'Fair rules should be applied fairly, at all times, to all athletes'
Image 1 of 5
Great Britain's Nicole Cooke took the Olympic title in Beijing(Image credit: AFP)
Nicole Cooke celebrating her 2008 Worlds win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nicole Cooke and Lizzie Armitstead were part of Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nicole Cooke inspects her medal after winning in 2008(Image credit: Getty Images)
World champion Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans)(Image credit: Sean Robinson/Velofocus)
In a blog on her website, retired British cyclist Nicole Cooke commented on Lizzie Armitstead's recent hearing through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Armitstead was provisionally suspended on July 11 and was facing a four-year ban for the missed tests from UK Anti-Doping. She missed anti-doping out-of-competition tests in August and October last year, and in June. At a CAS hearing on July 21, however, she succeeded in having the first of the three missed tests expunged from her record and she was cleared to compete in Rio.
Although it is still consulting with lawyers, UKAD has since responded to the decision saying that it "respects" the final outcome. The case has left the cycling community with more questions than answers, however.
Cooke won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and then worked to help compatriot Armitstead secure the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
I have been asked by various media outlets for my views on Lizzie Armitstead missing three out of competition drug tests. My views on doping are well documented. When I made my retirement statement in January 2013 I knew there would be a significant proportion of the professional peloton, male and female, that would be critical of my stance regarding dopers – that they were stealing (in the criminal sense) the livelihoods of innocent people.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
I have also been asked if I have ever missed any out of competition testing. My first test was in 1998 and last in 2012. In 14 year of tests I have one recorded missed out of competition test. Therefore in order to broach the "three missed tests" rule my career would have to be extrapolated to run for three times as long or 42 years, not one year, as the rules currently stand. Previously the international regulations sought to ban those who missed three tests in 18 months but they have been relaxed and now it is just three in 1 year. Completing the ADAMS identification system is a necessary part of the life of a professional athlete, but the athlete is at liberty to select the time during the day they make themselves available. Also, in the event of life getting in the way, the system does allow for athletes to notify the testing authorities by either by sending a text message or ringing a hotline up to one minute before the one hour window opens and changing it.
When I brought this up with UKAD as too permissive a regime, allowing the drug cheats too much latitude, I was advised that regular late changes to availability would be noted and would then draw more targeted testing on that individual. I hope that is the case.
Many athletes do take the testing regime seriously. My missed test was my own fault. My car needed two new tyres and I went out and had them fitted. Even though I later showed the authorities the time on the tyre fitment till receipt, it was my duty to be there, available at the place I said I would be available and my missed test rightly stood on my record. I learnt from it, as others do. Mark Cavendish missed a test and stated "It was my mistake. I was with a film crew for the BBC and Giro d'Italia on Mount Etna. It was a simple, genuine administrative error. Of course I totally understand the importance of testing in sport…… It's part of the job and it's my job to make sure I don't miss another". Chris Froome also missed a test. In his, case Chris stated "the authorities pitched up at seven and the hotel staff actually wouldn't give them access to our room and also refused to let them call up. So when we came down for breakfast at 8.30, they basically just said to us: 'OK, the anti-doping guys were here to test you this morning but it's our hotel policy not to let them disturb our clients or let anyone disturb our clients'. So that was a hugely frustrating situation for me. I did appeal to try and explain the circumstances to the authorities but at the end of the day I take full responsibility for that case……,I should have been more proactive in letting the hotel know this was a possibility that I could be tested. I've certainly learned my lesson there. I've stayed in hotels all over the world and I've been tested all over the world without any issues at all. Unfortunately I just didn't see this one coming but it's opened my eyes and I'm definitely going to be more pro-active in the future. It's always the athlete's responsibility to make sure he or she is available for testing."
That is what all athletes want and sport needs. Fair rules to be applied fairly, at all times, to all athletes.
Cyclingnews Podcast - Lizzie Armitstead and the three missed anti-doping tests
