It has been 7 weeks as the new Sport Director of the London Dynamo NatB Racing Team

The mission of London Dynamo’s E12 Racing is to become the most exemplary club based racing team in the UK. In 2016 twelve committed senior + two junior racers will compete fair and clean in London Dynamo club colours at 14 National B races. Each rider will share responsibilities and agree to make sacrifices for the benefit of something bigger than himself: The TEAM. 
During the winter months the team suffers together on the roads of Surrey and around Windsor, comes spring the team will travel to warmer climates to climb to the top of their power curves and comes March and April, let all critics and pessimists know well in advance, comes the blue black Dynamo express to kick their arse.

Over the period of the past 7 weeks I had organised 7 Sunday training rides, including a motivational program, special guests and surprises here and there. Today we had our winter-ride #007 with the title "From Russia with Love" (yes like the great James Bond movie). This was just inspired by the fact that it was to be the 7th ride of this series and me just travelling to Moscow a few days before. As this was also to be the last Team-ride of 2015, I had prepared a very special treat for the boys, 150km through the hills of Surrey, taking in 10 major climbs accumulating to 2,350m of total elevation.
16 Riders turned up for a pre-christmas ride in 15'C, possible to ride in shorts, even get plenty of sun.

link to strava file

Sad Times: London Dynamo Junior rider admits abuse of EPO

In this interview Gabriel gave a little bit away what drove him onto this path. I am not surprised, considering the publicity of the subject, the literature and media as source for information.

Gabriel is coming to fame, for the wrong reasons obviously, is already considered to be the Millar of the next generation, who knows he might really end up on Ophra, and may write a book...

Cycling weekly

With the new testing regime in amateur sports comes more exposure of abuse, but also publicizes methods and sources, making it first of all thinkable and then available to all.. Just look around, its happening in all endurance and fast-power sports, its like an epidemic. New pills, new methods, some not even meant for human (ab)use. Its crazy.

The Guardian 1

The Guardian 2

This whole testing and penalisation system is just too slow, too sporadic, weak and considerate, almost polite to dopers. Its not doping, it is the dopers who are killing competitive sport, period.

We may very well ask for legalization and abolishment of anti-doping rules or scrap the idea of competitive sport all together, but the "uups-being caught and banned for 2 years" is not a deterrent anymore. Public/social naming and shaming and expulsion should be a deterrent, but not if dopers find ways to capitalize on it and reach celebrity status, ie. selling books of their story, get TV exposure etc.
This is what I think would be a consequential (perhaps hard) line, but in the light of recent revelations may be more effective. Lets face it anyone who does it is a cheat, you are not becoming less of a cheat when you get discovered and punished with a 2 year ban. This would be punishing all the ones that get caught, but not much of a deterrent for the ones that slip through the net.

A) Education: At all levels, yes we do "race smart" intro sessions, and cat 4 accreditation. Doping and its consequence should be part of that briefing. Anyone who wants to compete has to subscribe to the non-PED policy

B) Penalization: Anyone who gets caught, gets banned for life from competition. Anyone who gets banned for life also gets all previous accolades nullified, effectively deleted from the record. That my not be practical for all the local races like Hillingdon and Surrey League, but for races where your name gets engraved on a Trophy it does make a difference. Once the penalty is draconian, one wouldn't need more testing than there is in place now, people would (hopefully) rethink their ill fated choice before its too late.