“What does Jonas think when he gets his doors blown off by Tadej?” Doping video cyclist ‘attacked’ by fellow pros over “wild west” drug claims; London mayor hopeful vows to end ‘war on motorists’… then rides bike; Tour of Britain + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“What does Jonas think when he gets his doors blown off by Tadej?” Doping video cyclist faces backlash from fellow pros after slamming “wild west” drug use, as convicted dopers asks: ‘Do you have any proof?’
Over on off-road.cc yesterday, our very own Matt Page – and an anonymous elite racer – speculated that the heady, fast-developing, modern world of ultra-endurance racing could well represent a new frontier for that most traditional of cycling pursuits: doping.
Is a lack of testing, combined with ever-increasing financial reward and professionalisation, opening the door for ultra-racers seeking out a few not-so marginal gains? We’ll just have to wait and see.
But while Matt was busy focusing on cycling’s brave new world and its relationship with doping, rumours about illicit performance enhancement are never far away in the old country, either. And when I say old country, I mean Portugal, of course.
In the aftermath of the EPO era (which ended in 2008, according to the UCI’s official history books), the Portuguese domestic scene has long been regarded as the ‘wild west’ of professional cycling, where rules are made simply to be broken.
The Volta a Portugal, once one of cycling’s most prestigious stage races, has seen some crazy climbing performances over the years, while Portuguese riders and teams have accounted for a disproportionate number of doping scandals in the last decade or so.
In March, for example, Conti squad Feirense-Beeceler was suspended from racing for 22 days after three of the team’s riders were found to have committed Biological Passport violations during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. That ban came just six months after fellow Portuguese team APHotels & Resorts-Tavira-SC Farense were also suspended for several bio passport violations.
And Portugal’s wild west doping scene is back in the spotlight this week, after a video was posted by American pro cyclist Keegan Swirbul was posted on YouTube with the rather intriguing title ‘There is doping in pro cycling’ (except Keegan opted for all caps).
31-year-old Swirbul is retiring at the end of this season after over a decade as a pro, during which time he’s raced for the likes of Human Powered Health, Jelly Belly, and Rally Cycling.
He’s spent the last four years riding for Portuguese Conti team Efapel Cycling, where’s had a front row seat to some, as he calls them, “mad sketchy” shenanigans.
Just after pressing ‘publish’ on his 24-minute-long lecture on doping, Swirbul left his team bus and raced the second stage of the GP Douro, winning it and sealing the overall victory in Porto the following day.
But it’s his YouTubing which has stolen the headlines – and attracted some depressingly inevitable flak from his fellow pros.
“It’s the question I get asked most often: Is doping still being used?” he asks. “I’ve been racing for four years in the haven of doping, which unfortunately is Portugal. I know stuff, guys. There are cases I’ve literally seen with my own eyes, doping in the races I’ve been doing.
“In every single team I’ve been in for my entire career, it’s always the principal topic at the post-race dinner conversation. ‘Oh, this rider, he flew up that hill! Did you see so-and-so attack so hard? He’s got to be doing something.’ If you get beat in a race, the other guy who beat your ass is clearly doping.
“Then I switch from one team to another, and the riders say, ‘Yeah, those guys are mad sketchy’. And then I think, ‘But I rode for that team myself last year!’”
And, according to Swirbull, these doubts don’t exist just in the Portuguese scene.
“I’ve always wondered what these guys at Ineos or Visma are thinking,” he continues. “What does Jonas [Vingegaard] thinking when he says, ‘yeah, I’m definitely better than I’ve ever been, my numbers are looking better than ever, I’m in the shape of my life – and then he gets his doors blown off by Tadej?
“What are they saying around the dinner table? I bet they’re saying the same stuff around the dinner table.
“I know these WorldTour guys have doubts about other riders as well. Last year at the Tour of Luxembourg, I was riding in the breakaway with a guy from Quick-Step, I don’t know this guy from Adam. But we’d finished the stage and were riding back to the bus and were chatting. UAE had just smashed that stage, six riders in the top 25, drilling the pace all day.
“And this guy was just shaking his head in disbelief, telling me, ‘These UAE riders, what are they doing?’ So even these WorldTour guys, they have doubts. Because from the outside you think there’s Omertà, that they’re all psychopaths doping and they do such a great job of hiding it. But that’s not the case, even the WorldTour guys have doubts.”
However, Swirbul is noticeably cautious when the greatest rider of all time (and his Eminem-haired lookalike) is brought up.
“Is Pogačar doping?” he asks. “I don’t think Pogačar is doping in the way we all think, that classic Lance Armstrong doping with blood bags. He’s just too consistent for that, he’s so highly tested, and his level is the same throughout the year.
“Is it possible that Pogačar and other guys are doing something that simply isn’t even on our radar yet? Very possible. People are talking about gene doping… mitochondrial doping. There are some stuff I’m sure we’ll find out about in the years to come, and maybe these top guys who do 7W/kg are doing that. And if they do that: kudos to them, because they’re ahead of the anti-doping authorities. Is that even doping? No, not really.
“Doping is still a thing. But my gut tells me that in the WorldTour, it’s actually less prominent than we all believe. And I know it’s hard to believe, because it is wild to see some of these numbers. But it would suck if Pogačar went down. Is he too big to fall?”
The American is less cautious when it comes to his own experiences in Portugal, even calling out a number of convicted dopers who have put in eyebrow-raising performances.
“I’ve been racing in Portugal for the past four years, and for those who don’t know: it’s literally known as the ‘Wild West’ when it comes to doping. You can do whatever the hell you want in Portugal,” he said.
According to Swirbul, there are two clear markers that someone is doping. First, the 31-year-old pointed to extremely rapid weight loss, facilitated by the use of corticosteroids and their accompanying TUEs (a method he claimed was employed to perfection by “legendary doper” António Carvalho, who is currently banned until 2029).
Second, Swirbul said that a lack of consistency in performance is also a red flag, while the prevalence of micro-dosing has prompted the night-time tests which caused such a furore at the Tour de France this year.
“One thing that really made me furious: a guy who was suspended for four years because of EPO and blood bags in his fridge just finished fourth in this year’s Volta a Portugal,” he continued, referring to José Neves, the former national champion caught in a drugs bust at his former W52/FC Porto team.
“It really bothers me and other riders that a guy like that comes back and that a Portuguese team just takes him back,” he said.
“Why? You’re shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to your own young talent, who are already so damaged by these issues. Young Portuguese riders aren’t being hired by other teams simply because they’re Portuguese.”
Swirbul’s rather public criticism of his soon-to-be ex-colleagues in the Portuguese peloton (his video has racked up almost 50,000 views) has prompted some backlash from the convicted dopers he brought up.
Speaking to CyclingUpToDate, the American reflected on the reaction within the peloton after he published the video during the GP Douro.
“On the first stage, no one was aware,” he said. “It’s funny, I always get quite a few riders to come up to me and be like: ‘Hey dude, I watch your videos’ and stuff like that. And I told a few guys when we were in the neutral zone like: ‘I just uploaded a new one, you’re going to like it’.
“The second stage, when I was in the yellow jersey, a lot of riders had seen the video and I’m pretty sure even one of the riders that I mentioned… I mean, his name is José Neves, for sure seen it because he was like just attacking me verbally.
“He did actually send me a message after the race. I understand that he’s mad and he was kind of saying like: ‘do you have any proof?’ And I was like: ‘what do you mean proof?’ Like, you were banned, that’s all I said in the video.
“We don’t know if he was doing drugs or not, but like he was banned for [three] years and that’s a fact. So that’s what I said in the video, he can’t get mad with that honestly.
“I mean, even Pogačar, if he sits out for four years he’s not going to come back and start smashing people right away. And I’m not saying that Neves was either, it’s just the doubt that we have.
“And then kind of what I was saying in the video a bit, like, it’s just not a good image for the sport in Portugal. Like it’s already been so damaged by these doping scandals and it’s just a little comedy, honestly.”
It’s like Kimmage, Roche, and A Rough Ride all over again. This time with blonde YouTubers and angry Portuguese climbers…
“It is certainly not in our interest for such a situation to arise – the safety of all riders is our top priority”
Another day, another shocking safety issue at a professional bike race. Come on everyone, we need to sort this out. Now.
> Rider narrowly avoids two drivers on race course in quick succession in Germany
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Similarly, I read some of what certain commenters write on here and think "they must be on something". And they often end up getting banned, too. (Although the comparison does break down when it comes to the 'great performances'.)
In January 2020 a driver knocked me off my bike. I wasn't wearing a helmet (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't) and I had a nasty cut on my head, which I had glued at hospital, but no concussion and nothing more serious. All of my friends berated me for not wearing a helmet. This summer, I was on a waterslide in Italy and was thrown from the rubber ring I was sitting on and smashed my head against the water slide. I had a massive goose egg and a cut head. Again, no concussion, but I would say it was a worse bang then when I'd been knocked off the bike. Not one person suggested I should have been wearing a helmet.
If we're after more safety for people on roads, should there be a new law that requires all drivers and passengers to wear full motor-racing helmets? Including the HANS device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HANS_device This would require the seatbelts to also mirror those in racing cars. And for all pedestrians to move around in Zorb balls too.
Isn't this broadly just saying even the pros are like Jimmy the weekend warrior who can't believe anyone can beat them unless they are doing something dodgy. As he said, he went from one team to another and the new team thought his old team were maybe doing something dodgy. He knew they weren't. This isn't raising the question of "are they all doping in the pro peleton", I would argue its doing the opposite. Suggesting that its just natural for everyone to be suspicious of great performances even within the top top levels. Everyone sitting there saying "we're not doing anything dodgy but maybe team A are" and team A are sitting over there saying "we're not doing anything dodgy but maybe team B are".
[Not sure why that's a reply - it wasn't meant to be. 🤷♂️]
Some very interesting information on this in their FAQs:
The context for that is The cars *entering the route* might have been 'an incident' in the sense that they both entered from the same point at the same time, one turning towards the rider and one away.
Why would I want to pay even more to be a muppet Bleeqer to some Dr. Musk's mad scientist?
AN incident? It was TWO completely separate incidents.
@ajuk.uk@gmail.com As we've discussed previously managing driver behaviour *is* complex (because humans). But even where e.g. lower "blanket limits" are being decried (is that the objection to "traffic calming by fiat"?) a) the statistics show that average speed does come down and b) deaths and injuries are reduced *. Sounds *measurably* good, no? Recall: the focus is on speed in urban / populous settings. Or at least where there is likely to be significant interaction of vulnerable road users (pedestrians to a first approximation) and motorists. ** What are the down-sides? (Leaving aside much wider arguments about individual autonomy and "state control"). Well, delays to *motor traffic* are usually very strongly discouraged - both for "common sense" reasons ("vital emergency services" through "time is money" and then the usually less evidenced "pollution increases"). That's also built in to many of our government metrics (e.g. "must have a minimal negative impact on journey times" for road changes, building new developments etc.) However reducing the speed limits does not always greatly increase journey times. Of course that varies with locality and specifics since the reasons again are complicated (traffic flow smoothing, re-routing of traffic, "traffic evaporation"). * The statistics as always should be scrutinised - but at worst it seems like what would have been deaths become serious injuries and probably some of what would have been serious injuries become less serious and "not reported" - so if deaths come down but serious injuries go up I'd say that's expected and a win. Why does this happen even if all that changes is a number on a sign (which is a poor way to change behaviour, agreed) - possibly because psychology (anchoring effect) and also that some people slowing down will often physically impede and hence slow down others? ** Of course this isn't the only way of addressing issues arising from motorist speed (which are not just of danger - also of noise pollution etc.) There are also things like grade-separation and ultimately fixing the network (different routes). And this could mean building more roads...
2 thoughts on ““What does Jonas think when he gets his doors blown off by Tadej?” Doping video cyclist ‘attacked’ by fellow pros over “wild west” drug claims; London mayor hopeful vows to end ‘war on motorists’… then rides bike; Tour of Britain + more on the live blog”
Isn’t this broadly just saying even the pros are like Jimmy the weekend warrior who can’t believe anyone can beat them unless they are doing something dodgy. As he said, he went from one team to another and the new team thought his old team were maybe doing something dodgy. He knew they weren’t. This isn’t raising the question of “are they all doping in the pro peleton”, I would argue its doing the opposite. Suggesting that its just natural for everyone to be suspicious of great performances even within the top top levels. Everyone sitting there saying “we’re not doing anything dodgy but maybe team A are” and team A are sitting over there saying “we’re not doing anything dodgy but maybe team B are”.
Similarly, I read some of what certain commenters write on here and think “they must be on something”. And they often end up getting banned, too.
(Although the comparison does break down when it comes to the ‘great performances’.)