55 year old triathlete busted for doping

[AngryScientist]

i think i'm all for masters+ doping.

i mean: I've never tried any "performance enhancing drugs" because i'm just a run of the mill recreational cyclist, but i'm thinking that when i get to retirement age - maybe i just retire, have lots of new free time, dope myself up to the gills, because i'll be old, train like a madman because i have tons of free time and see what i can do in the masters ranks.

why not?

seriously though, you dont have to worry about punishing these guys, anyone who is in their [cycling] twilight years who feels the need to participate in triathlons and dope is already living in their own version of hell.

[93KgBike]

You basically just summarized the plot of the 1st half of the documentary Icarus.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i think i'm all for masters+ doping.

i mean: I've never tried any "performance enhancing drugs" because i'm just a run of the mill recreational cyclist, but i'm thinking that when i get to retirement age - maybe i just retire, have lots of new free time, dope myself up to the gills, because i'll be old, train like a madman because i have tons of free time and see what i can do in the masters ranks.

why not?

seriously though, you dont have to worry about punishing these guys, anyone who is in their [cycling] twilight years who feels the need to participate in triathlons and dope is already living in their own version of hell.

Should just change it to "Cyborg's 55+" and let people dump chemicals and motors into it till they go pop...

[shovelhd]

He raced in the National Senior Games when I won my age group. I was flat out working to put 20s on my age group with about six miles to go and he passed me. His 60+ group started five minutes behind mine. He also raced USAC, and all of his results have been pulled.

The blood test for T is very simple and accurate. I have no problem with anyone taking T supplements if low T is affecting their quality of life. Just don't pin on a number for any event. Ever.

Thyroid is different. Low thyroid definitely affects my quality of life. I recently started medicine to combat it, and its working. This medicine has zero performance enhancing effects and is not restricted in any form by WADA. None of that matters as I'm not racing anymore.

[wildboar]

Originally Posted by azrider

Guy sounds like class act.

Anyway, he returned a positive test for testosterone a year or two ago in out of competition testing. He was initially banned for 2 years, although according to this interview it was later reduced to 3 months. He doesn't deny taking testosterone; his claim is that he took it under doctor's recommendation, along with thyroid medication. So I think this is relevant to the debate over whether or not it is appropriate for competitive athletes to be allowed to take hormones to get their levels "back to normal" after they have been reduced by hard training, racing, etc.

One thing to keep in mind with Moats is that he is widely regarded as a grade A a**hole. Virtually nobody can stand him personally. Triathlon message boards abound with stories about his generally douchebaggy behavior. He has also long been reputed to cheat in triathlons by illegally and using a tiny mirror installed on his helmet to check for course monitors.

Anyway, here's part of his interview:

Kevin: Right. So they tell me they’re gonna test the B samples so I went ahead and tested the B samples. One thing, too, that I didn’t realize… and explained why I tested positive. About six, seven years ago, when I turned into my early 50’s, I was really suffering from chronic fatigue and depression and just my whole system just seemed to be shutting down. So I went to see an endocrinologist, coz I thought, “Is this AIDS, or is it the fact that Ironman is a hobby for me, but I’ve been doing this marathon, etc. all my life, and was I perhaps suffering from a depressed endocrine system?” I mean, it’s common among the top pros in training in incredible levels after three, four years they fried, so I was a little concerned that maybe I had really done my adrenal system and… so I went to this endocrinologist and he looked at all the values, the cortisol levels, thyroid and testosterone and whatever, and he came back to me and he said, you definitely have a low thyroid. You definitely have dangerously low testosterone levels and also you have…

Ben: Which affects the thyroid, as well, right?

Kevin: Right. What causes what. And then also that I actually have elevated estrogen. That’s the function, as you get older your estrogen levels go up. That’s why we get man boobs and stuff like that. But anyway, so he said, I’m going to… what he meant by dangerously low, again I’m not a medical expert, but my understanding is a healthy person in 20’s and 30’s, their testosterone levels are maybe in 500 to a thousand level or 800 to a thousand or whatever. My levels were somewhere around 75 to a hundred. What my doctors explained to me was it really, to be healthy, you need to be around 400. So anyway he put me on hormone replacement therapy regimen. He gave me thyroid which I take once a day. He gave me… initially I started feeling, it was like an injectable testosterone, but I didn’t feel comfortable, so I suggested gel. And I would put a modest amount of gel on my arm, a testosterone crème on a daily basis. And then…

So he was in danger of... getting moobs?

[djg21]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i think i'm all for masters+ doping.

i mean: I've never tried any "performance enhancing drugs" because i'm just a run of the mill recreational cyclist, but i'm thinking that when i get to retirement age - maybe i just retire, have lots of new free time, dope myself up to the gills, because i'll be old, train like a madman because i have tons of free time and see what i can do in the masters ranks.

why not?

seriously though, you dont have to worry about punishing these guys, anyone who is in their [cycling] twilight years who feels the need to participate in triathlons and dope is already living in their own version of hell.

Lewis Black asked essentially the same question in his take down of Lance: if Lance was able to accomplish so much using PEDs, “why aren’t we all doping?”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...n_1973892.html

The video was posted to the forum before. It is very funny, though probably not appropriate for children.

[993rs]

I'm a +50 mid-pack mtb guy. I am always amazed at how the top finish times are some of the fastest overall...it's a hobby, right?

[the bottle ride]

Originally Posted by 993rs

I'm a +50 mid-pack mtb guy. I am always amazed at how the top finish times are some of the fastest overall...it's a hobby, right?

Been racing MTB for 20+ years- masters racers have always been fast: experience and endurance makes for some fast men.

[abguff]

Originally Posted by shovelhd

The blood test for T is very simple and accurate. I have no problem with anyone taking T supplements if low T is affecting their quality of life. Just don't pin on a number for any event. Ever.

To me that says it all.
No goofy excuses just dont take drugs and race. Its not complicated.

[simplemind]

Originally Posted by abguff

To me that says it all.
No goofy excuses just dont take drugs and race. Its not complicated.

Concur!

[spoonrobot]

You definitely have dangerously low testosterone levels

LOL

"Chronic fatigue" is the back pain/fibromyalgia of the cycling world. The unsanctioned MTB/Gravel scene down here in the southeast is rife with "Low-T", "Chronic fatigue" and "Thyroid" issues as well. I mean really something must be wrong if a 50+ year old can't ride at high intensity for 20+ hours a week for months on end while also maintaining a full-time job, family and 4% body fat.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

LOL

"Chronic fatigue" is the back pain/fibromyalgia of the cycling world. The unsanctioned MTB/Gravel scene down here in the southeast is rife with "Low-T", "Chronic fatigue" and "Thyroid" issues as well. I mean really something must be wrong if a 50+ year old can't ride at high intensity for 20+ hours a week for months on end while also maintaining a full-time job, family and 4% body fat.

This made me laugh. Well said.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

LOL

"Chronic fatigue" is the back pain/fibromyalgia of the cycling world. The unsanctioned MTB/Gravel scene down here in the southeast is rife with "Low-T", "Chronic fatigue" and "Thyroid" issues as well. I mean really something must be wrong if a 50+ year old can't ride at high intensity for 20+ hours a week for months on end while also maintaining a full-time job, family and 4% body fat.

Yup, the obsessive masters racers are stereotypical all over. Recent divorce, massive spending on bike and kit, big attitude, and miraculous jump in fitness. It’s amusing to watch them burn out and a blast when the stars align and I can beat them in a race.

Greg

[Look585]

Originally Posted by GregL

Yup, the obsessive masters racers are stereotypical all over. Recent divorce, massive spending on bike and kit, big attitude, and miraculous jump in fitness. It’s amusing to watch them burn out and a blast when the stars align and I can beat them in a race.

Greg

Emphasis mine:

However, none of these things are against the rules or necessarily a doping violation.

When you invest in being really good at something, within the rules, it is frustrating to read comments like "they are all dirty" or "why not just let everyone dope (cheat)".

[shovelhd]

Originally Posted by Look585

When you invest in being really good at something, within the rules, it is frustrating to read comments like "they are all dirty" or "why not just let everyone dope (cheat)".

I hear you, but the masters racing haters are alive and well. They seem to think that anyone over fifty should be riding a balloon bike on the beach. Competing? Must be a narcissist reliving their youth.

Just kick their ass every chance you get. They'll either learn to respect you or hate you more.