonio | 11 years ago
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Taking drugs either to win or be a top team player is a considered personal action, a total ban for life would almost certainly put an end to any such considerations.

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The Rumpo Kid replied to antonio | 11 years ago
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antonio wrote:

Taking drugs either to win or be a top team player is a considered personal action, a total ban for life would almost certainly put an end to any such considerations.

Sorry Antonio, that is just not the case. British Olympians have taken drugs knowing the penalty was a life ban from the British team.

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cat1commuter | 11 years ago
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Would give a disgruntled rider the ability to take down his team. "You stuffed my career, now I'll stuff yours."

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stealth replied to Paul J | 11 years ago
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Just stop it! Right now. Chris' medical problems are well documented & always have been. Do you not think that his epic 'Chuckle Bros' style battles with Graeme Obree would have been effortless for him if he was doping, or are you also saying that Graemes famous marmalade sandwiches were also 'loaded'????

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skippy | 11 years ago
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Agree with the following statements:
" Though it seems that CB is jumping on the band wagon he has some very valid points and are definately worth looking at (take note UCI!).

If one person in a WorldTour team wants to jeopardise everyone else's livelyhood then they must have balls the size of whatever. "

" Would give a disgruntled rider the ability to take down his team. "You stuffed my career, now I'll stuff yours."
As for myself i think " Trek " in ALL it's guises deserves ALL that is coming it's way ! Cashing in on the " Myth " was GOOD for business , now enjoy the BACKLASH ,folks , you earnt it and deserve !

Those reading my Blogs will have seen that i Advocated " Team Bans " some Years ago ! My take was 2 Racers in a three month period led to a Suspension , and progressive periods with Monetary penalties along the way !

As all knows Winter is arriving in Swiss Mountains with snow and ice , normal ? This year Aigle is suffering Avalanches of " Mud " , the likes of which will stick , regardless of the efforts to shift it ! External Investigation by heinous's mates ? Forget the idea phat , Chris b. knows that you deserve to be " tarred and feathered " and Eire will not be a destination where you could seek to avoid the rancour of Cycling Fans !

David Walsh & Paul Kimmage are Irishmen that you sought to diminish and your description of flandis & shamilton comes from a person at several ranks below their status in the eyes of Cycling Fans . On a scale of 1 to 10 , they are , perhaps 2 . You are about -17 !ist the deeper you dig yourself ! In future write down what you will say ! Remember last Monday , when you said that a phone call was NOT Contact ?

Readers take time to ADD to the " Paul Kimmage Defence Fund ! It ain't over , UNTIL the phat man sings in PAIN !

Greg LeMond suggested giving up some lunch money , thanks to him and " His Dossier " becoming available to Paul , those on the UCI Board at the Friday meeting decided to attempt ousting the " prats of aigle "!

No cash ? Sign the Change.org Petitions :

http://t.co/oFWgsHA7

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skippy replied to drheaton | 11 years ago
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Wrote to Chris Prudhomme , 17th oct ( tourdafrance.blogspot ) recommending that he take the initiative at this year's presentation of the 100th edition of " Le tour "! ASO were recommended to " Choose " which Teams they invite , BY a demand that ALL Racers and Support Staff , issue a personal declaration that they do not indulge or encourage PED Products !

What clearer evidence is needed to BAN for Life , any that contravene their " Self admitted Pledge "? Anyone in Cycling that does not wish to work at the ASO Events , can find some excuse , to avoid offering their " Pledge of Honesty "!

Chris was also asked to consider " Vacating Results " for the period 1990 to 2012 , since these are the " EPO Era " and thus 2013 would be the START of the period that Each Athlete is personnaly , and Team Support Staff also , are liable to Draconian Punishments !

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skippy | 11 years ago
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Pevious comment ( 10.12 )was in reply to drheaton at 21.16 of 25th oct ! Link /quote did not work !

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Paul J | 11 years ago
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stealth: Well, Obree himself had an advantage in many of their encounters: He had an estimated 5 to 10%-power advantage through unorthodox positions on his bicycle. Yet a few others were able to beat him regularly even with that advantage (and thrash his times when they adopted Obree positions). Some have concluded that Obree wasn't quite an outstanding athlete because of that. If doping was the cause for Boardman's testosterone deficiency and his osteoporosis, then that would shed a new light on Obree's performances.

Again, I'm not saying Boardman doped. I'm saying there's 2 possibilities: 1. It was due to steroid abuse (corticosteroids, testosterone), 2. It was due to something else unrelated to PED abuse, i.e. natural causes. One of these is quite rare in active men, the other was extremely common in top-level cyclists back then.

We can't know which case Boardman falls into. If you can really disagree with that, you must be Chris Boardman.

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