Winner of the individual time trial at Lake Attersee disqualified - doping case at the King of the Lake 2016

Doping tests were carried out for the first time this year at the King of the Lake on Lake Attersee. The Slovenian Igor Kopse had set the fastest time in the men's classification. After he refused to take a doping test, he was subsequently removed from the results list. Kopse is one of the strongest amateur cyclists in Europe and won the world championship title in his age group at the UCI World Cycling Tour.

In a long blog entry on Strava, he admits to taking a banned substance (Daleron Cold 3 with ephedrine) due to a cold and apologises for his "stupidity" (see excerpts below). The Slovenian Cycling Federation has banned Kopse for four years for violating anti-doping rules. This was announced on the website of the Slovenian anti-doping agency SLOADA.

This is the abridged statement of the athlete on Strava in the English original:

What happend?

I've refused to give a biological sample at doping control.

Before explaining anything, I had to emphasise the following: I can't mind anybody, in particular for all those I had sincere personal relationship, to look at me with a strong negative feelings from now on. There is no need for any belief. With my performances in last three years its completely natural, that most's first association is; what is he eating, what is he helping with? I am not searching for any excuse or forgiving. And I'm no victim under any condition. Just a naive idiot at best. I am writting this because of a very strong need to talk my self out. Its because of conscience and because of easier living after. And because it matters to me, what image people I am close to, carries with them. Certainly I don't want for somebody I care of, to look at me as a scum, with strong disgracefull feelings. And unfortunately I can't explain entire mess to everybody I care individualy either.

How could this happen? How is it possible that I made such mistake? Damn, one week later I was suppose to attempt masters hour record at Manchester velodrome!

There is no doubt I was not right to start the race at King of the Lake. First because I was on drug that is on prohibited list and as second, because hard racing on the verge of illness one week before major event is a very risky game per-se. [...]

Entire story began in the week before King of the Lake event when something like a light cold starting to catching me. Nothing serious, just a tipical nausea, but certainly something I had to be very carrefull at. Something sauna ussualy corrects instantly. [...] I was too anxious or too afraid of getting ill at that moment, so I started eating Daleron as a preventive measure in the early part of what might evolve into the cold or even a flu later. Daleron is over the counter available drug meant to releive simptoms of common cold or flu and it's in our home pharmacy almost always present. Among pain releiving paracetamol, it contains "in competition" prohibited pseudoefedrine which has strong vasoconstricting effect, causing less nasal mucosa excretion. [...] And then it comes saturday. My morning pulse was 50 instead of 40-43 in previous days.[...] Thats where you step on, put into second gear, taking double Daleron right in the morning and another one midday. Thats also the moment I should clearly recognise the wrong doing of racing that day. But I didn't. Despite being informed about possible doping control on the website of organizer days before event, and even despite I've seen on my own eyes NADA crew walking around before the start, I didn't stop my self. That was my last chance to step of the bike and abandon the race. But the problem was, I simply didn't feel like cheating or doing anything wrong. If I would do anything dirty I would run away like a rabbit at the very first smell of doping control. But I didn't. I didn't because I want it too much to race that trial, to test myself on an hour trial a week before the hour. Until I was asked to do doping control...

...than the information found its way to the brain. Shit, your sample will be positive. Oh dear, you will test positive! You will 100% return a positive test. And thats the start of slow realisation what has actualy just happend. Of a realization how serious situation was. And in the following 3 hours you slowly realises full spectrum of consequences that will follow...Should I pee? If I do, I will be positive, thats for sure. It would mean I would count a doping violation regardles any medical reason, since I wasn't at doctor. I would imediatelly become a doper. It would also mean, even if I could explain the reason for PE presence, they would delete any (possible) result week later. [...]

At the end, after some 4h of hesitation, I decided to end things with refusal. I had to choose between two equally disastrous options, but I decided to end without any positive test. I rather end with a violation than as a positive. [...] Right after that, I got the next punishment. All that stress, physiological and psychological was naturally too much. The body was pushed over the edge and very next day I was allready down with a tipical flu developing after. Irony, haven't had a flu for probably 4 years up until. Just a few minor colds and a food poisoning here and there. But thats marginal. Thats the least. What matters is what hurts much more in it will hurt for quite some time more. [...]

I want to emphacize once again that by no means I feel as a victim here, and I don't search for any excuse nor a pity. I now feel more like dissapointed over my own stupidity and naivness. The rules are clear and the line was visible. It was me, not the system, who crossed that line. And now is time to take my responcibilty.

The unabridged article can be found in his Strava profile

The Statement of the organiser

The Judgement of the Slovenian Cycling Federation in SLOADA (in Slovenian)