Rasmussen Drug Investigation!

[Steve Austin]

Assume he's clean ? Sorry but I'm afraid you can't assume any rider is clean , it's a sad state of affairs but there it is .
Rules are there , riders know the rules , it is their responsibility to ensure they comply . At the very least he is a fool , he must know that he is playing with more than just his career but also the whole sport .

So is the alternative is to assume they are all on the juice?

This reminds me of tim don, the tri-athlete, who missed 3 out of competition tests by as he admitted being rubbish at timekeeping. He was banned for a year and then banned from the Olympics forever. His Olympic ban has been lifted. Now i believe Tim when he said he is absent minded and missed these tests due to being a terrible timekeeper.

I am of the mind that Rasmussen is clean, and i know nothing else at this time.
I could of course assume everyone is guilty, like you suggest, but that means i would have to imagine something i don't believe to be true

 

[Tim Bennet.]

He is a professional athlete on a large well funded team packed with managers and support staff catering to his every need.

Keeping the authorities informed of your where abouts if a fundamental fact of life for these people, and has been for a long enough that it should be second nature. Saying 'I forgot' is no more plausible than pleading that 'I didn't know' a particular substance was banned. The anti-doping protocol is hammered into athletes so such an extent that to mess up three times is so suspicious it is deemed to be a 'positive test'.

The only people who fall foul of these requirements are those with something to hide. But once again we see that there is a lack of solidarity between the various bodies, and Rasmussen knows that he can sow enough doubt and confusions that weak willed bodies like ASO can be made to look fools and he can continue to cheat his way to loads of money.

The Danish Cycling Union wouldn't exclude their star rider from their own Olympic team out of spite or some personal vendetta. National bodies are usually the ones who drag their feet on these things as they are seen to be partisan towards their own athletes. So for them to say they consider him to be a cheat and therefore no longer eligible to ride for Denmark is a pretty clear indication they consider him 'unclean'. ASO should support them and kick him off the tour.

Apparently their is no suspicious circumstances over the timing of the release of these findings by the DCU. They held their hearings in June, submitted their findings to the UCI and only released his name after this due process was completed. The fact he rode their National Championships in the mean time merely shows they weren't going to make any decisions until they had correctly followed the complete protocol. Therefore ASO's claim that somehow this has all been done to harm the TdF is just crap. It's time for them to walk their talk and do something in cycling's interest and not just for their own short term gain.

 

[Squaggles]

Steve , I think you are slightly naive if you think he missed the out of competition tests because he is a bit forgetful . It's his job , he is a professional . No doubt if you or I 'forgot' to do an important part of our job then we would face the consequences .
I stopped believing that all cyclists were clean when David Millar finally admitted use of EPO when he was caught with empty vials at his house after his previous denials .
Rasmussen has missed 4 tests . 1 might be forgetful , 2 is pretty careless and 3 means he should be banned .

 

[Steve Austin]

Nothing naive in believing what someone says. He may be lying, but as i will continue to believe until 'proven' otherwise, Rasmussen at this time is still a clean rider as he hasn't failed any tests.

 

[gbyers]

The guy has a comprehensive team and trainer set up so how does he forget just once?

Then he plays the trust card and flushes out stories about previous blood doping.

I agree he is innocent until proven otherwise. There are explanations - some innocent, like he did forget; some malicious - what are the motives of the guy accusing him of using him as a mule?

However, I hope he's got answers because the stakes for the sport are high.

Damn that "trust me" statement.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

So if someone suspected of drunk driving refused to take a breathalyser you would be happy that this proved their innocence? I think you'll find that's why the people who refuse are treated as if they failed. The system is unworkable otherwise.

And this is exactly what has happened here. Because everyone knows that solely relying on 'in competition' testing is not the way to catch cheats, athletes have to make themselves available for random testing at anytime. To meet this requirement, they have to let the doping authorities know where they are at all times.

Rasmussen didn't. Clearly there was a long period of time when he didn't want to be tested. So he played the same game of brinkmanship that lots of athletes try, disappearing off to some out of the way warm weather training, 'forgetting' to tell people where he's gone and hoping his 'preparations' can be concluded before missing the third out of competition test. Well he's miscalculated and is now banking on there being enough confusion, in fighting between various bodies and naive sympathy amongst the public to get away with it.

 

[Squaggles]

I'm not sure how long you have been following cycling Steve but anybody who fails a test during a race is a fool and an incompetent one at that . Out of competition testing is much more important . He knew the rules . Saying he 'forgot' is frankly pathetic . If he missed 1 test I might have some sympathy , missing 4 tests ? No , not acceptable . His national federation don't think so either . They are hardly likely to drop their best rider from the national team without good reason .

 

[Steve Austin]

I don't want to be a part of the lynch mob guys.
He hasn't failed a test.

If you read the article i linked to, comments by pat McQuaid, whom i respect more than both of you fwiw, states that he missed 2 uci tests and 2 Danish federation tests. As he is 'allowed' to miss 2 before he gets suspended, he has either 'played' the system or been lucky to have not missed the third.

You guys are all for a hanging anyway, so carry on.

Why let an unproved guilty verdict get in the way, eh?

 

[cq20]

The only things that Rasmussen is guilty of, so far, are stupidity and arrogance and as a result of this he has done the sport of cycling no favours but he is not a doper until he tests positive. (He is, however a dope .)

 

[andrew_s]

It's not "forgot the test", like with an appointment, you know.

Does anyone know what the whereabouts notification regime is for these out of competition tests?
There's a world of difference between "tell us where, and phone this number if you are going anywhere different", and "fill in this form saying where you are going to be at all times next month, and you are for the high jump if you change your plans"
If it's anything like the latter, I doubt that anyone here could comply for more than a month or two, and it would be easy in an office job.

It wouldn't at all surprise me if the system was set up for the convenience of the testers.

 

[Dayvo]

Rio Ferdinand (that well-known cyclist, er, footballer) 'missed' a drugs' test when he was out shopping! Innocent or not, he copped (unsure how long) a lengthy ban, even though a later test proved negative.
If the sport of cycling is SERIOUS about eliminating drug-taking (aka dangerous cheating) then it must act accordingly.
Drug taker or not, Rasmussen has to be banned so as to give a reminder to other cyclists about not missing a test, and that they (the authorities) are dealing with this major problem.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

The notification process is not too onerous. In fact every other professional cyclist, athlete, sailor, rugby player, etc, etc, with very few exceptions finds it's a process they can comply with. The key is that if you are wanted for out of competition testing, then the testers can find you without too much hassle.

It's a process that isn't done for the testers convenience, but one that is fair, equitable and has sufficient slack built in to it to allow you to make two human errors each year, but not a third. That is the cut off where you are considered to have moved from being 'forgetful' to being deliberately obstructive. The penalty for this is that you are then considered to have failed the drugs test you deliberately missed. Without this sanction, dopers would play hind and seek with the testers and no out of competition testing would be possible.

Rasmussen should be punished because he has failed to comply with this fundamental element of the battle to make sport fair and equal for all. It's a rule of the sport like any other, and if you contravene it, you should be prepared to suffer the consequences. Without rules, there is no sport. To say he has not been caught doping is irrelevant. No one is accusing him of that. It's no more relevant than saying he hasn't been caught taking a lift during a stage in the team bus. That's also against the rules, but again is irrelevant.

And it's no lynch mop:
1. The rules have been around for years.
2. Rasmussen knew the rules because he has complied with them at all other times in his career.
3. He was sent letters warning him that he was in breach.
4. The DCU held hearings at which Rasmussen gave his excuses.
5. The DCU felt his excuses were insufficient to excuse his actions.
6. The DCU informed the UCI of their decision.
7. The UCI reviewed the case and agreed with the DCU
8. The DCU announced it's sanction, that being Rasmussen is ineligible for international competition within it's direct control. (The National Team for World Championships and Olympics)

All anyone asks is that ASO support the stance taken by the DCU and UCI and exclude someone from the TdF who has transgressed the anti doping legislation common to most sports worldwide.

 

[laurence]

didn't Vino and team mates miss tests last year as they decided to leave their hotel just before the testers arrived?

Rio Ferdinand was informed the testers were waiting... then 'forgot'. slightly different.

the main problem with this seems to be the two/four tests missed. if the UCI and danish ones are the same, then it's 2 tests. still not brilliant, but not illegal.

seems odd the danish federation has known about this a while and now acts. could there be part sour grapes as the chicken has never ridden for the national team anyway?

L

 

[Dayvo]

seems odd the danish federation has known about this a while and now acts. could there be part sour grapes as the chicken has never ridden for the national team anyway?

L

Not in the light of Bjarne Riis' confessions of late. In my opinion, the Danish Cycling Federation will want to be distancing itself as far away as possible from anything slightly embarrassing, harmful or controversial!

 

[Tim Bennet.]

The DCU announced their decision as soon as it has been ratified by the UCI - nothing odd there. Just due process being done.

Rasmussen has ridden for the DCU, he was World Mountain Bike Champion in 1999, the discipline he wanted to be considered for the 2008 Olympics.

The contradictory reports about how many of each test were missed is odd. However the DCU must be petty sure they have followed all the procedures to the letter and that their case against him is watertight, as all these national governing bodies still reel from the memory of athletics in Britain being sued to bankruptcy because they got one of these cases wrong.