Candi Murray

No-show doping suspensions reversed
By VeloNews.com
This report filed January 30, 2007
USA Cycling and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Tuesday that two
riders, previously suspended for missing doping tests, have had their
licenses reinstated, after both agencies concluded that harsh penalties were
unfair in both cases.

Cale Redpath of Durango, Colorado and Alice Pennington of Hood River, Oregon
both accepted one-year suspensions for failure to appear after being
selected as reserve athletes at USA Cycling and UCI-sanctioned events during
the 2006 season. Normally, anti-doping rules require that podium finishers
and a select group of randomly chosen riders are required to undergo testing
following a race. Reserve athletes are tested only in the event that one of
the other riders fails to show up for testing or if one of the randomly
selected riders finishes in the top three. Both Pennington and Redpath had
been selected as random riders, but subsequently argued that they had not
been aware of their selections.

USADA officials told VeloNews that a one-year suspension was "admittedly
harsh" in both cases, but noted that a strict interpretation of Article 122
of the UCI's anti-doping regulations required its imposition.

"It bothered us, too," said one USADA official, "but the rule was clear.
What we decided, though, was to look at how Article 122 was being applied in
other countries and we saw a lot of inconsistencies. At that point, we
started working with the UCI and USA Cycling to see if we could come up with
a more equitable solution."

In USADA's decision to set aside the offenses and sanctions of Redpath and
Pennington, it cited a "fair and appropriate application of Article 122" (of
the UCI Anti-Doping Rules) in light of USADA's investigation regarding
reserve riders that are subject to a no-show violation only in the event
they would have actually been tested. In both cases, the athlete would not
otherwise have been tested as a reserve since both the automatic selections
and the randoms were available for testing.

"USA Cycling maintains a zero-tolerance policy and remains fully committed
to the fight against doping," Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling, said in a
press release issued Tuesday. "Toward that end, we continue to work closely
with both the UCI and USADA to combat the use of performance-enhancing drugs
and methods in the sport of cycling. Respecting this policy, we also believe
that it is imperative to preserve and protect the rights of all athletes in
this fight and we are pleased that through open communication with USADA and
the UCI, we have been able to better harmonize our national and
international policies and procedures. We applaud the efforts of USADA for
pursuing fairness and equity surrounding these no-show situations."

There are currently three other similar cases under review and, if the facts
are like those surrounding the Redpath and Pennington suspensions, charges
are likely to be dropped as well.

"We are not saying that people don't need to show up for testing," said one
unnamed USADA official. "What we are saying is that in cases like this,
where there was an honest mistake, with no real consequence, it should be
treated differently than someone who intentionally takes a
performance-enhancing drug to gain an advantage. We're here to nail
cheaters. That's our job."