junior Doper

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  • I havent spoken to him yet - will do shortly.

    TBH i'm afraid to tell him because he loves the sport so much and I dont want to compromise that purity.
    But I reckon he already suspects certain individuals.

    It's impossible to believe that this guy wasn't supplied / encouraged by those close to him.
    Imagine getting a junior into doping.............

    So Gabriel Evans came 18th in the GB road race.......... He should have taken another shot
  • Tom "cheating motherf'ing scum", "i bet he was doing it for ages"

    Bearing in mind they raced together i think he's entitled to that view.
  • Firstly, I don't know any of the personalities involved in this, as others seem to. I'm not a parent and I don't race in the UK anymore... but I have done a whole bunch of crazy stupid shoot in my youth.

    Calling an 18 year old who has destroyed his life all sorts of names on a public forum is not going to lead anywhere good. The kid got in over his head and, be it for money, glory, pressure or whatever, made some terrible decisions. He'll be punished by UKADA for that.

    But given he got out ahead of this by admitting what he did, let's not hound a teenager. What do we want him to do in reaction to being called a cheating mother toucher?

    Theres more to life than cycling and the kids main victim is himself.

    I hope he has someone he can talk to
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Firstly, I don't know any of the personalities involved in this, as others seem to. I'm not a parent and I don't race in the UK anymore... but I have done a whole bunch of crazy stupid shoot in my youth.

    Calling an 18 year old who has destroyed his life all sorts of names on a public forum is not going to lead anywhere good. The kid got in over his head and, be it for money, glory, pressure or whatever, made some terrible decisions. He'll be punished by UKADA for that.

    But given he got out ahead of this by admitting what he did, let's not hound a teenager. What do we want him to do in reaction to being called a cheating mother toucher?

    Theres more to life than cycling and the kids main victim is himself.

    I hope he has someone he can talk to
    As I read it the 'all sorts of names' came from one of his peers who has obviously been affected by his cheating. Somewhat understandable but I agree he needs a support network around him to make sure he's all right.

    I know nothing of the junior scene. What sort of education are these kids getting in terms of how to stay on the right path?
  • It's a good thing that UKAD's testing is getting Juniors like this kid. Glad to see that the focus is on the cesspool that is amateur cycling.
    Supporter of Sky, transparency and clean cycling. Opponent of pseudoscience.

    The greatest clean cycling performance ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eiN2vfGKhk
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    What test? He was caught by his team/training mate basically red handed and grassed up.
  • It's a good thing that UKAD's testing is getting Juniors like this kid. Glad to see that the focus is on the cesspool that is amateur cycling.

    Cesspool? I don't know where you're racing but in a decade I never saw or heard of anything to make me feel it was anything but good clean fun.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,032
    He seems to be using the David Millar defence.
    BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,224
    It's a good thing that UKAD's testing is getting Juniors like this kid. Glad to see that the focus is on the cesspool that is amateur cycling.

    Cesspool? I don't know where you're racing but in a decade I never saw or heard of anything to make me feel it was anything but good clean fun.

    I don't know where you're racing, but if my son or daughter described the racing as "fun"' I could only imagine that it's because they're up the back larking about with the other duffers...
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    It's a good thing that UKAD's testing is getting Juniors like this kid. Glad to see that the focus is on the cesspool that is amateur cycling.

    A) He wasn't caught during a test, it was a teammates dad that fond it and reported him (and good on him).
    B) 'Cesspool' is more than a bit strong. Look at triathlon, athletics, tennis, football, etc. even on an amateur level is far worse. Difference is we have the rep, but at least we try and do something about it.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • It's a good thing that UKAD's testing is getting Juniors like this kid. Glad to see that the focus is on the cesspool that is amateur cycling.

    Cesspool? I don't know where you're racing but in a decade I never saw or heard of anything to make me feel it was anything but good clean fun.

    Certainly junior racing has changed hugely in the last 10 years.
    A very competitive level, with full fields and lots of teams with substantial funds.

    My son lives for the sport, trains every spare second he has despite straight A s at A level.
    He watches his weight and compromises his social life. Our lives have been dedicated to cycling for 4+ years.
    We view it as a massive health benefit, for body and mind, and the goal is to always be the best he can.
    We talk about integrity, respect for the sport - its history, and his fellow competitors, and the camaraderie.
    I see a lot of these young guys as fantastic representatives for their generation.

    So to discover this guy has been cheating is abhorrent, and -to me - unacceptable.

    And to imagine that those close to a junior rider could be encouraging doping is the very definition of abuse.
  • But given he got out ahead of this by admitting what he did

    No, he was caught red-handed. He even competed after having been caught and still accepted the win. He's made a mealy mouthed statement with insufficient sincerity and a promise to return asap after his ban.

    No word from his parents or coaches yet....or from Team Catford or club London Dynamo..................
    Hopefully it'll be vets for him by then.
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,551
    Dynamo had a series of tweets yesterday distancing themselves...
  • I find it difficult to sympathise with an offender regardless of their age. I'm not sure there is much merit for giving credit for 'fessing bearing in mind no-one ever fesses up until they are caught or past the statute of limitations having milked the sport for whatever they wanted.

    Has anyone ever said whilst still competing "Hey no-one knows this but I've been cheating and even though I've got years ahead of me the burden of guilt is making it too much for me to carry" Has anyone ever done that? not to my knowledge.

    It's not even as though we are even trying to break big doping rings anymore. this stuff is so easily available through the post for about £40 a batch. It took 20 seconds to find a website yesterday. It doesn't look seedy, there is a nice picture on the website of a lady with a headset "ready to take your call" it's like buying double glazing.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Has anyone ever said whilst still competing "Hey no-one knows this but I've been cheating and even though I've got years ahead of me the burden of guilt is making it too much for me to carry" Has anyone ever done that? not to my knowledge.
    Vaughters, maybe
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,719
    Very hard to get your head round someone of 17/18 taking epo. I suppose drugs have always been easy to get hold of if you move in the "right" circles, I just hope that semi pro and top end amateur cycling teams are not the right crcles for getting hold of peds. Maybe the internet has changed things and all it takes is google I don't know.

    Coming to the sport late and having no real talent it's always been a hobby for me but it does surprise me how often the ambitions of some young riders exceed their discernible talent.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Hopefully it'll be vets for him by then.
    I realise you are angry, but having him neutered is not the answer.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    He's talking about the blue juice...
  • Has anyone ever said whilst still competing "Hey no-one knows this but I've been cheating and even though I've got years ahead of me the burden of guilt is making it too much for me to carry" Has anyone ever done that? not to my knowledge.
    Vaughters, maybe

    Close but no cigar, Vaughters...

    "Around 2004, about a year after I retired, I said something publicly that could've been perceived as saying Lance doped, and he was upset about it and called me. I said: Listen, I know this has nothing to do with you, but I feel guilty about what I did. Don't you? And he never admitted doping in this conversation. But what he said to me was, 'Listen, the 180 guys who you raced against when you did what you had to do back then, they all put on their racing cleats, right?' And I said, Yeah. And he said: 'Exactly. You put your shoes on too. I don't lose any sleep over it; you shouldn't either.'

    "I anonymously admitted to my own doping in The New York Times in 2006, and if I had done it on the record, I think you would have seen a lot of our team's sponsors go away for reasons unknown, race invitations disappear for reasons unknown. .."
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Has anyone ever said whilst still competing "Hey no-one knows this but I've been cheating and even though I've got years ahead of me the burden of guilt is making it too much for me to carry" Has anyone ever done that? not to my knowledge.
    Vaughters, maybe

    Close but no cigar, Vaughters...
    Ah, you meant literally said it out loud. I was thinking metaphorically said it to themselves.
    (It would be weird to confess unprovoked, IMO)
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Very hard to get your head round someone of 17/18 taking epo. I suppose drugs have always been easy to get hold of if you move in the "right" circles, I just hope that semi pro and top end amateur cycling teams are not the right crcles for getting hold of peds. Maybe the internet has changed things and all it takes is google I don't know.

    Coming to the sport late and having no real talent it's always been a hobby for me but it does surprise me how often the ambitions of some young riders exceed their discernible talent.


    40 notes credit on your credit card + the internet, and PEDs to your door the next day
  • Has anyone ever said whilst still competing "Hey no-one knows this but I've been cheating and even though I've got years ahead of me the burden of guilt is making it too much for me to carry" Has anyone ever done that? not to my knowledge.
    Vaughters, maybe

    Close but no cigar, Vaughters...
    Ah, you meant literally said it out loud. I was thinking metaphorically said it to themselves.
    (It would be weird to confess unprovoked, IMO)

    I suppose so... :(
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,348
    Very hard to get your head round someone of 17/18 taking epo. I suppose drugs have always been easy to get hold of if you move in the "right" circles, I just hope that semi pro and top end amateur cycling teams are not the right crcles for getting hold of peds. Maybe the internet has changed things and all it takes is google I don't know.

    Coming to the sport late and having no real talent it's always been a hobby for me but it does surprise me how often the ambitions of some young riders exceed their discernible talent.


    40 notes credit on your credit card + the internet, and PEDs to your door the next day

    ...Is it though DeV?

    Competition between teenage peers is one of the most ferocious I can think of

    I'm with DG here though. The guy has made a d1ck move but castigating him for ever will not help anyone. It sounds like he is genuinely contrite and has realised (as all teenagers have to do) that the world doesnt revolve around him and his small circle of friends.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • He's talking about the blue juice...

    Gatorade's not a banned substance is it?
  • He's talking about the blue juice...

    Gatorade's not a banned substance is it?
    It should be, have you tasted the stuff? Pineapple juice goes down much better.
    Supporter of Sky, transparency and clean cycling. Opponent of pseudoscience.

    The greatest clean cycling performance ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eiN2vfGKhk
  • Very hard to get your head round someone of 17/18 taking epo. I suppose drugs have always been easy to get hold of if you move in the "right" circles, I just hope that semi pro and top end amateur cycling teams are not the right crcles for getting hold of peds. Maybe the internet has changed things and all it takes is google I don't know.

    Coming to the sport late and having no real talent it's always been a hobby for me but it does surprise me how often the ambitions of some young riders exceed their discernible talent.


    40 notes credit on your credit card + the internet, and PEDs to your door the next day

    ...Is it though DeV?

    Competition between teenage peers is one of the most ferocious I can think of

    I'm with DG here though. The guy has made a d1ck move but castigating him for ever will not help anyone. It sounds like he is genuinely contrite and has realised (as all teenagers have to do) that the world doesnt revolve around him and his small circle of friends.

    If he was genuinely contrite he wouldn't have turned up to the Nat Champs in September having been caught in August. He denied someone else their moment of glory. How do you give that back?

    EDIT: from a post in the timetrialling forum...

    "... lets be clear, the whole story hasn't been told. No withdrawal from junior tour of Wales. He was booted off the team, had that not have happened I am in no doubt he would have ridden. when he was asked to leave the team he then went to a local club and joined them so he could ride the National TT for a CTT registered club."
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • He told CW that losing the national 25 title was when he decided to get on the juice
    “That was a catalyst,” he said. “I got beaten by a lot, and when you get beaten by a lot you start questioning things. You question other people. I’m not trying to justify it, but when there is that much media exposure, about EPO, it is easy to be tempted. A big factor was losing that title.”

    Who the heck is mentoring this kid and putting that kind of 1)pressure and 2)Crazy expectations of himself on him?

    When I get beat by a lot, even when I was racing abroad, and getting beaten by a lot, my immediate reaction was "He must be a lot better at cycling than me" or "I wonder if doing XYZ would help?"

    Is this how juniors think now?
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    edited December 2015
    Always dangerous to generalise whats come out of one doper's mouth in his attempt to justify what he did, as symptomatic of an entire age group/level/whatever

    @OwainDoull: Can not believe this quote "I got beaten by a lot, and when you get beaten by a lot you start questioning things"

    @OwainDoull: It's a junior race ffs, what a muppet. Also trying to claim doping was 'normalised and justified' give me a break
  • Very hard to get your head round someone of 17/18 taking epo. I suppose drugs have always been easy to get hold of if you move in the "right" circles, I just hope that semi pro and top end amateur cycling teams are not the right crcles for getting hold of peds. Maybe the internet has changed things and all it takes is google I don't know.

    Coming to the sport late and having no real talent it's always been a hobby for me but it does surprise me how often the ambitions of some young riders exceed their discernible talent.


    40 notes credit on your credit card + the internet, and PEDs to your door the next day

    ...Is it though DeV?

    Competition between teenage peers is one of the most ferocious I can think of

    I'm with DG here though. The guy has made a d1ck move but castigating him for ever will not help anyone. It sounds like he is genuinely contrite and has realised (as all teenagers have to do) that the world doesnt revolve around him and his small circle of friends.

    If he was genuinely contrite he wouldn't have turned up to the Nat Champs in September having been caught in August. He denied someone else their moment of glory. How do you give that back?

    EDIT: from a post in the timetrialling forum...

    "... lets be clear, the whole story hasn't been told. No withdrawal from junior tour of Wales. He was booted off the team, had that not have happened I am in no doubt he would have ridden. when he was asked to leave the team he then went to a local club and joined them so he could ride the National TT for a CTT registered club."


    Changing his story, misleading stuff...its all getting smellier and smellier from young Evans