Events

Kevin Evans accepts doping charge

By Press Office · 1614 comments

Cycling South Africa reports that the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) has charged mountain bike cyclist, Kevin Evans with doping after identifying serious irregularities in his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) – a profile of the athlete’s blood parameters.

ccs-62657-0-90136700-1453116564.jpgPhoto credit: Dave Macleod/
Gameplan Media

Mr. Evans accepted the charge of doping and did not contest the findings. The ABP is a longitudinal analysis and the suspicious readings were identified over a period of time, therefore the athlete’s results extending back to 14 March 2014 will be disqualified, with all of the resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

He will be banned from sport for four years as of 4 March 2015 until 3 March 2019. The athlete has however indicated that he has retired from professional cycling.

Cycling South Africa respects the independence of the SAIDS process. Cycling South Africa further reiterates its zero-tolerance approach to doping in sport and will continue working with SAIDS in the promotion of a drug-free sport via its awareness and extensive testing programmes.

Comments

Skubarra

Jan 21, 2016, 4:13 PM

Other guys' natural level is closer to 50 and can't increase it anymore.

 

 

 

So in a sense it does level the playing field in that everybody now have levels close to 50

 

(but not in the sense that everybody benefits equally from doping) 

jcza

Jan 21, 2016, 4:16 PM

This is perhaps a good time in explaining why people that say doping levels the playing field are wrong.

 

What the guys do that's below 50 is that they take epo to push it to high 40s/close to 50, the UCI limit. I think Lance's natural level was in the low 40s, thus he could improve quite a lot. Other guys' natural level is closer to 50 and can't increase it anymore.

 

That's my simple understanding, so please help/explain more if you can.

 

Correct although a higher level does not necessarily translate into performance. Wegelius was a domestique all his life and never won anything with a level of 51%. 

Guest notmyname

Jan 21, 2016, 4:18 PM

This thread has really developed into plain awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Kev.

andydude

Jan 21, 2016, 4:28 PM

So in a sense it does level the playing field in that everybody now have levels close to 50

 

(but not in the sense that everybody benefits equally from doping)

Yes, I think that's it, not everybody benefits equally. And what jcza said above.

EmptyB

Jan 21, 2016, 5:09 PM

I am learning so much from this thread...

It's the biology class I never attended at school.

Ditto....although a fair amount still confuses me. Just like school.

DirtyFrank

Jan 21, 2016, 5:28 PM

I think he implies they are allowed too as long as he doesn't find out....

Something in common with the cycling powers that be then! ^_^

SwissVan

Jan 21, 2016, 5:49 PM

All this talk of blood haematocrit levels.... Was this what was found to be suspicious in the SAIDS case against KE, or is it just speculative discussion?

 

Clearly something was going on but what....?

 

Everyone who should know knows but no one is saying anything definitive from what i can find....

andydude

Jan 21, 2016, 7:06 PM

All this talk of blood haematocrit levels.... Was this what was found to be suspicious in the SAIDS case against KE, or is it just speculative discussion?

 

Clearly something was going on but what....?

 

Everyone who should know knows but no one is saying anything definitive from what i can find....

It started with someone posting their early wakeup time to go training, and that's when the fun started!

 

Someone then mentioned the stories from the 90s about riders having to get up early to get their heartrates up because of the epo making their blood thick and people dying.

 

Proof was requested of those stories, but no direct proof was given. A bit of tit for tat followed in whether it's true and possible for that high levels.

 

Then we started discussing haematocrit levels and what was uci legal and then also about doping not giving the same advantage to everyone.

 

So point 1, next time read yourself [emoji14] and 2, it has nothing to do with KE's case. Just some interesting information.

davetapson

Jan 21, 2016, 7:43 PM

So I've just watched pvr'd Supercycling to see what the ex-doper and crew would have to say.  Was a fairly strained moment to say the least.  When they are discussing doping/dopers/dopes the air is so thick of whatall is being unsaid it's hard to see the presenters.

 

Occurred to me today that the Epic's level of difficulty is probably calibrated against the front runners - so those poor fkrs having to come in in about 2x the winning time of the super-charged to make cut-off should probably be given more respect than they are.

 

If KE has been doping and couldn't reliably win, well, that says it all.

Pure Savage

Jan 21, 2016, 8:00 PM

Wait, I never knew lances ball is a girl? I always imagined lances ball a mixture of jens voigt, paoulini, Brad Wiggins, the secret pro and Mark Cavendish.

intern

Jan 21, 2016, 8:20 PM

Nope.

Because they (I)  have a life and kids and families and have to train harder in order to be faster and fitter. 

Absolutely - you have to make time, steal time, find time somewhere to train. And in my case, it means whatever time I get, I just absolutely hammer it on the bike for max effect. Plus it's more fun when you're going fast, anyway.

intern

Jan 21, 2016, 8:28 PM

Heres the thing - we clearly care about this stuff as this thread is now running 50 pages and its still getting more interesting and informative.

 

This is a pretty fascinating topic and its pretty much a tragicomedy in the way that it has panned out with all nuances of the people involved having added their 2 cents along the way. Its like we all knew this was likely - we dreaded that it could be true and we hoped that it wasn't. But like in the movies the story has unravelled in such a way that it makes movie scripts and series look tame - their script writers could write this and we wouldn't watch it as we would say its too far fetched.

 

I am continually fascinated by the psyche of the dopers as well as the righteous indignation they show when caught - this is what keeps me hooked on this topic - Lance, Kevin, Tyler, Rourke - basically all very similar.....

You've nailed it - I find the 'self deception' as fascinating as the deception of others. Makes you wonder about what makes these people (and ones like Garamundage) tick. No consideration or respect for others. Sport is supposed to be about human endeavour, camaraderie, effort, hard work, discipline, commitment, achievement, disappointment, winning, losing*, being fair.

At least in my mind, anyway.

* To know how to win, you also need to know how to lose.

Skubarra

Jan 21, 2016, 8:30 PM

Wait, I never knew lances ball is a girl? I always imagined lances ball a mixture of jens voigt, paoulini, Brad Wiggins, the secret pro and Mark Cavendish.

 

Having a boyfriend does not necessarily mean you are a girl.... This is Cape Town after all...

 

So your mental picture might still be spot on..

RocknRolla

Jan 21, 2016, 8:49 PM

lance's ball boy....or girl....

Shebeen

Jan 21, 2016, 9:07 PM

Wait, I never knew lances ball is a girl? I always imagined lances ball a mixture of jens voigt, paoulini, Brad Wiggins, the secret pro and Mark Cavendish.

remember there are two balls as well, the one in a jar and the other which keeps on producing whoopsies
Mntboy

Jan 22, 2016, 2:35 AM

You've nailed it - I find the 'self deception' as fascinating as the deception of others. Makes you wonder about what makes these people (and ones like Garamundage) tick. No consideration or respect for others. Sport is supposed to be about human endeavour, camaraderie, effort, hard work, discipline, commitment, achievement, disappointment, winning, losing*, being fair.

At least in my mind, anyway.

* To know how to win, you also need to know how to lose.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky in writing 'The Brothers Karamazov' has one of the characters say this "If a man lies to another man he is merely a liar but if a man lies to himself he is deceived." I think Dostoyevsky's implication of living in a false sense of reality is rather applicable to dopers don't you?
Mntboy

Jan 22, 2016, 2:39 AM

Wait, I never knew lances ball is a girl? I always imagined lances ball a mixture of jens voigt, paoulini, Brad Wiggins, the secret pro and Mark Cavendish.

Having a boyfriend does not necessarily mean you are a girl.... This is Cape Town after all...

 

So your mental picture might still be spot on..

Gents isn't Lancesball's opinion of greater importance than his/her gender or sexual orientation?
Guest Lancesball

Jan 22, 2016, 5:11 AM

A couple of cyclists with levels above 50%, only name that comes to mind is Charlie Wegulius. Had to prove that he was abnormal. Best remembered as the rider that raced for team instead of country at Worlds.  

 

A few are above 50% naturally. There has been a small few in SA even that have been at that value. Not uncommon at all.

Guest Lancesball

Jan 22, 2016, 5:13 AM

Couple of mountain climbers have documented levels over 50 - this might be nature or nurture or something else - like I say it's not a normal number - if I saw one over 50 I would probably get the test repeated thinking they had made a mistake....

 

Not sure you would see those values considering you not a Doctor at any medical level.

Guest Lancesball

Jan 22, 2016, 5:14 AM

Gents isn't Lancesball's opinion of greater importance than his/her gender or sexual orientation?

 

Its the Hub, important things dont matter. Sad to think someone gets judged and made fun of due to orientation and / sexuality.

deonkretch

Jan 22, 2016, 5:24 AM

Fyodor Dostoyevsky in writing 'The Brothers Karamazov' has one of the characters say this "If a man lies to another man he is merely a liar but if a man lies to himself he is deceived." I think Dostoyevsky's implication of living in a false sense of reality is rather applicable to dopers don't you?

Dopers to Dostoyevsky in 891 posts, man, I do love the Hub!

Tumbleweed

Jan 22, 2016, 5:32 AM

Its the Hub, important things dont matter. Sad to think someone gets judged and made fun of due to orientation and / sexuality.

 

Sorry, we do get a bit distracted from time to time...

 

So let's get back to those important things, shall we? So why does someone get fat during stage races? What did Jeroen have to say about it? And did your boyfriend agree with the answer? 

eddy

Jan 22, 2016, 5:57 AM

Not sure you would see those values considering you not a Doctor at any medical level.

Lb, you speak with apparent knowledge on a number of matters relating to Pro cycling and also on v12's professional status.

 

Can you give us your argument for the latter so we can assess the credibility of your posts on the former ?

BarHugger

Jan 22, 2016, 6:06 AM

Not sure you would see those values considering you not a Doctor at any medical level.

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/11/2spookky4me-2spooky-afraid-fear-fright-scared-scary-shaking-spongebob-spooky-GIF.gif

BarHugger

Jan 22, 2016, 6:09 AM

Sorry, we do get a bit distracted from time to time...

 

So let's get back to those important things, shall we? So why does someone get fat during stage races? What did Jeroen have to say about it? And did your boyfriend agree with the answer? 

 

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/08/-GIF-afraid-creepy-disappointed-disgusted-do-not-want-fear-scared-shocked-GIF.gif

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