Doping control back-ups in Frankfurt

The Rund um den Henninger Turm race in Frankfurt, Germany, had a large anti-doping programme, which in addition to testing the usual number of riders also included after-race testing of one randomly selected rider per team for a total of about 30 riders. Each rider had his own chaperon to watch over him during the wait, but there were only three doctors present to conduct the tests, so it came to delays and back-ups, which weren't always easy for the riders.

"We had no problems with the controls themselves," said José De Cauwer, Silence-Lotto team director, to Sportwereld. "But they could have been better organised, especially on an administrative level. Glenn d'Hollander, for example, could have immediately gone to the bathroom, but wasn't allowed to, because he had to wait for his turn. With his chaperon in tow, he returned to the hotel to take a shower and to use the toilet, which he urgently needed to do. That meant another three-quarter hour wait until he had enough 'production' to go again. All in all it took an hour and a half for his control. And he was not the last one."