Finding myself incensed by cycling doping scandals is nothing new. As cycling fans we have lived through shitstorms from Armstrong, Rasmussen etc and more recently the Iglinsky brothers disappointed the hell out of me. This, though, is something different - for me anyway.
Here, the scandal is not with the riders named, but with the process that has named them.
Dr Ozone is otherwise known as Dr Chris Mertens and is a Belgian sports doctor. He has been under invesstigation for a couple of years now for supposed dodgy practices involving removing blood from a patient, infusing it with ozone and then returning it from whence it came (efficacy very much in doubt). This procedure uses needles & is consiidered blood manipulation and is therefore outlawed.
I do not have a problem with this.
What I do have a problem with is that, of the apparent 19 named sportspersons being “investigated” the only ones whose names have been made public have been 3 cyclocross riders who have had to be told that they have been excluded from participating in the main competition they have been working towards all year.
So far, someone has the names Bart Wellens, Tom Meeusen & Laurens Sweeck listed as having been treated by Dr Mertens. Because Dr Mertens is being investigated these riders cannot be selected to represent their country & cannot go to the World Cup or World Champs.
No charges have been laid against them.
No investigation has been made into the riders themselves.
There is no A or B sample in this case. In fact no evidence seems to be fothcoming at all. It seems the UCI regulations allow for Salem witch-hunt style finger pointing and the careers of these 3 riders are forever clouded & viewed with suspicion.
The ‘no smoke without fire’ brigade have already branded them cheats.
Questions
Who has named these riders?
Is the source of these accusations in any way credible?
What evidence has been submitted as proof of these allegations?
When was this supposed to have occurred?
I dont know the UCI rules and regulations and dont know where to look for the answers to whether these riders should be prevented from competing just because someone, somewhere named them in relation to something else.
How can they answer the accusations if they dont know what they are?
In the case of Tom Meeusen, he has been prevented from competing in the world champs once before, 2 years ago. There was no case to answer then, but the exact same thing comes back now?
Laurens Sweeck has just turned 21. When was he supposed to have received this treatment? Dr Mertens was their family doctor for years. He will have treated elder brother, Hendrik and twin brother Diether also, but neither of those have been named.
It would appear that UCI regulations, which were written to catch cheats, also allow for the punishment of riders due to suspicion and unfounded accusations.
I keep thinking I must be missing smething because I am linguistically challenged with all the reports being in Dutch, but my translator has been working hard and I stilll find no report of what it is these riders are supposed to have done or why they are being punished.
It is not just the language of the reports either, but the imagery. The showing of needles and bloodbags smacks of guilt when there haven’t even been any charges yet.
This whole situation leaves the riders, their families & friends, their teams & their fans incredulous at the injustice. I can only hope that the Belgian arbitrations service can sort this out as quickly as possible and allow the selectors free reign to include these riders again in the list for selection and that UCI take this situation on board and not allow it to continue.
As a fan, I have been looking forward to Hoogerheide and now find this has affected my enjoyment, so much that I may not go. My room in Tabor has been booked for a while now too, but I may not use it, not because I believe in the guilt of these riders, but because I believe in their innocence.
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