Sentjens positive for EPO

iainf72

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sentjen ... _headlines

That's right, a Milram rider.

DaveyL

Step 1, "Deny everything, Baldrick"

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sentjen ... po-charges

Make sure you say you are confused, and that you don't understand what is going on.

iainf72

Step 2 : Admit it

http://www.roy-sentjens.com/

Bronzie

Step 3: Announce retirement

And guess what, it was the first time he'd touched the stuff. And then to get a surprise control............how unlucky :x

Bernardus

iainf72 wrote:

Step 2 : Admit it

http://www.roy-sentjens.com/

A short summary of his reasons:

In 2005 he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. It can have a slow paralyzing effect, often starting in the legs. He was told he would probably never be able to compete as a professional cyclist again. He lost a lot of muscle, but eventually recovered.

In the winter of 2009 he divorced and became depressed. He barely slept and his early season training rides were disastrous. In a trance he got in his car, drove to Barcelona and bought epo in a regular pharmacy.

He won't request a retest and will retire immediately.

iainf72

Actually quite a sad tale.

And not unusual, doping to keep your job. Hopefully he can move into civvy life and get a job he's happy with.

itisaboutthebike

I'm a complete dope - and I've managed to be i work for the last 25 years.....................I guess cyclists are that lucky (altho some are )

Grimone

Shame, people feel they have to do this in order to be competitive at times.

Mind you, if taking EPO is the difference between keeping your contract next year, or dropping out of the pro ranks altogether, may be a risk worth taking in some peoples eyes.

samiam

Grimone wrote:

Shame, people feel they have to do this in order to be competitive at times.

Mind you, if taking EPO is the difference between keeping your contract next year, or dropping out of the pro ranks altogether, may be a risk worth taking in some peoples eyes.

Take drug, keep the only career that you've ever known and worked your whole life towards.

Don't take drug, your entire life completely changes.

Easy choice for all but the most honourable.

Kléber

What's to say he hasn't taken it before? He was only caught because of a surprise out of hours test.

Yes it's a sad story and highlights the pressure but do you believe him 100%. I'm struggling to.

le_patron

I know it's tempting to think he's been doing it for some time...but...
If it was a case that it's a case of prolong your career or stop, then I agree with samiam, it doesn't take too much thinking.

If you don't get caught, then great. If you do get caught then the punishment will have no impact as you retire anyway. Plus don't feel too bad as you can justifiably claim it was not really a choice and that the rest of your career you have been clean. And you'd be a jaded pro by that stage anyway, any sporting ethics left well behind as you have spent your career watching all your peers gain reward and riches by doing the same thing.

Not much incentive to avoid this scenario.

Has he shed any more details on how he wandered into a random Barecelona pharmacy to load up on EPO ?

Kléber

le patron wrote:

Has he shed any more details on how he wandered into a random Barecelona pharmacy to load up on EPO ?

Yes, it's normally supplied direct to clinics and hospitals, this is not something anyone gets via a prescription and is almost never available in a pharmacy.

Like I say, Sentjens's story doesn't add up. Or if it is true, will he shop the bent pharmacist?

iainf72

Kléber wrote:

Yes, it's normally supplied direct to clinics and hospitals, this is not something anyone gets via a prescription and is almost never available in a pharmacy.

In the peloton, it can't take longer than 5.3 minutes to find out where to get EPO, surely?

Bernardus

le patron wrote:

Has he shed any more details on how he wandered into a random Barecelona pharmacy to load up on EPO ?

Not really, this was the full quote on his website:

Ik ben in een roes in mijn auto gestapt, naar Barcelona gereden, geparkeerd in het centrum, verscheidene apothekers binnengelopen waar ik epo zou kunnen vinden en bij de tweede had ik al prijs.  Ik ben er mee naar huis gereden, ik wil je niet zeggen wat er allemaal door mijn hoofd ging.

"In a trance I got in my car, drove to Barcelona and parked in the centre. I walked through several pharmacies where it could be possible to find EPO and found it at only the second. I don't even want to talk about everything that was going through my mind while I was driving home."

Kléber

iainf72 wrote:

In the peloton, it can't take longer than 5.3 minutes to find out where to get EPO, surely?

Exactly. The "I fell into a trance, drove 1000 miles and found a pharmacy selling EPO" is surely pushing it?

Did he really just wander around town? How did he know how to use it, was he able to inject himself? Did he also take the big iron injections that apparently go with this. How did he track his consumption and response to this. In other words, is his tale a load of bull, was he instead working with a doctor?

More questions than answers.

LangerDan

Sounds like someone is trying to keep the spotlight off Milram.

flattythehurdler

iainf72 wrote:

Actually quite a sad tale.

And not unusual, doping to keep your job. Hopefully he can move into civvy life and get a job he's happy with.

Absolutely +1

dennisn

iainf72 wrote:

Kléber wrote:

Yes, it's normally supplied direct to clinics and hospitals, this is not something anyone gets via a prescription and is almost never available in a pharmacy.

In the peloton, it can't take longer than 5.3 minutes to find out where to get EPO, surely?

On the other side of that(if you were serious) I doubt that too many riders would be willing to answer your "Hey, where can I get EPO?" question.