WINNING BIKE - Richie Rude's Yeti SB150 33

Maybe posting the winning women's bike would have been a better idea...

A Nukeproof won!! #fuckdopers

People are so stupid to believe the bullshit that has been pedalled. If he was given the water, who gave it to him and also the substances he failed for are training supplements, not something you would have in a water bottle. Don't be overwhelmed by the big star! Just ask simple questions and believe in a clean sport.

Rude served his suspension. His last years wins were stripped. Why are you still so upset?

I think Richie smashed this raced and the dudes girl. How Rude of him.

Kind of a crass thing to write. Though I agree the 'water bottle was tainted' story reads very roadie-esque. He would have been better off not giving a story and just owning up to everything like Graves did.

I continue to think Graves is a badass, and just made a mistake. Rude? Not so much a fan anymore. He should have owned more of it IMO.

why do you think he's not telling the truth? and btw.. who's water bottle do you think he drank from? how much more can he "own" it.?

P"

It seems incredibly unlikely is all. As a long time racer, huge fan of the sport etc, it just stinks of BS. Here is why...

1) He's a factory level racer at an EWS. Factory teams don't let riders go out without adequate supplies. I've seen team yeti operate first hand. Those guys are dialed, sometimes to an annoying extent (putting it nicely).
2) Somehow Jared just happened to have a full bottle to give to Richie? Really? Isn't Jared super OCD when it comes to how much he's carrying? How does he have a full bottle and Richie is out?
3) You are just going to take some random supplement you've never taken before that is in the water? Surely he could taste it. He asks "hey man, this tastes funny, what is it?". No WAY would I continue to drink some supplement in water (even if it was legal) as I have zero idea how my body is going to react to it. It his HIGHLY doubtful Richie would too.
4) There is usually a way to get water if you run out without "borrowing" a bottle from a buddy.

If you are going to claim he only had a sip, well, no way testing is good enough for that little.

I could go on. Richie's story is ridiculous.

Hey Jeff, there have been a few instances across the several years of EWS where the water stops have run out of water, and the race in question was one of them, these guys are coming through the Aid stations after several hundred riders, and sometimes they just run out. Every ews rider is told to prepare for 2 hours unsupported on the bike, and our guys always do. so it was one of those shitty situations. As an example, in Rotorua a few years ago, the water ran out, as the support zone was quite remote, and the few hundred riders that had already passed through it, had used all the water to clean their bike. Richies story is accurate, i know not everyone is going to believe it, but why would he release a legally binding statement to the highest power in Anti Doping in the world, that was false? The penalties of falsifying a statement far out weigh what he has gone through... Hope that helps answer a few questions.

From 2016 EWS in Chile. Now go read the list of ingredients on that Alphamine he's about to scoop in that bottle and you'll see higenamine listed. In 2016, when this photo was taken, it was not on the list of specified substances but was added in 2017. You can draw your own conclusion as to how it may or may have not ended up in a water bottle in 2018, and the degree to which that constitutes either willful doping/cheating or negligence of WADA updates resulting in a violation of the rules.

Regarding 'specified substances' the UCI has this to say: "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-classifications of “Specified” or “Non-Specified” on the Prohibited List 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."

As for riders sharing water bottles being unlikely, I've done two EWS rounds this year. In Madeira I ran out of water at the last stage and drank from another riders bottle (ironically, I believe that bottle belonged to Forked Tongue but I can't be sure because he doesn't seem to want to put his real name to his accusations. It was mixed with Coke, a bit old-school but probably for the same reason someone might add a pre-workout mix to their bottle at the end of a race). At the most recent round I shared my own bottle with member of the CRC Nukeproof team because he ran out on the way to S2 and we didn't go back to the pits until after S3 (his smaller silicone bottle was empty, mine was still 3/4 full. Similar to Richie's his bike didn't have bottle mounts, and like Jared's mine did). It had some dissolved carbohydrate tabs in it that I bought at the grocery store next to the start line. They were tasteless. He didn't ask, and I didn't think to tell him because it just didn't cross my mind since I pop various tabs in my water all the time and it's reasonable to assume most riders are not drinking straight water all the time. The ingredients were in Italian, but Im sure there was nothing suspect about them.

I'm just a sample size of one, but have somehow managed to be involved in bottle sharing at every EWS I've entered. You're of course welcome to draw your own conclusions, but from 7 years of personal experience covering the EWS circuit it sounds entirely plausible. There are photos and videos of riders fixing each others' punctures, chains, and disc rotors; taking turns pushing chainless bikes down the road while the owner jogs to the next liason; forming pace lines to pull late riders make time checks. They share food, they share tools, they share spare parts, but somehow it's totally unbelievable that they might end up sharing water bottles?

Similar to the case with Maes, I see a distinction between being guilty of violating the rules and being rightfully punished for it, and a premeditated, knowing, and willful attempt to gain an advantage against the rules (doping/cheating). Sounds like the French anti-doping agency decided on the former, with a lot more information than anyone of us has, and who's more 'f*ck dopers' than the AFLD? What possible reason would they have to show even an ounce of leniency to a high profile American rider?

I'll do two replies, considering two heavyweights have weighed in (non pun intended).

First, Yeti_Polar_Bear, I understand it is plausible. Of course it is plausible. That said, there are a number of reasons it seemed like BS, including what I outlined above, the lack of symmetry to the story, and just the overwhelming lack of detail.

I understand Richie just wants to race bikes, I also am not doubting his on bike ability as being the best out there, with or without any substance. This is a sport, after all, where there is no substance that'll make up for lack of skill.

You have to remember all the times we as fans have "taken the bait" on the road side. Its not one or two, its a LOT. I go "yeah, of course that sounds accurate, it COULD happen". And I give the athlete the benefit of the doubt only to be made a fool a few years down the road.

We've barely started testing in EWS and we've already got 3 infractions? Wow. That's pretty wild. Imagine what might happen if we test everyone in the field?

Digressions aside, my opinion (which matters nill) is this would have looked a lot better if Richie owned it fully and became a champion of doping instead of passing the blame off on something he couldn't control and then making some pretty crass jokes on Instagram. Don't misread however, I was one of the guys defending Richie because of what General Lee wrote below last year. (which I'll get into in a second)

Richie just simply saying "I took something, I'm not exactly sure how, but I'll be more careful going forward, I've served my suspension and would never knowingly dope, lets be clean and pay attention - now - lets race!" I would have been like "man, that's awesome, lets put this behind us". I realize its close to what he wrote, but the whole water bottle thing just plain rubbed me the wrong way as it left a lot of uncertainty in the picture, and also seemed to blame something that ultimately can't be totally proven.

Alternatively, if the shadowy figure (I'm being hyperbolic) who we all know came out and gave the full story (again, symmetry) I'd also be more cool with the story.

But this just rung a bunch of bells from back in the roadie days...call it post traumatic 2000's tour de france disorder

Dave,

Thanks for the reply. Don't mix up what I'm writing and why I'm writing it. Maybe you weren't replying all to me, but I was (and still am) one of the guys going "eh, this substance is not the same as EPO or steroids, here is why..." and I outline all the reasons you too have (among many others). I defend Richie and Graves in this way. Sounds like I'm on both sides of the fence, huh? Well, in some ways I suppose I am.

What I am arguing against, and what rubbed me the wrong way, is simply the tainted water bottle passing the blame "story". Graves seems to be owning it, and I really dig that. Richie passed the blame in a really sophomoric way (when coupled with the whole french line thing and all his "comment controlling), Ultimately, he either needed to offer a lot more detail and someone to verify the story (like Maes did) or just leave all that shit out. That substance may have come from a water bottle. Or maybe it came from something else. Who knows, but the takeaway here is we all need to be more careful, and we all have been too lax.

While I hear you water bottle sharing may be somewhat common, I still have my reasons to doubt that, alone. Maybe it did happen! Like I said above, I'm traumatized when it comes to giving the benefit of the doubt to an athlete when its so hard to prove any of this. It also begs the question how careful was Richie before this? It equally suggests he could have been "accidentally ingesting" God Knows What considering nobody was being all that careful!

I get its small details, and Richie is a beast on a bike. Period. But we're in a time where I feel strongly taking blame where you fuck up (something nobody is above) is important.

...just my $0.02

I hate the way Vital's comments are somehow not chronological in viewing order...

(continued)

What would have been more kosher in my book is if Richie just went "I ingested something I shouldn't have, I'm not even sure how but that is no excuse for my actions, I will be more careful going forward and look back to coming back to racing" .

Basically, take more accountability. It looks better.

Again, my $0.02.

Jeff, Have you considered that Richie cannot talk about all the details of who's bottle it was he shared and the circumstances around it? To my knowledge, Graves hasn't had his decision yet. Legal proceedings being what they are, Richie is likely constrained on what he can say until Graves's case is decided and done.

To a degree I get why people have the pitchforks out and are ready to burn the dopers but if looking at both the Rude/Graves and Maes cases and considering the overall history or EWS testing, it's somewhat informal nature then things become much more understandable.

Now however all athletes should be very aware of what they ingest and the repercussions.

While I don't expect people to go back into the old "doping EWS" thread, I was actually on the side of Richie and Graves when this broke. These are esoteric substances with mild performance enhancing gains. While clinical studies and research is very limited, it appears these are a far cry from the "doping substances" we are used to seeing in the news in other cycling disciplines (in the 2000s).

I don't think I'm alone in being pretty understanding when it comes to seeing how easy it would have been to use something illegal unknowningly. The EWS hasn't exactly been on top of this either, with only a French round being subjected to testing when all this went down. I could see how confusing all this is for riders who just weren't accustom to scanning the ingredients of every single thing they take. Remember, a lot of this stuff is available without shady doctors or back ally deals.

What I am critical of is how Richie posted this statement to instagram that seemed to pass the blame. You are right, he probably can't talk too much about it. But this is all the more reason to go public with something more akin to "hey guys, I blew it, I've served my suspension and will be more careful going forward" as opposed to shifting blame without giving the rest of the story.

While I may be the most vocal about it, I don't think I'm alone in seeing things this way.

doping should be legal. who wants to watch normal people riding bikes? I want to see meat covered robots doing shit nobody else could.

Then go watch football.

^^^ I laughed

So do you believe Martin Maes back story? He used a masking agent. Come on! Bs all over. They say he was at risk of limb and life but magically was ok to race and crush everyone a few days later. Haha. Such crap. They all try out supplements to help them in some way. Sometimes little bits of something are in there. That’s pro racing as it’s always been and will be. I still support and in aww that their athleticism. And if you think differently then so be it.

Lighten up dudes.

Richie got busted, served his penalty, and is back in the game, whatever the back story is. He's a young powerhouse with a long career ahead of him. I'm sure he'll be a lot more careful who's bottle he sips from now.

And damn, what a return!?!

4/5 stages won? Very impressive!

The only thing missing was Martin Maes to battle it out with. Martin is the same. I think he got hosed but that won't change how this is playing out. He'll serve his penalty and learn from it. Let the young men continue to mature and we and mountain biking will all be better for it because both he and Richie seem like good guys who have both had a really eye opening experience with these incidents.

What are these guys, 21 years old, 22? I don't know about you, but I was pretty foolish myself at that age. I'm not sure how well I would have behaved had I been in a spotlight as bright as the one shining on these guys right now. Don't wreck their careers because of a mistake. Steer them back on course and let them change for the better.

I will be patiently waiting for the RR vs MM showdown whenever that happens. Lets get back to RACING!

Why so much hate? U have previously claimed to have an inside line on both Jared and Richie's case, so with all the facts you know, and demanding the riders give you answers, why not give us all an answer on who your source is? That way, maybe more people can understand what you are talking about?? To be clear, I do know the facts, I'm the Yeti Team Mechanic, and have been for 10 years. I've been involved with every result in that time from both riders, i have seen the work they put in to get where they are, have known Richie since he was 15, and would consider both Jared and Richie close friends. There are some things that aren't legally allowed to be spoken about on both sides at the moment, so i'm obviously not going to say anything about that, but i think it's about time, with all your big talk on the other side of the Keyboard, to tell us what you know, and how you know. I'm sure the "people" you are referring to as stupid, would like to know why you are calling them that.

Guessing there'll be a sb170 before long

Richie Rude is full on beast mode. Big boy shredder!

Can we get a drug test here first a fairy might have brought him a water bottle.
He has no respect for the sport of cycling and win or not the dude is a doper and hopefully the trail gods return the favor with a nice dose of karma. #anyonebutRUDE

There are photos of him on PB sitting outside the Anti Doping tent waiting to get tested...

The winner is pretty much guaranteed to be tested... And in this case, doubly so....

make with the slideshow already! I'm bored at work!

Even ff I had Richie's bike I'm not sure I'd make it down that mountain in a reasonable amount of time.

What if he let you borrow his water bottle as well?

Nice

Would love to see the average joe's times down these EWS and DH courses

It’s called Strava. Bet they have the data.

Look at the middle to bottom of the Masters results and then realize all those guys and gals would likely have the KOMS on all top local and wider trails. Then go back and look at the top pro times. Allow the jaw to drop. The top pros are truly on another level. Very far end of the talent spectrum.