Last night you heard elite cyclist Byron Pope talk about his test for a banned substance. Right now, he's one of Belize's most dominant cyclists, but he could be facing an extended suspension - and by extended, we mean as much as two years. It's too early to know for sure right now, since Pope has not gone before a tribunal - but after the news broke last night, he's already facing another kind of tribunal, and that's the court of public opinion. We asked Pope how he will handle the disappointment so many feel after learning that he tested positive for a banned substance:
Jules Vasquez
"Now, you have a lot of people out there, Byron, who look up to you. A lot of young riders who see you as a model of excellence, and now they see that you've been flagged for doping. How does that feel, number one, and what would you say to those people?"
Byron Pope - Flagged For Banned Substance
"Well, Jules, I feel really devastated, because deep down in my heart, Jules, I know to myself that I have never ever doped in my 10 years of riding. And all my achievements that I have won is by hard work and perseverance, and help from my team. Two, I would try to tell the young guys them to believe in themselves, and don't try to follow no one else mistake, or use my mistake as an example, because this couldn't only happen to me, this could happen to anyone. We need to be very careful of what we use and don't overlook anything because simple things like a cream, a cream for rub, a cream for rash if you apply it to your skin it will be absorbed,. That's the reason why it's there to take off whatever you have on your skin, it's not necessarily for enhancement. Simple things like Formula 44 which we use when we have fever or something like that, all those stuff contains a degree of steroid which can return a positive 5:38 finding in your later analysis."
Pope faces his tribunal next week Wednesday. And while Pope has come forward with his explanation - 7News has confirmed that there's another cyclist who also tested positive for a banned substance right in that same New Year's Classic Race. HIS test as we understand it was positive for dexamethasone, which is an anti-inflammatory "cortico-steroid". We are told he has already faced a Regional Anti-Doping Organization tribunal and the final decision on his ban is expected to come down anytime now. That will come from RADO - and not from the Belize Cycling Federation - which will only be directed to enforce it.
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