Live blog: US amateur woman cyclist, 50 gets 4 year doping ban; dog drugged driver who shouted “fu*cking bicyclists” and killed rider gets up to 15 years; teen cyclists pulled of M6; Women’s cycling club appeal after break-in; Brompton Chpt 3 collab +more

A 50-year-old amateur cyclist in the United States has been banned for four years after testing positive for an androgenic-anabolic steroid at the Capital City Cycling Classic in Michigan.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency said that Jennifer Pate, of Birmingham, Alabama had accepted the suspension, which resulted from a urine sample collected on 11 August last year, the day of the competition.

USADA CEO Travois Tygart said: “Regardless of the competition level, athletes deserve to be on the starting line knowing that their competitors are free of powerful performance-enhancing substances that can impact the results of races they have worked hard to prepare for.

“USA Cycling’s RaceClean initiative and others like it are giving athletes the knowledge and tools they need to compete clean, while also ensuring that those who choose to use performance-enhancing substances to get an edge are held accountable,” he added.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Champs is always a fun way to end the season. The guys had a little misfortune on the day with @natjcooke having the worst puncture we’ve seen for a while (4th photo) & @o__en gears breaking before the start. We still managed a strong result though coming in 7th (we think) See you at @incredibly_cross next weekend #echappeecx @bbriffett

A post shared by Sunday Echappée (@sunday_echappee) on Feb 11, 2019 at 6:56am PST

...or should that be screwed over? Anyhow check out the fourth photo in this gallery for possibly the most unfortunate puncture we've seen in recent times, from a CX race in West Sussex! 

KTVZ reports that 42-year-old Shantel Witt, who hit and killed cyclist Marika Stone while under the influence of a number of drugs, has been convicted of first-degree manslaughter and will serve up to 15 years in jail after a Deschutes County judge rejected a second-degree manslaughter conviction as Witt's defence had sought. 

The case was unusual as the defence didn't dispute that Witt's car had caused the death of 38-year-old Stone, a keen cyclist who won her age category at the Sea Otter Classic in the previous year before the fatal incident in December 2017. They sought a second-degree manslaughter charge because they disputed that Witt had shown a shown an "extreme indifference to the value of human life", the definition of first-degree manslaughter in the state of Oregon; however two friends of Stone who were riding with her on the day provided witness statements to the contrary saying that Witt had shown no remorse for what she had just done. It's reported she was angry at the "the fu**ing bicyclists" and also saying "this is bulls**t". 

Witt was found to have nearly a dozen prescription drugs in her system following the crash, several without a prescription including the Xanax which had been prescribed for her dog. Several witnesses testified she'd slurred her words, spoke slowly and appeared to be drunk. Witt would have faced a maximum of ten years for second-degree manslaughter, but now faces up to 15 for first-degree manslaughter plus several other misdemeanour charges, including DUII-drugs, two counts of recklessly endangering and possession of oxycodone and other drugs.

It's not all near misses and Ronnie Pickerings out there (in fact these incidents are a minority), as demonstrated by a great forum thread started OldRidgeback... our favourite so far is the driver tailing a cyclist at night because he wasn't in a hurry and thought  the cyclist might like some extra light to guide him through the lanes! Join in with your tales of courtesy here. 

People of All Ages Formed a Human Bike Lane Today for Safer Cycling on University Avenue https://t.co/dIJXWYck59 pic.twitter.com/qIkc1I9Tcx

— GoBike (@GoBikeGlasgow) February 10, 2019

The protest yesterday on University Avenue, Glasgow involved residents, university staff, students and others to call for segregated cycle lanes to be installed - at the moment it's simply some painted lines that disappear at the top of the hill. Read more on gobike.org.  

Two teenage cyclists were escorted off the M6 motorway yesterday evening, with the Central Motorway Police Group saying on Twitter that it was "a fatality waiting to happen."

Two lads aged 19 and 17 stopped cycling home along lane one of the M6 between Stafford and Wolverhampton in the pitch black. This was a fatality waiting to happen! They thought it was safer than to turn round on the entry slip. The mind boggles!

— CMPG (@CMPG) February 10, 2019