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Good good good.

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I'd love to see age group testing AND an unlimited category....where anything goes and nothing is tested.

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Is doping really present at all among age groupers? It's really expensive and the only thing an amateur can expect to get is maybe a free bike at best. I doubt there are many people who will spend that kind of money (assuming that they even have the means in the first place) for such minimal returns. I think this looks more like a PC move than something that will actually catch anybody. But I guess it's cool that they're doing it.

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My controlled substance days are well behind me...but what does happen to an individual who is caught using illegal/restricted performance enhancers?

are they just dropped from that event or are they banned?

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It appears that those who are doping, are well off and have disposable income...It also appears to be happening more among older Age groupers...guys with incomes well into six figures who don't miss the 10k a year. Of course there are young guys doing it...they find the money somewhere...just like the seemingly unemployed body builders I see at the gym. For some people they will find a way to buy their 15 minutes of fame...and don't care how they do it. I don't think it's PC...I think it's smart.

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I hope they test at Hawaii this year too. There are some incredibly fast euros there. They go by you on the bike like a rocket. I think PE drugs are much easier to obtain in Europe.
This is just the result of 10 random AG samples? Incredible.

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Yeah it's really sad. I didn't think that any AGers did that. Apparently I was wrong and we really do need this. I'd like to think that no one around here does it, but there is one guy who I've heard stories about. Although he's not an AGer, it still make me worry that triathlon might go the way of cycling. Running is halfway there already. I knew that testing for pros was necessary to keep that from happening, but the fact that amateur athletes think they need to cheat to prove something really is disgraceful.

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You wouldn't think an AG would cheat with drugs. It's not our livelihood. I can see why professionals might get caught up in it with pressure to put food on the table and possibly support a family.
I don't understand why an AG would risk their health.

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thanks for the link JRH.

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Just an interesting bit i gleaned from pezcyclingnews.com
Doping’s Not So Publicised Problems
Most of us know about the health and psychological problems that doping can often bring to the athletes that participate in such programs, but what are the repercussions for the next generation, if there are any?

Well that’s exactly what a German study released this week has studied – the effects of doping on the children of dopers – specifically the children of the East German sports ‘stars’ of the 1970s and 80s. 69 children were studied by German researcher, Giselher Spitzer and instead of inheriting their parent’s athletic abilities or increased muscle size, they instead inherited some alarming problems.

The study found that:

* 7 of the of 69 have serious physical deformities.
* 4 of the 69 are mentally handicapped.
* More than a quarter of the children have serious allergies
* 23 per cent have asthma.
* The risk of miscarriage and stillbirth in the athletes was an incredible 32 times higher than in the normal German population.

These results are obviously extremely alarming, with rates of both physical and mental problems being much, much higher than the same rates in the general population. This study only involved the steroid fed generation of East German athletes, but who’s to say that the EPO or Growth Hormone generation of athletes won’t experience the same or worse problems in the future? Surely another reason not to dope people! Maybe this study’s results should be handed around the peloton at the first race of the year next year….

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Back when I was an athlete in my college days, All the athletes knew who was using the stuff, but nobody really made a big deal about it. Why, I don’t know, I guess the general attitude among the athletes was that if a person felt that they needed it, well fine take it, and maybe you will get bigger, faster, stronger, or maybe you’ll get caught, lose your ride, get a tumor, flip out and kill someone during a roid rage. We also knew that we were going to get tested, and even randomly tested.

But was more obvious (or rather pathetic) were the amount of non-athletes in the gym that were taking the stuff. Why? Because they wanted to look good, or get stronger? Now there is HGH and a lot of high tech stuff which speeds recovery and increases endurance which you can’t even test for. It seems people still have no fear of the side effects of these things and are willing to sacrifice their long term health for something that’s phony.

As the sport of triathlon gets more and more popular it is only logical that races like, for instance, the IronmanWorld Championship are going to get harder and harder to qualify for, look at it now. This also means that other qualifying races will become more competitive.

It is almost easier to believe that the age grouper that has the disposable income and the ego is going to use performance enhancing drugs. Why? Because there is no testing and there is nothing for him or her to lose. They don’t have to worry about going to jail, losing sponsors, losing their credibility and being banned from the sport. Heck, they may even advance in their professional lives because of their cheating.

Testing at the big races should be encouraged and applauded, if you have nothing to hide then what is the fear. It’s a shame that it has become so widespread in all sports, and the various sports federations now are only beginning to take it seriously. I don’t think the use of performance enhancement drugs will ever stop, there will always be someone who feels they need that little bit extra. But the governing sports bodies do have a responsibility to maintain the integrity of amateur and professional competitions. And if drug testing is a part of the solution, then by all means, lets start.