Davis Phinney and the '84 Olympics

[Peter P.]

I'm reading Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter's book, Training for Cycling. The Prologue gives a history of both racers and in it, Connie recalls Eddie B.'s attempts to get them both to participate in blood packing for the '84 Olympics, but neither of them would have any part of it.

But I thought I read somewhere that Davis DID participate in the blood packing scheme and eventually confessed. Is the book correct or am I?

[peanutgallery]

https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/cyclops/dopes.htm

Pretty sure that in 1984, if you didn't dope you stayed home. Pretty rudimentary setups were used

[Gummee]

IIRC it was legal, but unethical to blood dope back then.

Have a buddy that raced pro back then and he was telling me about it.

M

[RFC]

When did blood doping begin. It was widely believed that the Flying Finns who won the 5,000 and 10,000 in the 72 and 76 Olympics were blood doping.

[colker]

So much for cycle racing as a healthy activity. As healthy as plastic surgery.

[ntb1001]

It’s something that was championed by the US team as revolutionary at the time. They proudly explained it as a science they mastered..
I doubt anybody “optioned out”




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hindmost]

https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/cyclops/dopes.htm

Pretty sure that in 1984, if you didn't dope you stayed home. Pretty rudimentary setups were used

A great read by somebody who was there. Article identifies staff but doesn't name athletes.

[peanutgallery]

All you have to do is connect the dots, if you were a Cat2 or better back then and did the bigger events with some of the characters from that era, you'll see some red thread. Many of the staff were involved a decade or more later. During that time Eddie also extolled the virtues of horsemeat for lean/endurance. Anybody that went thru a development camp will tell you some crazy stories.
Eddie is quite a character and this was all pre scientific training, so wives tales were in.

Check out the author's other articles, this was the old USCF craziness, pre Thom Weasel. More of the same


A great read by somebody who was there. Article identifies staff but doesn't name athletes.

[David Tollefson]

So much for cycle racing as a healthy activity. As healthy as plastic surgery.

There's nothing inherently unhealthy about bike racing. Professional racing is as far removed from cycling, and even amateur racing, as you want to make it.

[oldpotatoe]

So much for cycle racing as a healthy activity. As healthy as plastic surgery.

Are altitude chambers still legal? Shouldn't be..another 'artificial' way to raise your hematocrit level...Lotsa dum stuff done in the name of the almighty dollar/Euro/Lira/Pound, etc...:eek: Cycling isn't alone...US ball sports, Football(soccer)..etc...even golfers dope..yup, they do.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-issues-one-year-suspension-to-veteran-for-violating-anti-doping-policy

[unterhausen]

the more money in a sport, the more likely it is that there is doping. Just about every sport has more money than cycling. I always thought it was pretty funny that doping in baseball got so much notice when football is so dirty. They talk about wanting to decrease TBI, but they seem to have an intentionally ineffective anti-doping program.

[oldpotatoe]

the more money in a sport, the more likely it is that there is doping. Just about every sport has more money than cycling. I always thought it was pretty funny that doping in baseball got so much notice when football is so dirty. They talk about wanting to decrease TBI, but they seem to have an intentionally ineffective anti-doping program.

Baseball is essentially an individual(hitter vs pitcher) sport...that resulted in an easily quantifiable stat->homeruns. But both, all are way doped up..

Of course it's intentional..like the way the UCI has their fingers in cycling..way too much $ involved..

[Tandem Rider]

Are altitude chambers still legal? Shouldn't be..another 'artificial' way to raise your hematocrit level...Lotsa dum stuff done in the name of the almighty dollar/Euro/Lira/Pound, etc...:eek: Cycling isn't alone...US ball sports, Football(soccer)..etc...even golfers dope..yup, they do.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-issues-one-year-suspension-to-veteran-for-violating-anti-doping-policy

Didn't a Russian Curler get popped in the 2018 Olympics? Let THAT sink in for a minute. It's all the entertainment business, and it has been for as long as I can remember. We don't bat an eye when a musician or actor has to spend the night in jail or vacation at a rehab clinic.

It's all about marketing and advertising $.

As far as Davis goes, the scuttlebutt in the peloton at the time was he didn't blood dope.

[Mark McM]

I'm reading Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter's book, Training for Cycling. The Prologue gives a history of both racers and in it, Connie recalls Eddie B.'s attempts to get them both to participate in blood packing for the '84 Olympics, but neither of them would have any part of it.

But I thought I read somewhere that Davis DID participate in the blood packing scheme and eventually confessed. Is the book correct or am I?

There have been many first hand accounts of the USA cycling team blood doping at the 1984 Olympics. Names have been named, and confessions have been made. But no one who has first-hand knowledge has ever contradicted Phinney and Carpenter's claim that they chose not to blood dope.

[Peter P.]

There have been many first hand accounts of the USA cycling team blood doping at the 1984 Olympics. Names have been named, and confessions have been made. But no one who has first-hand knowledge has ever contradicted Phinney and Carpenter's claim that they chose not to blood dope.

I hope so, because I have great respect for Connie and Davis.

What I don't get is, why were Davis and Connie able to resist Eddie B., yet from what I understand, Eddie put quite a bit of pressure on Inga Thompson BECAUSE of her refusal to dope. The result was Inga was toast for the Olympics.

You can read the entire interview HERE (http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-2-inga-thompson-5/).

This excerpt contains the meat of the issue.

"IT: Even in 1984, my brief exposure to the National program just made me want to avoid that world as much as possible. I have the same impression now that I did then – I just wasn’t ever going to be a “chosen one.” And I believe it was primarily because I refused to take a blood transfusion before the Olympic Games – because they thought I was too independent or “strong-willed” or whatever – there’s really no other way to describe it.

To explain that in a little more detail, I found out about the blood-doping plans during the Coors Classic earlier that year. That race was basically our last big tune-up before going to Los Angeles. One of the managers of the Levi’s-Raleigh team, I don’t recall who, told us that the national coaches would be coming around to ask us if we’d be willing to participate in the blood-doping. Well, I said “no.” And I think that because of this – because I refused to submit to their authority on this – Eddie B. basically decided he would do everything he could to get me to quit. Those coaches didn’t want anyone on the team who threatened to think for themselves.

Right after this, on the rest day of the Coors Classic, we were all tired, just dog tired and I was looking forward to getting a day off and recovering. The Coors Classic was a really hard race and it was my first real stage race ever. Well, at breakfast that day, one of the National coaches takes me aside and says, “Eddie B. wants you to motor pace today.” I said, “Motor pace?” I’d never motor paced before in my life. So here we are, on the rest day of what was at the time, the hardest stage race for the girls, and I have to go out and do a motor pace session on the coach’s orders? All the other girls get a day off, and I’m behind the motorcycle for I-don’t-know-how-long. I went and did it, but it absolutely fried me; I was just completely run down from it. I don’t know how I survived the rest of the race, but very soon after the Olympics I got really sick. I was in and out of the hospital for six months after that with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which was misdiagnosed due to a cerebral inflammation and some kind of infection. In fact, I really didn’t fully recover until 1985.

But the underlying message to me of this whole experience was, “if you aren’t going to be part of our core team, and do what we tell you to do, then we’re going to burn you out or run you off of the team.” Some of the upper-level athletes get blood doping and rest, but for everyone else, they tried to burn them out, to get them to quit. I felt I was basically at war with the program because I refused to participate and play into the doping part of it.

My impression now is that Eddie B. was the father of the American cycling doping culture. But it wasn’t all about Eddie B.; there were plenty of people already in place that wanted the doping to happen. These people had to go out and find Eddie, and even if it hadn’t been him, it would have been somebody like him. I don’t know if they thought, “This is what it takes to compete against the Europeans,” or if they were trying to take a shortcut to catch up with the Russians before the 1984 Olympics – I can’t say. But I was in the middle of it, and I think I paid for it, too."

[e-RICHIE]

I hope so, because I have great respect for Connie and Davis.

What I don't get is, why were Davis and Connie able to resist Eddie B., yet from what I understand, Eddie put quite a bit of pressure on Inga Thompson BECAUSE of her refusal to dope. The result was Inga was toast for the Olympics.


It's really quite simple. Riders are disposable. There are always more waiting in line. In the story you're asking about, Inga was more disposable than Davis and Connie. And remember, no one expected Twigg not to win (as in, lose to Connie). As interesting as these dramas may seem, the people in charge have their own agenda(s). They're not exactly there to do their absolutely best for the riders or org unless they too profit from a success story.

[Ti Designs]

Pretty sure that in 1984, if you didn't dope you stayed home. Pretty rudimentary setups were used

That was my experience in 1981 when trying to qualify for the junior national team. Despite the results of the weeks riding, the coaches were given the final word on if a rider was on the team or not. They said I wasn't a team player 'cause I didn't want to draw blood and store it in a dorm fridge.


If you want to learn about the problem, dig into how Mark Whitehead died. He was on the program in 1978, he was the poster child for winning with "blood boosting" in 1981, he was in the points race in 1984. You'll also note that he was married to Rebecca Twigg, who pulled out of the Coors Classic the day she needed to start drawing blood...

[oliver1850]

It's all about marketing and advertising $.



What I decided over 25 years ago. The unknowns have ruined cycling as a spectator sport for me. Haven't watched a grand tour since 1994. I admit that I have watched some spring classics just to see them ride those roads, but have no interest in who wins.

Hope you and the family are well. Sent you a couple of emails, but guessing email address has changed with the move.

[cash05458]

https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/cyclops/dopes.htm

Pretty sure that in 1984, if you didn't dope you stayed home. Pretty rudimentary setups were used

Great article...thanks for posting!

[Billybob62]

An excellent documentary on the subject (well worth the rental fee). Initially Eddie B agreed to be interviewed but sadly backed out - it would have been really interesting to get his perspective on what exactly happened at the time:

https://www.amazon.com/Tainted-Blood-Untold-Olympic-Scandal/dp/B075X318LG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530648251&sr=8-1&keywords=tainted+blood&dpID=51T-a1nfKqL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

[sailorboy]

I hope so, because I have great respect for Connie and Davis.

What I don't get is, why were Davis and Connie able to resist Eddie B., yet from what I understand, Eddie put quite a bit of pressure on Inga Thompson BECAUSE of her refusal to dope. The result was Inga was toast for the Olympics.

You can read the entire interview HERE (http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-2-inga-thompson-5/).

This excerpt contains the meat of the issue.

"IT: Even in 1984, my brief exposure to the National program just made me want to avoid that world as much as possible. I have the same impression now that I did then – I just wasn’t ever going to be a “chosen one.” And I believe it was primarily because I refused to take a blood transfusion before the Olympic Games – because they thought I was too independent or “strong-willed” or whatever – there’s really no other way to describe it.

To explain that in a little more detail, I found out about the blood-doping plans during the Coors Classic earlier that year. That race was basically our last big tune-up before going to Los Angeles. One of the managers of the Levi’s-Raleigh team, I don’t recall who, told us that the national coaches would be coming around to ask us if we’d be willing to participate in the blood-doping. Well, I said “no.” And I think that because of this – because I refused to submit to their authority on this – Eddie B. basically decided he would do everything he could to get me to quit. Those coaches didn’t want anyone on the team who threatened to think for themselves.

Right after this, on the rest day of the Coors Classic, we were all tired, just dog tired and I was looking forward to getting a day off and recovering. The Coors Classic was a really hard race and it was my first real stage race ever. Well, at breakfast that day, one of the National coaches takes me aside and says, “Eddie B. wants you to motor pace today.” I said, “Motor pace?” I’d never motor paced before in my life. So here we are, on the rest day of what was at the time, the hardest stage race for the girls, and I have to go out and do a motor pace session on the coach’s orders? All the other girls get a day off, and I’m behind the motorcycle for I-don’t-know-how-long. I went and did it, but it absolutely fried me; I was just completely run down from it. I don’t know how I survived the rest of the race, but very soon after the Olympics I got really sick. I was in and out of the hospital for six months after that with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which was misdiagnosed due to a cerebral inflammation and some kind of infection. In fact, I really didn’t fully recover until 1985.

But the underlying message to me of this whole experience was, “if you aren’t going to be part of our core team, and do what we tell you to do, then we’re going to burn you out or run you off of the team.” Some of the upper-level athletes get blood doping and rest, but for everyone else, they tried to burn them out, to get them to quit. I felt I was basically at war with the program because I refused to participate and play into the doping part of it.

My impression now is that Eddie B. was the father of the American cycling doping culture. But it wasn’t all about Eddie B.; there were plenty of people already in place that wanted the doping to happen. These people had to go out and find Eddie, and even if it hadn’t been him, it would have been somebody like him. I don’t know if they thought, “This is what it takes to compete against the Europeans,” or if they were trying to take a shortcut to catch up with the Russians before the 1984 Olympics – I can’t say. But I was in the middle of it, and I think I paid for it, too."

This makes me angry

[GOTHBROOKS]

“roidy” oreilly.