15 septembre 2005

Letters to Cyclingnews

Chris Sheppard had been doing some amateur road events in Oregon this year with some of his other pro Mtb buddies and his form was usually quite impressive. In one case he broke away with Health Net's Doug Ollerenshaw at the early season Banana Belt road race series, holding off the field and taking second place. I took the field sprint for third. I guess that second really belongs to me, huh Chris. And furthermore, that break might not have succeeded without Sheppard, so maybe I'd have won. I did win that series overall, so I'm not just blowing smoke.

Then there was the Silverton road race in Oregon. Again, Sheppard was there with some Kona pros and Adam Craig riding in his Health Net gear. Apparently Sheppard was "doing intervals" at this race - throttling it for 10 minute blocks and missing the break, probably because it wasn't in his training plan. He was nevertheless ripping legs off, and I was happy to take 10th place at this tough race while racing with a cold. I attacked on one of the final hills and was joined by Sheppard and the US Masters 50+ road champion and we formed a small group with a couple other guys. Here I bested Sheppard with my good sprint finish. Just another training ride for Mr. Sheppard. But I was happy to have beaten a pro more or less head to head. And now I can say I beat a real, bonified, caught red-handed, doped-up pro !

One of my teammates recounted last night how Sheppard, again with a gaggle of pro MTB guys raced the Columbia Plateau stage race in Oregon last May. In the service of race leader and previously busted fellow Canadian Roland Green, Sheppard set a torrid tempo at the based of the final day's major 12-mile long climb. He completely sold-out in an effort to decimate the field, which he succeeded in doing. I guess that was a test of how the "preparations" were coming along. Luckily our team leader at the race held on to his podium spot despite the presence of at least one talented doper in the peloton. Roland of course had been popped a couple years ago.

I guess this latest doping revelation confirms a few things for me. The first is that, yes indeed, "domestic pros" do in fact have the means to acquire, and have the access to doping products. This notion was recently dispelled by a friend of mine on the US pro circuit. He said things like EPO are just too expensive for lowly North American pros to purchase. The second confirmation is that in the NW region of the US, and I'll include the province of British Columbia too, there are riders that are doping. Is it just Sheppard ? All or some of the pros ? Just the mountain bikers ? The roadies too ? How about the top amateur guys looking for a pro contract who never get tested ?

What this latest positive test result also does is open up a lot of questions for me. I know I'm clean. But now I wonder even more about the guys I race against here in the NW. They probably wonder about me too, especially since I'm finishing up my best season ever. Unfortunately Sheppard's positive will only add to the suspicion that the public and racers alike towards the top riders in the sport of cycling, from elite amateurs to the best riders in the world. And before, the only cheats I knew of were top pros I may have only raced against at elite events. There I didn't really feel cheated because I never had a chance at that level, but now I have the feeling of personally being cheated by a doper after racing with Sheppard in the NW. There's a real sense of feeling robbed when you lose to a doper. I can only imagine how someone making a living racing must feel when it comes out they've been beaten by a cheater.

So, have fun free-riding in B.C. Chris. I hope any of your buddies that are dirty get popped too. I can't imagine you are the only one cheating, but who knows ?

Robert Campbell
Washington, USA

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