Greed is ruining sport

Cycling, like almost everything else in today’s world is no longer about the sport, but about the business and money. This means that there are a lot of people who will do whatever it takes to get their piece of the pie. This, sadly, has been demonstrated by the attempted suicide of Kacper Szczepaniak, who tested positive, along with his brother Pawel, after winning the silver medal at the World Cyclocross Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic at the end of January. His attempted suicide was apparently stopped by his father. His brother, Pawel, recently signed with the Belgian Telenet-Fidea team, whose manager Hans Van Kasteren says both were convinced to take EPO by a Polish coach. The father of these two riders earns 250 euros per month, they do not come from a rich family, someone provided them with EPO and convinced them to use it, not for the good of the riders but because they thought there would be some personal benefit for themselves. These are the people that the UCI and WADA should be actively seeking, the people whether they are coaches, agents, doctors, whoever they may be that are providing and encouraging the use of prohibited substances in sport. This needs to be done before more young riders attempt or commit suicide, too many lives are being ruined because of greed.


El ciclismo, como casi todo en el mundo de hoy, ya no trata del deporte, sino del negocio y del dinero. Esto significa que hay mucha gente que hará lo que sea necesario para conseguir su pedazo del pastel. Esto, lamentablemente, se ha demostrado por el intento de suicidio de Kacper Szczepaniak, quien dio positivo, junto con su hermano Pawel, después de ganar la medalla de plata en el Campeonato del mundo de Cyclocross en Tabor, República Checa a finales de enero. Su intento de suicidio fue detenido aparentemente por su padre. Su hermano, Pawel, ha firmado recientemente con el equipo belga Telenet-Fideuá, cuyo director Hans Van Kasteren dice que un entrenador polaco convenció a ambos para tomar EPO. El padre de estos dos ciclistas gana 250 euros al mes. No provienen de una familia rica. Alguien les facilitó EPO y les convenció para usarla, no por el bien de los corredores sino porque pensaban que habría algo de beneficio para ellos. Estas son las personas que la UCI y WADA deberían estar buscando activamente, la gente, ya sean entrenadores, agentes, médicos, lo que sea, que proporciona y persuade del uso de sustancias prohibidas en el deporte. Esto debe hacerse antes de que los ciclistas más jóvenes intenten un suicidio con o sin exito, demasiadas vidas estan siendo arruinadas debido a la codicia.