Gert Steegmans
When you speak to Team Radioshack’s Gert Steegmans he is enthusiastic. He is delighted with the optimism of his new team and is looking forward to a successful season. Despite a crash this week in Stage 3 of the Volta ao Algarve, preparations are going well for the serious races in 2010, however, less than 12 months ago things were very different for the Belgian.
Last June Gert Steegmans was preparing to ride the Dauphine Libere as a warm-up for the Tour de France. Riding for Katusha, his season had been going well as he had notched up wins at the Trofeo Mallorca and a stage win in the Vuelta a Andalucia.
On June 9 news that two Katusha riders, Toni Colom and Christian Pfannberger, had tested positive for banned substances changed things within the team. The management, in an effort to clean things up, put in place a new arrangement whereby riders were required to sign a new anti-doping charter. This charter stated that should a rider break the anti-doping rules they would pay the team up to five times their salary. Steegmans refused to sign the new charter citing illegality on the part of Katusha. The Russian outfit didn’t want the Belgian in their squad if he was unwilling to sign, however, a UCI ruling allowed him to ride in the Dauphine. Instead of being an end to the issue however, this was to mark the end of his time as a Katusha rider. “After the Dauhpine they suspended me – well they sent me a letter to say I was suspended. I asked the UCI, the Belgian Federation, anyone I could, what could I do and nobody knew straight away and Katusha didn’t put me in any races anymore. It was shit. So after that I cancelled my contract,” he says.
Steegmans was one of only two riders to be left without a team after this incident despite his insistence that the contract was illegal and should not have been signed by any of the riders.
“I can’t speak for everybody, but a lot of guys were under pressure and scared for their jobs. The union reacted when it was too late and a lot of the riders had already signed it. It was only during the media storm that the union realised the contract was illegal. They warned all the cyclists not to sign it, and I don’t understand why the team pushed and pushed for a piece of paper without any value to be signed.”
The Belgian is of the opinion that there were much better ways of sorting this issue that wouldn’t have resulted in the ensuing media frenzy. When asked if he got the feeling that the reaction of the Russian team was all about saving face he is in no doubt as to their motives.
“It wasn’t just a feeling – I think the whole story doesn’t make sense. The two cases (Colom and Pfannberger) were individual cases and had nothing to do with the team. If there had been better communication with us and if they had started some sort of internal control system – which I had spoken with them about – they wouldn’t have found themselves in the media storm they are now in.”
After cancelling his contract, Steegmans found himself in limbo. He was without a team at the business end of the season and was unsure what his next step might be. At the time this experience angered the Belgian.
“When someone gets suspended for doping you react like ’What a fuckhead’. It’s not necessarily demoralising but I remember when we found out that two riders tested positive for illegal substances everybody was angry. A lot of the riders were worried about their jobs in case the team might lose its sponsor.”
Despite this Steegmans is confident that cycling is cleaning up its act. “Cycling is by far the most controlled sport in the world. We have many anti-doping controls out of competition and we are one of the only sports with a biological passport in operation. I’m not sure what else can be done. I hear people giving out about cycling, but we can be tested anywhere and it’s something we live with now. In my opinion a lot of people are doing their best to sort it out.
“You always have stupid people trying to trick the system. More and more people have to do strange things to get around the system but they are being caught. For cycling’s sake I hope it is a clean sport.”
Steegmans has been around the block having ridden for three teams prior to signing for Team Radioshack. He has seen the way the sport is progressing and although he doesn’t condone doping, he feels that riders do deserve a second chance.
“You always have to give a rider the chance to come back. If someone gets a two-year ban they should be allowed to return. It’s normal in life to give everyone a second chance. If you drive 10km/h over the speed limit you don’t get thrown in jail for the rest of your life. In cycling it’s the same thing. Two years of a ban is already enough without ruining a whole career.”
There will always be consternation among the media when it comes to drugs in sport, however, Gert Steegmans and his Team Radioshack team will be hoping that they can do their talking on the road in 2010 and beyond.
By Colin McGann, staff writer
Photos: TeamRadioshack.com
Very good work!
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