A Kiwi cyclist has admitted to using pain pills to aid his performance

 

 

A Kiwi cyclist has admitted to using pain pills to aid his performance - and says he knows other riders who are doing the same.

Dunedin road rider and winner of this year's Tour de Lakes, Alex McGregor, told the Sunday Star-Times he has been influenced towards the practice by a sport scientist - who also works for national body Bike New Zealand.
Last night New Zealand sport's anti-doping boss, Graeme Steel, expressed concern, saying: "Athletes begin on the road to doping by doing things that are technically permitted, but really are on the verge of unethical behaviour."
McGregor, 23, confirmed that over the past two years he has taken over-the-counter painkillers before and during races to intentionally dull the effects of fatigue.
McGregor says he will continue to experiment with the practice despite suspecting it interferes with medication prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Full article here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/8801359/Top-cyclist-tells-how-painkillers-give-him-edge

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Gary:
Young, classy cyclists are a dime a dozen, you can feed them any kind of rubbish, be it caffeine, ibuprofen, carbo shots, or Gatorade and they will perform well.  But how many of these talented young men and women are still around competing at 30 years of age?  Very few indeed.  Who cares?  Nobody.  There's an endless supply to replace the ones who fall by the wayside.

Of course nobody cares because there is the "culture of youth".  The ailing 30 year old is quickly discarded and forgotten with all attention and resources redirected at the next up-and-coming 18-something champion-to-be.  So the repetitious cycle goes, if you'll excuse the pun.

I hope the Otago University Faculty of Physical Education is not forgetting the lofty ideals of its origins.  When I was a student there, under the tutelage of the founding father of the faculty, Professor Philip Smithells, what we studied was consistent with the ideals of the ancient Greek educators and philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, with regards to the well-rounded, educated, physically active citizen, "healthy mind - healthy body".  

 

Here we have a story involving an academic who may be one of the faculty staff, either directly or indirectly, encouraging the use of drugs by healthy young men and in a manner that comes very close to being unethical in sport.  Just a few weeks ago I was dismayed to learn that the faculty is advocating, in its lectures to students, the wonders of stomach reduction surgery for weight loss.  This just does not fit with what I understand physical education to be.  It also demonstrates an ignorance of the long term health consequences of stomach reduction surgery:  Short term gains - yes!  But serious health problems develop and overwhelm the person after the initial euphoria of the "honey-moon period".  Sure, this statement may not stack up with the research but that is because of the absurdity of early study cut-off dates, such as after only two or five years. In my experience the situation generally changes for the worst as the years pass because the underlying causes of the obesity have not been fully addressed.  

 

A grounded physical education programme addresses the underlying issues of ill health and inactivity and is not blinded by the cult of the "quick-fix".

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The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Why is Lance Armstrong going to "Tell All" on the Oprah Show?

"So lance is going to be on Oprah.

Not surprising - she's hardly likely to ask the hard questions a decent investigative journalist would, it will be his soft-soap version of events. Unless he goes for the sympathy vote and breaks down.

He's so calculating you cant trust his motives...."
Anonymous
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Gary:
I have my own take on why Lance Armstrong is finally doing an interview, presumably to come "clean" about his use of performance enhancing drugs.

I think this may be a cynical attempt to preserve his million dollar empire and to avoid jail time.

Right now, past sponsors and those who awarded prize money, are lining up to sue him for fraud.  He must know that the evidence is overwhelming.

One tactic is to argue that he was merely a bit player in the larger game of lying and cheating in sport of which cycling is one of the most sophisticated players.  Entire teams other than Armstrong's, cycling officials, sponsors, race promoters, media, coaches, sports scientists and doctors  from the highest levels and down were all part of the Great Collusion and the Great Deception.  It is possible that officials within the agencies responsible for drugs testing were also parties to this.

By being a bit player in this larger than life game, he may argue that there are many others who are equally, if not more guilty, if not legally, then morally guilty.  He may argue that the very people who are lining up to sue him are, in fact, as guilty as he.  He was merely going along with what everybody else about him was doing, condoning and financing.  He will argue that they knew what was going on.  All he is guilty of is being the better athlete and doing a better job than the other cyclists.

Sponsors, race promoters, coaches, media, sports bodies and the sporting public all want winners and they all want world records and they will either condone or turn a blind eye to whatever is done to achieve these, including outright cheating.  Besides: Is it really cheating if everybody about you is doing the same?  This is institutionalised cheating at the highest levels of sport.

I think this is a reasonable defence for Lance Armstrong and I hope he exercises it.  I do not want him to be hung out as a lone scapegoat.  I want to see him blow the whole stinking can of worms wide open so that we see real change for the better.

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Lance Armstrong: United States Anti-Doping Agency "REPORT ON PROCEEDINGS UNDER THE WORLD ANTI-DOPING CODE AND THE USADA PROTOCOL"

Here it is Folks:  All 202 pages of the USADA investigation into Lance Armstrong's doping programme.

I have never read any of his books, or supported any of his causes and for one good reason:  I have never believed his story.  I just could not believe that a man who had lost a testicle to cancer, and consequently undergone chemotherapy, could produce levels of testosterone that were at the highest levels of "normal".  I decided I would side with those on his team who came clean early on.  People like New Zealand's Stephen Swart, son of my sister's friend from long ago, Gail Swart.  A family with morals, if there ever was one.

While there are now more than 15 others who have blown the whistle on Armstrong Inc, most of these people confessed late in the peace - many after the fact.  Good on them!  However, we should be saving our strongest accolades to the early whistle-blowers who did so, not under duress, but out of a sense of moral duty.  In so doing, the consequence for them was being ostracised by the sport they loved so much.  Meanwhile, many of those who remained quiet became exceptionally wealthy.

Stephen Swart, you are a hero!  Here's a good interview with Stephen Swart: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/7805732/Swart-vindicated-by-Armstrong-report

Reasoned Decision

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

More about drugs in sport - Greg Lemond on cycling

Greg LeMond is a three-time winner of the Tour de France. His stance on anti-doping and performance enhancing substances has brought him into conflict with some of the most famous names in the sport.

In this speech he talks about his career and his highly contentious opinions and attitudes toward the way that drugs are continuing to effect the integrity of professional cycling.  Lemond also amusingly demonstrates the effects of jet lag on recall!

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.  Please give me your support by subscribing to my free email updates. Please shop at my Online Store. Please encourage your family and friends to do the same. While we may not always be able to compete with the big operators on price, we aim to more than compensate through personal service!

Your email address:

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Do you have a question?  Email Gary: gary@myotec.co.nz. Include any relevant background information to your question.  Please be patient and be aware that I may not be able to answer every inquiry in detail, depending on workloads (My paying clients take precedence!). I will either reply by email or, most likely, by way of an article (Personal identifying details will be removed before publication).

Lance Armstrong - Is he a Sports Hero, or Low-down Drugs Cheat?

Think lance is the biggest drug cheat in sporting history and that's really saying something!

And the reason he got cancer in the first place is because he was using EPO, growth hormone, cortisone, steroids and testosterone.

The shit is about to hit the fan even though there probably hasn't been a drug free winner of the T de F since the 50's - it would be pretty much impossible to even make the top 100 clean since the 90's

But despite that I always enjoyed watching lance race, he's was tactically great too, and all his competition were juiced too, so fair enough - although maybe his use of hem-assist was giving him an unfair advantage



Ian
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Gary:
Despite Lance's books about his triumphs over adversity, including cancer, being recommended to me by enthusiastic readers, I have refused to read his books on principle.  Sport is full of cheats and cycling is one of the worst, if not the worst.  There are simply too many red flags surrounding Lance Armstrong to be ignored.  A proper investigation of the long list of allegations is way overdue.

When I listen to what former Armstrong team members like New Zealand's Steven Swart have to say on the subject, I know who I believe (Incidentally, Steven's mother, Gail is a friend and former team mate of my sister, Lorraine).

Have a read of the articles below which Ian Forwarded.  Interesting to see the New Zealand connections.  Let's hope it all comes to a head and a conclusion sooner than later.

Do the Landis Emails mark the beginning of the fall from grace of cycling legend, Lance Armstrong?

Is this the end of Lance Armstrong?

Interestingly, there is a New Zealand connection in this article; Stephen Swart of Hamilton, former Armstrong team mate. Swart's mother, by the way, Gail Swart, is a former NZ representative track athlete.
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"Lying in a tent at Gorak Shep, 5,170m above sea level in the heart of Nepal, you don’t expect Lance Armstrong to disturb the Himalayan peace. But a text message from a friend had done just that: “Landis, sensational confession, dynamite, implicated Armstrong and others.the six-hour trek down through Lobuche and Dughla to a cyber shack at Pheriche, one question recurred: why had Landis done it? Winner of the 2006 Tour de France, then disqualified after a positive drug test; he had spent two years and $2m in an unsuccessful attempt to clear his name. He returned to the sport after a two-year ban still preaching his innocence."
Read more here.

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.  Please give me your support by subscribing to my free email updates. Please shop at my Online Store. Please encourage your family and friends to do the same. While we may not always be able to compete with the big operators on price, we aim to more than compensate through personal service!

Your email address:

Powered by FeedBlitz

Do you have a question?  Email Gary: gary@myotec.co.nz. Include any relevant background information to your question.  Please be patient and be aware that I may not be able to answer every inquiry in detail, depending on workloads (My paying clients take precedence!). I will either reply by email or, most likely, by way of an article (Personal identifying details will be removed before publication).

Lance Armstrong Denies Charge by Floyd Landis of Doping; Landis Admits Use - WSJ.com

Lance Armstrong Denies Charge by Floyd Landis of Doping; Landis Admits Use - WSJ.com

For more about Landis's confession, please read this:
Lance Armstrong Denies Charge by Floyd Landis of Doping; Landis Admits Use - WSJ.com

Until Landis's confession, I am not aware of a single athlete caught drugs cheating, be they Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, Hunter or Montgomery ever admit up front that they were using performance enhancing drugs.  All

Drugs in sport

Here is a quotation from Chris Pilone's email newsletter from his training camp in Colorado, USA. (Chris is one of the best running and triathlon coaches).

"...I have been appalled at the apparent acceptance of Americans using performance enhancing drugs and the acceptance of it by the local media. In this morings paper there was a call for performance enhancing drugs in professional cycling to be legalised. On Saturday the Tyler Hamilton Foundation organised a fun ride up a local mountain. Despite him still serving a suspension, Hamilton featured very prominently in several newspaper stories. Virtually no mention of his positive for a blood transfusion at the 2004 Tour of Spain and no mention of his keeping of his Olympic Gold medal after his B sample was mistakenly frozen in Athens. "
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Gary Moller comments:
I have a Power Point presentation about drugs in sport. One of the most disturbing slides I use quotes a report that estimates that 219,000 is the annual number of teens who use steroids in the US for recreational use for Body building or Sport.

I use this research to debunk any complacency in the audience that we are winning the war on drugs in sport. We are losing because these teenagers are obviously not bothered by the dishonesty, health risks or the illegality of this practice that is done for either vanity, to win, or both.

These 210,000 teenagers are now young adults who will one day become the elite athletes, the coaches, the administrators, event promoters, doctors, judges, lawyers and police.

50% of my 975 readers are from the USA, so this is written with you in mind.

This teenage drug use figure is a sad indictment on US society which has huge and largely irresistable influences on the rest of the world. This depressing situation is hardly surprising when, from its President down, there is blatant hypocrisy, dishonesty, twisting of the truth and the attitude that "its all OK so long as you don't get caught!" - plus the national obsession with youthful perfection, no matter the cost.

Of course there are many, many honest and decent Americans (My readers for a start) who will not accept these practices of hypocrisy and dishonesty. Any moves, or even the suggestion to legalise the use of performance enhacing drugs in any sports event must be vigorously resisted. Once allowed, even on a local basis, the floodgates will open and we can kiss healthy sport goodbye.

Important:
For Tyler Hamilton's defense of the drug allegations against him go here
Read it and judge for yourself.