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Drugs In Uk Speedway?


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I don't think that this is with regards to riders getting a competitive advantage from taking a substance. This is more related to what they do in their social life in their time off with friends.

 

Speedway riders are an easy target for recreational drug use often as they are young men with disposable income that like to look flash to their friends away from Speedway.

 

It's the same with gambling I have heard first hand of riders doing a guest booking getting paid cash and gambling & drinking all the earnings away in one night after the meeting.

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Im going to guess that its weed thats being smoked and its aussie riders that attracted the suspicion.

I can think of one or two british lads who looked stoned or high.

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".Or a battle between the druggies and the drunkards" Sounds like a normal Millwall FC match ;)

I'm tired of people constantly avin a go at my old local team the Wall, I went there once and a football match broke out. They also respectfully hold a minutes violence when someone has passed away. No one likes us we do care.

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I wouldn't be surprised if drug use was widespread througought speedway.

 

In all the years I attended Smallmead I can only remember seeing officials arrive once to carry out doping tests. They caught one rider with recreational drugs in their system that night, and another mysteriously hurt his back unloading his van and pulled out of the meeting so wasn't tested.

 

I understand that nitrous oxide (or was it ozide?) was a favourite of a particular group of riders just a few years ago.

this thread brought this event to my mind wackie. V Witches that night and apparently the rider with the bad back went a funny shadeof white/grey prior to withdrawing!! I have to say I felt he never really rode as well after this happening,make of that what you will.
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......robert72........I am surprised they drink the energy drinks they keep waving in front of every camera as surely they could be enough to fail a drugs test.

 

They probably don't though because they usually taste vile. :lol: More likely contain water or fizzy pop but the sponsors are happy because it's their name being shown.

 

Edited to add the quote as we're on a new page.

Edited by Gemini
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Did or does anyone watch the repeats of Mythbusters? It's on the Travel Channel at 6pm m-f....

 

Well, to cut a long story short, they were testing the myth that eating foods with Poppy Seeds in/on, and could this cause the eater to fail an Opiates Drugs test.....

 

One ate bread that was covered in poppy seeds, (he actually ate Bagels) about 6 of them...

 

The other one ate cakes that had Poppy Seeds in and sprinkled on the outside, he ate about 4 of these cakes.......

 

And guess what happened??

 

Yes, they both failed the test for Opiates..... And kept failing until about 15 hrs had passed!!!!!

 

These are called False Positives...

 

Just goes to show......

Edited by Shale Searcher
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For those that may not have read the article by Peter Oakes in this week's Speedway Star, the 'Speedway Control Bureau are ready to step up their testing between now and the end of this season'.

 

This follows 'several anonymous calls to UKAD (UK Anti-Doping) naming at least 3 riders who are suspected of doping'.

 

UKAD immediately contacted SCB Prime Officer Graham Reeve who has already prepared a timetable of testing.

 

'It is understood that some tests would already have been carried out had the weather not intervened'!!!

 

Good on them. Regular tests would be very welcome.

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Did or does anyone watch the repeats of Mythbusters? It's on the Travel Channel at 6pm m-f....

 

Well, to cut a long story short, they were testing the myth that eating foods with Poppy Seeds in/on, and could this cause the eater to fail an Opiates Drugs test.....

 

One ate bread that was covered in poppy seeds, (he actually ate Bagels) about 6 of them...

 

The other one ate cakes that had Poppy Seeds in and sprinkled on the outside, he ate about 4 of these cakes.......

 

And guess what happened??

 

Yes, they both failed the test for Opiates..... And kept failing until about 15 hrs had passed!!!!!

 

These are called False Positives...

 

Just goes to show......

 

Yes, but there is further analysis available that sorts these freak results out.

Edited by Barney Rabbit
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Yes, but there is further analysis available that sorts these freak results out.

 

Ok, but they weren't available when the show was made....

 

They did say that Proving Opiate false positives were very difficult to micro dissect to prove drug miss use/ not miss use..

 

So that must have changed then, be interesting if someone could clarify that??

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I am confused by all this. This is a motor sport.

 

I understand you can't obviously be John Prescott and ride a bike but what kind of advantage does a drug give you in a motor sport.

 

You need to be fit but unless there is a weight loss drug and the 3 of them have been eating pizzas and chips, how is drugs going to give any advantage over another rider.

 

Surely someone isn't going to say LSD improves your clutch reaction timing.

 

I know it's totally wrong and I agree with bans but why do it at all to ruin your career.

 

I'd assume that somebody on coke or speed would be a bit braver/ more reckless than normal. Rumour has it that somebody was riding grasstrack on speed and his results improved dramatically but once it was noticed stopped riding.

 

A quick Google search shows that both drugs are detectable for only 2 or 3 days with a urine test.

Edited by Vince
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So the first tests happened yesterday. Days after all riders were warned tests were going to happen.

 

The sport is a joke. Rather than catching people they have let them in on the fact. What a shambles.

 

As I said earlier. Speedway sweeping more rubbish under the carpet

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So the first tests happened yesterday. Days after all riders were warned tests were going to happen.

 

The sport is a joke. Rather than catching people they have let them in on the fact. What a shambles.

 

As I said earlier. Speedway sweeping more rubbish under the carpet

Don't agree. Knowing there is random testing, by both location and riders, is a pretty good deterrent to stop people doing it. That is the main aim rather than catching culprits.

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I am confused by all this. This is a motor sport.

 

I understand you can't obviously be John Prescott and ride a bike but what kind of advantage does a drug give you in a motor sport.

 

You need to be fit but unless there is a weight loss drug and the 3 of them have been eating pizzas and chips, how is drugs going to give any advantage over another rider.

 

Surely someone isn't going to say LSD improves your clutch reaction timing.

 

I know it's totally wrong and I agree with bans but why do it at all to ruin your career.

Driving on the road with drink or drugs in your system is illegal, precisely because they are the opposite of performance enhancing.

 

 

I'd assume that somebody on coke or speed would be a bit braver/ more reckless than normal. Rumour has it that somebody was riding grasstrack on speed and his results improved dramatically but once it was noticed stopped riding.

 

A quick Google search shows that both drugs are detectable for only 2 or 3 days with a urine test.

That is what the USA team on the 80s were accused of using, according to Simmos autobiography the Brits threatened to refuse to race unless testing was introduced.

Potentially improved reaction times, and certainly a lack of fear.

 

So the first tests happened yesterday. Days after all riders were warned tests were going to happen.

 

The sport is a joke. Rather than catching people they have let them in on the fact. What a shambles.

 

As I said earlier. Speedway sweeping more rubbish under the carpet

Can see arguments either way here. It's not really in the sports interests for a heap of riders to pick up bans when the testing scheme is rolled out. So, give notice of the testing regime being started (why was it not already in place!?!?), but from then on testing should be random with no warnings.

Obviously testing obviously in place to some extent with the Dudek and Ward bans, is this just a new testing regime for the UK?

Alcohol and drug testing for all riders before each meeting would seem the ultimate way to stop it, but if that is not economicallyl viable, you would expect perhaps two riders per team could be randonly sampled each and every meeting?

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waihekeaces1, on 30 Aug 2016 - 01:47 AM, said:

That is what the USA team on the 80s were accused of using, according to Simmos autobiography the Brits threatened to refuse to race unless testing was introduced.

Potentially improved reaction times, and certainly a lack of fear.

 

Certainly? Talking from experience are we?

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waihekeaces1, on 30 Aug 2016 - 03:59 AM, said:

No, I have never raced a speedway bike

 

Ach I thought I could catch you out there. In my experience speed won't allay any fears, it's more likely to exasperate them. Can't really speak for coke, only tried that once and I thought it was a waste of money, but those I knew who hoovered it up all ended up thinking they were some sort of omnipitent being of unlimited strength, wisdom and power. The sorry truth was by the end of the night they couldn't have found their backside with both hands.

 

And before you ask I never once rode a speedway bike under any influence although from the speeds I achieved it may have appeared that I was at least heavily sedated. Behind a drum kit, well, that's a different story. God, I miss my youth...

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