Scary look at Pro-Cyclist doping

[Alan]

Here's an interview with a cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz who was caught doping at this year's Tour De France. Note his attitude which is very disturbing

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,515459,00.html

SPIEGEL: Why not? Don't you consider a small bag of testosterone doping?

Sinkewitz: I knew, of course, that it's prohibited. But I assumed the amount wouldn't be detectable. I also didn't feel that I had done anything wrong.

SPIEGEL: You knew that you had broken the rules, but you thought it was nothing?

Sinkewitz: That was our approach to it as cycling pros. I didn't think anything of it when I put the stuff on my arm. I'll probably never really know why I did it. I can count off on one hand the number of times I've used testosterone gel -- because it doesn't really do much. But taking something to improve my performance just happened to be a part of my life.

SPIEGEL: They quickly made it clear to you that doping was the thing to do?

Sinkewitz: Yes. The way it was framed was that everyone was doing it. As if it were part of being a professional. Everyone knew it, but no one wanted to admit it. You didn't talk about it.

SPIEGEL: How did you learn how to dope -- from other riders, from doctors?

Sinkewitz: A little bit from everyone. After all, I'm not the one who invented doping.

SPIEGEL: Didn't you have any misgivings?

Sinkewitz: No. They were using my own blood -- what could be risky about that? It seemed a lot safer to me than drugs. And it was very effective.

SPIEGEL: Did you consider it doping?

Sinkewitz: Riders don't use that word, anyway. Your main concern is not to get caught.

SPIEGEL: In blood doping, they draw about half a liter of your own blood and reinfuse it after about a month. Isn't this an unpleasant procedure?

Sinkewitz: As a pro, I'm already used to dealing with a few unpleasant things. But I can't imagine that a rider would voluntarily consent to blood doping.

SPIEGEL: How were you prepared for the Tour?

Sinkewitz: I was actually supposed to get two bags. But there was something wrong with both of them. The blood just wouldn't flow. A little of the blood flowed from the first bag, but then it clotted, and the same thing happened with the second bag. So I basically rode the Tour without being doped. The doctor said that this had never happened. He was embarrassed. But I didn't ask for any further explanations. It wasn't something you asked about. It just made me angry. Tough luck, I thought.