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Danielson's doping casts a shadow over Tour of Utah

Tom Danielson has tested positive for synthetic testosterone. (Connor Mah / Wiki Commons)
Roar Guru
3rd August, 2015
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American Tom Danielson has been told to sit out of the Tour of Utah following a positive out-of-competition test on July 9. According to Danielson, he was notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that his A sample had tested positive to synthetic testosterone.

He responded to the result on Twitter, posting a series of tweets saying, “I have not taken this or any other banned substance…

“I spoke with them (USADA) and my team (Cannondale-Garmin) and I will have to sit out the Tour of Utah as I wait for the B sample as well as look into…

“all the possible ways that could have produced this result…

“I would never ever take anything like this especially after everything I have gone through the last years.”

In 2012, Danielson admitted to taking banned substances including EPO and blood doping, which resulted in him being given a six-month ban. In his affidavit to USADA, he also listed how when he joined the Discovery Channel (formerly US Postal team), he met with infamous doping doctor Michele Ferrari to aid his own doping.

It is only natural for fans to feel cynical towards Danielson, considering his past, and the fact that he lied about it for so long.

Danielson went on to say on Twitter, “I feel incredibly hurt, frustrated, and angry by this. I don’t understand how or why this happened and still can’t even accept this is true”.

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Funnily enough, many fans of the sport have been feeling the same way for the last two decades, having their sporting icons shown to be frauds.

Whatever the outcome of this case, hopefully it is a warning to other riders that doping controls are working (to a certain extent), and that the risk of taking banned substances potentially far outweighs any benefits.

Lastly, having read Danielson’s USADA affidavit, the finishing comments are of extreme interest to his current team Cannodale-Garmin. Danielson said that he joined Slipstream (now Cannondale-Garmin) in 2008 because, “I wanted to go to a team that was actively anti-doping, and where I knew I would be comfortable completing clean”.

Finally, where does this leave Cannondale-Garmin, and their team director Jonathan Vaughters? Vaughters is open about his doping past, and his team – who are vocal about their endeavours to reduce the sport’s doping culture – are now in a very sticky situation.

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