Art of cheating perfected?

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Triumphant returns for former dopers Vinokourov and Ricco raise eyebrows

PARIS: Experts may still be basking in the positive impact a pioneering ‘biological passport’ is having on deterring the cheats in the sometimes murky world of professional cycling.But in the space of a few days cycling’s biggest cheat-beater may just have come under fresh scrutiny.

Last week Italian Riccardo Ricco, who recently served out a 20-month ban for using EPO (erythropoietin) at the 2008 Tour de France, marked his definitive return to the peloton with a string of strong rides at the Tour of Trentino.

At the Italian stage race another former doping cheat, Alexandre Vinokourov, claimed overall victory by just 0.12sec over the Italian whose sublime climbing displays at the 2008 Tour raised many eyebrows.

Vinokourov, of Kazakhstan, carried his form through to Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday where he stunned all the favourites to win the oldest one-day classic for the second time in his career.

It was his biggest win since his two-year ban for blood doping, an infraction he has never admitted to, at the 2007 Tour de France ended.

Whistled and booed by fans at the finish line, Vinokourov’s success, and that of Ricco, is at odds with the comparatively modest performances of David Millar and Ivan Basso.

Both served doping bans in recent years but both, in particular 2006 Tour of Italy winner Basso, have failed to reach the heights of past glories.

Still, in what appeared to be a first admission of past sins Vinokourov insisted he was now racing clean.

“I’ve moved on. What I want to show from now on is that I can win even without doping. ‘Vino’ is a class act. And this is all down to hard work,” said Vinokourov, who last won the prestigious race in 2005.

But debate is raging among enthusiasts, with post-race comments ranging from support for Vinokourov and his Astana team to downright disbelief.

“I hope they give Vino a thorough blood check,” said Alexvalentine on the velonews.com site.

In reply, Freddy T. wrote: “The man won fair and square. Deal with it.”

After years of scandal and suspicion the cycling media has become particularly accustomed to scrutinising remarkable performances — especially by former dope cheats.

Whether Vinokourov won fair and square is something the dope testers from International Cycling Union (UCI) will find out soon — unless, as has often been the case, the pros are using substances or methods which are not yet detectable.

The UCI’s ‘biological passport’, which charts and compares professional riders’ blood parameters over their career, has so far snared many cheats although many more are prepared to still take the risk.

In the past weeks several professionals have tested positive for EPO, while former world champion Alessandro Ballan has been suspended by his BMC team amid an ongoing doping probe in Italy.

But perhaps most worrying for the UCI are revelations by riders from Ukraine’s under-21 team who were snared for organised doping during the Tour de l’Avenir last September.

All were found with a range of doping products but none had tested positive. Under police interrogation they admitted to massive EPO use thanks to a complicated procedure which anti-doping officials have since confirmed is now a threat.

Pierre Bordry, the president of France’s national anti-doping agency (AFLD) reported recently that “organised networks” with “significant scientific knowledge” are helping top athletes to dope and test negative.

Armed with personalised ‘kits’ — some of which were found on the Ukrainians — Bordry said the athletes’ use of banned performance enhancers like EPO was “offset by a concoction of other substances which means that when they are tested, it comes up negative”.

In a decidedly stark warning, he added: “The major evolution is that it now seems clear that by using certain procedures you can still cheat and still not get caught.” — AFP