British Cycling Anti-Doping Update

May 2010 | British Cycling Anti-Doping Homepage

British Cycling's Web Editor Phil Ingham met up with British Cycling's Anti-Doping Officer, Brian Barton, recently and took a look at the current anti-doping situation, including the latest developments in the fight against drug cheats.

Anti-doping is relevant to every single British Cycling member - please make sure you know why

Any Member Can Be Tested!

Brian has one of the most challenging roles within the organisation and it's always interesting to hear the latest developments in the fight against drug cheats in cycling and in the wider sporting world.

Brian spoke to me in early April to discuss some of the most pressing issues he's facing at the moment and he was keen to tackle some of the issues members have brought up with him in recent months and highlight some of the most recent changes in anti-doping policy.

Brian began by pointing out that often the first question he's asked is "Who can be tested?" It's a basic question with a surprisingly far-reaching answer.

"In theory any member can be tested, racing licence holder or not: when you sign your membership form you commit yourself to adhering to the anti-doping regulations of British Cycling. Parental consent similarly commits a child to the same regulations and under-18 riders can be tested in exactly the same way adults can, though with additional safeguarding children measures."

"In reality we tend to focus on Junior riders (16 to 18 year olds) and above. But that's not to say that Youths won't be tested: both Gymnastics and Swimming routinely test twelve years olds and we can't discount doing the same in the near future."

"It's also important that members are aware that they can be tested out of competition. This is unlikely to happen to riders outside the "testing pool" of riders who compete at the highest level and are on the Whereabouts Programme. However, if there's reliable, credible or consistent information that a rider is breaking anti-doping rules, testing can be arranged and that knock on the door could come! I'm always happy to hear from anyone who may have information of this kind."

Who Carries Out Doping in the UK

Brian then turned to another question which regularly crops up early in conversations about anti doping: "Who actually carries out the testing?"

"In the UK, the principle testing body is UKAD (UK Anti Doing), the recently formed national anti-doping organisation. However, the world governing body of cycling, the UCI, can initiate testing, as can WADA themselves. However, the two latter agencies are most likely to focus on testing riders competing at international level. For the domestic competitor, UKAD is the testing body."

So how does British Cycling organize its testing programme?

"At the start of each calendar year, UKAD asks BC to submit a number of events and tests at those events, which in our opinion would create a good testing programme for cycling. These tests are "public interest" tests, paid for by central funds, not British Cycling. After discussion, a calendar of events and tests is agreed, covering all disciplines and at a number of levels of competition. In the last measured year 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010 UKAD carried out 156 tests at 31 events. Again, I'll emphasise that this was across all disciplines."

"British Cycling is also at liberty to purchase commercial testing - effectively extra testing - which we pay for, if we feel it will be beneficial to our anti-doping strategy. UKAD focuses the majority of its tests on a high standard of racing, so British Cycling's additional testing is likely to be more flexible and less tied to the elite end of the sport. Having said that, UKAD's testing is increasingly deep: they've recently tested at a National B road event, at a Grasstrack event and at a Cycle Speedway premier league meeting." News has just been released that British Cycling are arranging extra testing at a broad spectrum of events later this season.

What other testing does UKAD carry out?

"The rest of the testing by UKAD is out of competition at squad camps or individual calls on athletes on registered testing pools (i.e. those on the much publicised ‘Whereabouts' lists). These tests make up the majority of the tests carried out in the UK: it's been found to be the most effective way of detecting and deterring cheating. For the record, there are two pools of riders: a UCI one and a British Cycling one. The latter is agreed with UKAD and is likely to contain national squad and academy riders, in other words the riders who are likely to be competing for GB sometime in the near future."

What Type of Testing Is Carried Out?

Brian then turned to another question regularly raised by members: "What type of tests are carried out in the UK?"

"Testing has mainly centred on urine samples, up until quite recently, but this is now changing. We have already seen the UCI and other sports (Speed Skating for example) trialing and using blood profiling systems for a number of years. Under WADA rules and procedures, any national anti doping organisation can instigate their own blood profiling programme for atheletes under their jurisdiction. For example, a programme, centrally funded by the UCI, means that all pro-tour road team riders are on blood profiling systems and this has already resulted in several major success stories."

So, what exactly is blood profiling?

"Blood profiling allows a base line to be set up for the key parameters of an athlete's blood over a period of time. Any serious deviation from these baselines rings alarm bells and prompts the question ‘how has this happened?' Obviously there can be physiological reasons for deviations, but if these can't be found by medical examination, then it strongly indicates the use of banned procedures. The deviations from the norm are effectively a ‘smoking gun!"

Has anyone yet been caught thanks to the ‘smoking gun' principle?

"If suspicious results are seen, usually, authorities will target-test the athlete over time to try to identify the substance or procedure causing the deviation. In other words, they look for concrete evidence."

"However, and this is where it get very interesting, it's not necessary for the testing authority to show what method/substance was used. A female speed skater was recently banned for 2 years based on abnormal results from the blood testing, even though the method or substance had not been determined. The case was appealed all the way to Court of Arbitration for Sport, who upheld the ban."

"Twelve blood samples were taken in a 4 month period at the height of testing the skater. There was a 99.9% level of confidence that her body could not have provided the observed deviations without an intervention of some kind. This is a far higher level of statistical evidence than other courts require proving equivalent cases in law. The whole process is backed and overseen by a large and eminent panel of experts. It's now safe to expect, following this case, that other athletes can and will be banned in similar circumstances."

Brian now turned to another increasingly important area of testing:

"There have been advances in testing procedures which are now providing reliable tests for a substance which previously could not be identified, namely human growth hormone (HGH). Last year (2009), a rugby league player was tested in this country and HGH was detected. It was determined that the HGH was of exogenous (i.e. not produced by body) origin. As a result, the athlete has now received a 2 year ban, the first for HGH world-wide. It is probably the tip of the iceberg for HGH testing, but this is a mark of real progress against this banned substamce."

Anti-Doping and You

Turning closer to home, I then asked what Anti Doping actually means for the average clean-living British Cycling member?

"The main concern has to be for people on medication for legitimate medical reasons, where that medication may involve substances on the prohibited list. This is especially common when the drugs are for treating asthma. All members need to realize that they must check all medications, including over the counter purchases, to see whether there are any concern with them or not. To do this, all they have to do is visit www.globaldro.com and follow the instructions."

"However, since the start of 2010, some asthma drugs no longer need a "therapeutic use exemption" (TUE) for their use. In other words a certificate proving that the medication has been properly prescribed for a genuine medical condition. However, several still require a declaration of use, the next step-down from a TUE. These are, most notably, salbutamol, salmeterol and glucocorticosteroids by inhalation. Declaration can be done on-line at www.ukad.org.uk/forms/declaration ."

"Other medications can still require a TUE but riders who are not in a testing pool do not need a TUE prior to being tested. If a rider, who uses a medication which does require a TUE, is tested, they should declare the medication at the time of testing and start a the process of applying for a TUE within 5 days of the test. This crucial issue potentially affects all British Cycling members, and I'm always happy to advise. Equally, you can check full details of TUE drugs and the process of retrospectively applying for a TUE on the UKAD website."

Brian believes this makes for a more practical and common sense approach to TUEs.

He says "take medical advice and prescribed medication and put your health first. But be smart and check out your medication and be prepared to apply for a TUE if tested. At the same time, you need to be aware that you are not guaranteed to get a TUE. You will only receive one for medication which returns you to full health, but not for one which enhances your performance beyond full health. As always, be safe and check the medication out first."

"And don't assume that drugs have left your body after a course of medication. Some stay in your body for some time, so be prepared to declare them and seek a TUE where necessary."

Is there anything else members need to be aware of as the 2010 season gets going?

"One final potential problem at moment is the return of pseudoephedrine to the banned list. It's in a number of popular cold medications which are available over the counter (i.e. not prescribed). So please check over-the-counter medications as well as prescribed ones. Pseudoephedrine is perhaps the biggest possible pit-fall out there. You would not get a TUE if you used it via a medicine that was not prescribed. And don't' forget social drugs also come under the prohibited list for sport!"

Further Reading

If you are a British Cycling member who participates in the sport of cycling at any level, there's really no excuse for being ignorant of anti-doping issues. Education has been a high priority for the lead agencies in the anti-doping battles and both the UCI and WADA have excellent interactive anti-doping education sections on their websites. Meanwhile, for elite riders, these sites are a necessity and, above a certain level, they have to visit the site and get a pass mark in an interactive test. Don't fail your anti-doping exams - visit the sites below and do your homework!

British Cycling Anti-Doping Homepage
Anti-Doping UK: www.ukad.org.uk
WADA: www.wada-ama.org
UCI Anti DopingInfo: www.uci.ch