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![\"NM_davegeorge0\"](\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/plugins\/rss-poster\/cache\/46588_3544443239.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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Sven Martin\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/p>\n
David George<\/p>\n
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Kevin Lancaster <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Professional cyclists who passed drug tests last year are not out of the woods just yet as the country\u2019s anti-doping body has announced that there is to be retroactive testing of all their samples. <\/p>\n
In a move to clean up the sport, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport has decided to perform EPO (Erythropoietin) tests on all the blood samples of more than 50 of the top riders who competed in major races last year. <\/p>\n
Chief executive officer Khalid Galant said all stored blood samples from top riders \u2013 male and female, road and mountain bikers \u2013 would be screened for the blood booster. <\/p>\n
He explained that not all cyclists had been screened for EPO during competition as the test was expensive and was performed only if there was suspicion of cheating. <\/p>\n
But, after the Lance Armstrong doping scandal \u2013 and, closer to home, David George\u2019s two-year ban for a doping offence \u2013 steps needed to be taken to save the sport from the doping stigma attached to it. <\/p>\n
\u201cCycling is being damaged by these high-profile doping cases, with a high sense of cynicism existing,\u201d Galant said. <\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, we need to act now.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a move to encourage the purging of cheats, the institute has offered cyclists the opportunity to admit to doping and provide information on drug cheats in exchange for lighter sentences. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn doing so they can enter a plea bargain and get a substantially reduced sentence before charges are brought against them,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Galant said the standard ban for EPO was a minimum of two years and could extend to lifetime exclusion from competition. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to clean up cycling,\u201d Galant said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe excuse that \u2018everyone is doing it\u2019 does not wash. Cyclists need to question their own values and not get dragged down by a culture of doping.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a recent interview with Tread mountain biking magazine, George spoke about his positive test and the seemingly ubiquitous doping in the sport, echoing the \u201ceveryone is doing it\u201d sentiment. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we shouldn\u2019t be doping. But, hell, if everyone else is, what do you do?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Armstrong made similar statements in his interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on local television last Friday. <\/p>\n
Cycling South Africa was meeting the institute today, its president, William Newman, said. He was not fully aware of the retroactive testing, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnything that will clean up the sport is welcomed, although I do not think the problem is that big in South Africa,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sven Martin\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS David George Kevin Lancaster Professional cyclists who passed drug tests last year are not out of the woods just yet as the country\u2019s anti-doping body has announced that there is to be retroactive testing of all their samples. In a move to clean up the sport, the South African Institute for Drug-Free […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[8275,953,2143],"class_list":{"0":"post-17573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-newspaper","9":"tag-the-mercury","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}