Chuck Coyle second masters rider banned
On Wednesday 24 November, American masters cyclist Charles ‘Chuck’ Coyle was approached by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) with unspecified evidence which caused the rider to admit to the purchase and use of EPO and the insulin growth factor IGF-1.
"Coyle's two-year period of ineligibility began on November 24, 2010, the day he accepted the sanction,” read the statement released by the USADA.
Coyle achieved nine victories in 2010 including the Colorado Masters Criterium Championships, the Boulder Roubaix and a stage and the sprint jersey at the Tour of Utah. He had been participating in cyclo-cross races with team Hudz-Subaru before the sanction.
"Additionally, Coyle is disqualified from all competitive results achieved on and subsequent to June 13, 2007, the date he first committed the anti-doping rule violation based on evidence in USADA’s possession, including forfeiture of any medals, points
and prizes."
In 2002, Coyle, now 38, wrote positively about the state of cyclist doping in the US, explaining that it is a relatively minor problem. He dismissed the use of EPO, the same drug he has now admitted to have been using.
“When we have issues it tends to be with milder forms of doping; this is a positive sign about the state of cycling here in the US,” he wrote on the Daily Peloton website. “I am not saying that this is not a serious issue but we should try to keep this all
in perspective.”
Coyle's sanction closely followed that of Neal Schubel, another American masters cyclist who was handed a two-year ban by the USADA for the purchase and use of erythropoietin (EPO).
The two sanctions so close together and under such similar circumstances support the presumption that the evidence has been uncovered as part of the now-widespread investigation into the former US Postal Service team and its alleged participation in the
dope trade. An unnamed former American cyclist has been linked to the sales of banned substances and is currently working anonymously with the USADA.
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