Two Enduro World Series riders test positive at French race

Two Enduro World Series athletes have confirmed that they returned Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) earlier this year, reports Pinkbike.com.

Richie Rude (Yeti-Maxxis) and Jared Graves (Specialized Racing) have both acknowledged that they were notified of the failed tests earlier this year. The tests were performed by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) after Round 3 of the 2018 Enduro World Series in Olargues, France on 13, May 2018.

Richie Rude won the EWS France race, while Graves finished 30th.

After rumours of failed drug tests at the French round started to surface, the two riders confirmed the failed tests to Pinkbike on Monday. Both are awaiting hearings with the AFLD on their cases.

What did they return AAF’s for?

Both athletes have returned AAF’s for the presence of two substances in their sample: Higenamine and Oxilofrine. Each of the two substances are on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of Specified Substances. Higenamine under the class of Beta2 Agonist and Oxilofrine as a stimulant and amphetamine.

Both Rude and Graves are arguing that the presence of the two Specified Substances is unintentional, though neither Rude nor Graves would comment on how the substances ended up in their sample. Graves, who is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor discovered in September, opted out of having his B Sample tested, accepting the presence of the results of the test.

Rude and Graves avoided receiving provisional suspensions after returning their AAF’s, and were both allowed to compete for the remainder of the EWS 2018 season. This is presumably because the two substances are on the Specified Substance list.

Depending on the AFLD’s decision, as well as the EWS’s response, Rude could be stripped of his win in France, as well as subsequent wins in Spain and Italy EWS rounds and his second overall in the 2018 EWS series.

Specified Substances, Higenamine and Oxilofrine

WADA distinguishes between “Specified” and “Non-Specified” substances on the Prohibited List. According to WADA, “A “Specified Substance” is a substance which potentially allows, under defined conditions, for a greater reduction of a sanction when an athlete tests positive for that particular substance.” The purpose of the sub-classification is “to recognize that it is possible for a substance to enter an athlete’s body inadvertently, and therefore allow a tribunal more flexibility when making a sanctioning decision.” Of course, under WADA rules, athlete’s are ultimately still “responsible for all substances that enter their body.”

In the case of Higenamine and Oxilofrine, both are substances that have been known to appear unlabeled, or mis-labelled in dietary or nutritional supplements. Several national anti-doping agencies have issued warnings about Higenamine since it was added to the Prohibited Substances list in 2016, and again after a spike in positive tests in Australia in 2017. Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) made special mention of Higenamine when publishing its update to the WADA Prohibited List, as it is listed under several different names as a plant-based ingredient in supplements. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has previously issued warnings about dietary supplements mis-labelling Oxilofrine.

Oxilofrine was famously at the center of Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson’s doping bans in 2013. Gay, who did not dispute the results, received a reduced 1-year ban for cooperating with the USADA. Gay was also stripped of his Silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the London 2012 Olympics.

Powell and Simpson tested positive at the 2013 Jamaican national championships in 2013. Both were initially handed 18-month bans from competition. Each appealed their ban, arguing they unknowingly ingested the banned substance in the dietary supplement Epiphany D1. Both runners bans were reduced to six months.

EWS and Anti-Doping

Anti-doping testing is rare in Enduro World Series racing, and Rude and Graves are the first EWS athletes to return AAF’s. Testing has increased since the announcement of a new partnership between the UCI and the EWS.

Both athletes have previously been subject to extensive testing before racing EWS. Rude was last tested in 2013, his last UCI downhill world championships before making the move to enduro. Graves was tested as part of several disciplines, including BMX and four-cross. This is the first time either athlete has returned an AAF.

Rude won the Olargues round in a cumulative time of 50 minutes 29 seconds over two days of racing. His winning time was 5.79 seconds ahead of Adrien Dailly (Team Lapierre) in second and 29.05 seconds up on Martin Maes (GT Factory Racing) in third. Graves finished the Olargues race in 30th, 3:27.12 behind Rude.