“I am attempting to cycle all 21 stages of the Giro d’Italia 2012. In total this means 3,476 km, which is an equivalent of driving Sydney to Perth, or London to Moscow (plus some), and over 35,000 metres of climbing (which is the same as 3x Mt Everest, or a third of the way into space!).”

Last year he even did the Tour de France, but after hearing the Giro is a far tougher and more beautiful race he decided to start the Giro. What makes this achievement even harder is that he had knee surgery in November and he had only been able to train for this trip for just about a month.

Why is he doing this you might be asking yourself? For charity of course!
“The world faces significantly bigger challenges then my completing this grand tour, and I am determined to complete this craziness to help support another of my passions – how can we save the beauty and fragile eco-systems on our planet for future generations and create a truly sustainable economic system. We therefore wish to raise money for three causes that are all focused on protecting the planet’s amazing bio-diversity: WWF, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and Bush Heritage Australia.”

Obviously he is not doing this journey on his own, he has the support of two stunning Norwegian women (Martine and her mom Marianne, who look after his car, prepare the hotel and get him to the start each and every day for the whole three weeks of the Giro. She has a little blog of her own, where you can read her side of this incredible story. http://martinekveim.ipublish.no/

When he finishes his journey on Sunday, this incredible achievement shows that even amateur cyclists can ride and finish the Giro without using any doping!

Keith is trying to raise at least 21 AUS, a thousand a day for each stage he completes.  Up until now he has managed to get about 14, So let’s help him reach his goal and give him some support as the toughest stages are yet to come! At this moment he is riding the five star 17th stage and can use all the help he can get! Please help us support this amazing guy, every donation counts no matter how small it is. Donations can be made at: http://www.tuffleyadventures.com/donate

By Thomas van Bracht

Today, I will share some interesting facts with our readers and better understanding to those who are unfamiliar with this.

As we all know, the use of drugs in sport is both unhealthy and harmful to the human body while also contrary to the ethics of sport. It is necessary for us to protect both physical and spiritual health of the athletes, therefore the values of competition, the integrity and the unity of the sport as well as the rights of those who take part in it at whatever level.
“Equal conditions for all,” – the most deceptively simple definition of fair play.

The fundamental idea of sport is considered to be character building, teaching us the virtues of dedication, perseverance, endurance and self discipline. Sport is intended to help us learn from defeat as much as from victory and team sports foster a spirit of co-operation and interdependence while importing something of moral and social values. It is also integrating us as individuals to bring about a healthy, integrated society for us all. This would mean that drug use has no place in sport.

An equal condition for all is the sport equivalent of the general moral principle of equal justice for all. Equal justice for all implies that the same justice applies to everybody regardless of their class, race, origin or gender with no special privileges or advantages.
Not only is drug use clearly cheating and an ethical dilemma for coaches, doctors and officials but it also puts the health of the athlete at a greater risk.

It is believed that ethical problems arise because of many reasons such as the following:
•    The competitive character of the athlete
•    Coaching practices that emphasise winning as the only goal
•    Media pressure to win
•    Prevalent attitude that doping is necessary to win
•    Public expectations about national competitiveness
•    Huge financial rewards for winning
•    Unethical practices condoned by national and international sport federations
•    Psychological belief in aids to perform

There are many influences that bring on drug use that there can even be no justification for athletes to cheat in order to win or that the pressures and temptations are all the same for the athletes yet the problem of drug use in sports is not only educational, economic or a social problem but a moral one.

The sporting complex is seen to have been replaced by a competition between doctors and biochemists on the one side and the regulating authorities on the other side. The athlete becomes the “Puppet” of this technology, health risks are then ignored and other competitors cannot participate unless they too are prepared to use chemical substances to improve their performance. In this era where genetic and chemical manipulation is becoming more commonplace it is hardly surprising that some athletes no longer rely on their natural skills and abilities.

The preservation of sport is necessary to keep the nobility and chivalry which have been distinguished in the past, so it may continue to play the same part in the education of people of today as it did in the past. This may have been so at the turn of the century but in present day, sporting pressures on all concerned is immense. The modern day athlete is faced with meeting expectations of the coach, teammate, family and friends. Coaches are also faced with similar pressure to produce the winning combination, coping with fitness levels and making demands on individuals, all of which may give the wrong signals in respect to drug misuse. Doctors also face a dilemma when they prescribe drugs to athletes and monitor their effects as a safe way of continuing drug misuse rather than knowing an athlete could seek black-market sources and advice.

Meanwhile, there is also another perspective that constitutes drug misuse. Some banned substances such as testosterone, actually originate in the body itself and it is an excessive level in which has been classified as a doping offence involving testosterone/epitestosterone ratios illustrates that the debate is also ongoing. Other substances such as ephedrine and caffeine commonly occur in OTC medications, herbal preparations and even in everyday common drinks. There is no doubt that athletes are prepared to make use of these substances to assist in their performance. In many sports, increasing commercialism has been a price put on a athlete’s while some cope better with this than any other athlete.

This research explains that there are no short cuts in sport however we should depend on our natural ability than to look somewhere else for a way to reach success.

Article submitted by Yolande Pretorius, our South African Ambassador.

Bike Pure is a not-for-profit organisation and sustains itself via donations and the sale of items on our online store. Donations enable us to send ant-doping information and items to teams and riders worldwide. Please support us and spread the message of fair, honest sport – Thank you.

10 years in existence, Team Jeep are the most recognised team in South Africa, and over the years have helped develop world class athletes such as Dan Hugo (Xterra), Barry Lewin (Surfski), Brendon Davids (Mountain Biking) and Eszter Erdelyi (Multisport and Mountain Biking).

Founder of Team Jeep SA, Max Cluer has recently made an announcement that the team will get involved with Bike Pure as well as Qhubeka. The management as well as the athletes themselves has been very supportive ever since towards both organizations. Team Jeep also proudly display the Bike Pure logo and sleeve wristband on their team clothing to show their support for ethical sport.

“We came to an agreement with Team Jeep from Bike Pure side that we’ll be working together on this project for the next 3 years. We would like to thank Max Cluer, the management as well as the athletes for showing their support towards Bike Pure. We’re looking forward to working together with Team Jeep SA and through this opportunity we will be able to spread the word of fair play, ethics and integrity in sport.” said Yolande Pretorius, South African Bike Pure Ambassador.

We also want to congratulate the following athletes:
Patrick Belton walked away with the African Junior Cross Country Championships title on Saturday after a great performance in Mauritius. Both Mikaela Jonsson (U15) and Gareth Harrington (Elite) walked away with KwaZulu-Natal Duathlon Championships title respectively.

Angela Engelnad (U23), Tom Jessop (Sub-junior), Julian Jessop (Youth), walked away with the Greyton MTB Classic title respectively. Great performances by the team and we wish the athletes all of the best with the rest of the season.

Below is a list of the current Team Jeep athletes, management and ambassadors.
Multisport:
Daniel Carleton
Gareth Harrington
Craig Jarrett
Mikaela Jonsson
Lance Kime
Gena Lofstrand
Courtney Smith
Devon Smith
Derrin Smith
Murray Starr

Mountain Biking:
Patrick Belton
Sam Bull
Kyle Davids
Angela Egelnad
Tom Jessop
Julian Jessop
Craig Paul
Werner van Heerden
Travis Walker
Cameron Wright

BMX:
Alex Dolman
Nic Joubert
Tyler Muller
Sharlene McGilvray
Mia Rawlins

Lifestyle:
Andrew Birkett
Michelle Eder
Michelle Erey
Darren Goddard
Barry Lewin
Evan van der Spuy
Grant van der Walt

Ambassadors:
Robyn Adendorff
Crispin Brien
Willie Brink
Jakie Church
Matt Goetsch
Jean Hackland
Jaco Kellerman
Alan D Klotz
Per Lofstrand
Grant Macpherson
Clint Morck
Brett Nattrass
Landy Puddu
Jade Roberts
Jean- Paul van der Linde
Rebecca van der Linde
Sarah van Heerden
Bertus van Zyl

Management:
Max Cluer
Clint Morck
Sarah Muller
Rebecca van der Linde

Website: www.teamjeep.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamJeep
Twitter: http://twitter.com/teamjeep

The ban was introduced in June of last year with the Italian Federation stating at the time that “rules of the national championships had been modified to forbid the participation of athletes who have faced sanctions for doping with a suspension of 6 months or more from any anti-doping organisation for any violation of any anti-doping regulation.”

The ban had previously prevented riders such as Michele Scarponi, Davide Rebellin, Sterfano Garzelli, Alessandro Petacchi, Ivan Basso and Danilo Di Luca from competing in their national colours.

The ruling had survived a legal challenge from Danilo Di Luca last year but Annalisa Cucinotta, an Italian track cyclist who tested positive for steroids at a 2008 Track World Cup event, launched an appeal with the FCI on the ruling and as a result, the ruling was overturned.

This ruling comes off the back of last weeks CAS ruling that the British Olympic Association could no longer ban it’s athletes from competing in the Olympics if they had previously tested positive. This was the so-called Osaka Rule, or rule 45. The debate has somewhat divided the sporting world with some believing that athletes deserve a second chance.

This will come as a major blow to anti-doping campaigners, many of whom believed this was a significant deterrent in the fight against doping. We believe it should be an honour for an athlete to compete wearing ones national colours and when a rider tests positive it brings shame on the country they represent. We felt that such a sanction on riders competing in their national colours was a sufficient deterrant and sent a powerful message that National Federations wouldn’t tolerate doping by any of it’s riders.

Riccò will not be able to compete in any races until the age of 40 when his 12 year ban is over.  According to reports, Riccò said that he would race clean and was already planning of making a comeback into the sport.  Aldo Sassi of Mapei Center who passed away from cancer said that Riccò can win the Giro d’Italia without doping. Sassi who’s also an anti-doping advocate said Riccò was his last gamble.

Those words was all lies when the Tribunal ruled on Thursday saying that Riccò did indeed doped in February 2011 they also added that he was hospitalized earlier that month and allegedly admitted to medical staff that he had given himself a blood transfusion. Riccò went on to deny the allegations saying that the medical staff was lying.  An investigation has been launched to investigate the case however Riccò went on to say that he is leaving the sport to become a full time bartender.

Riccò on the other hand went on to race with a Croatian team known as Meridiana Kamen team. He was planning on participating in the Tour of Serbia but later became impossible when the Commission for Health Protection of the Italian Cycling Federation decided to suspend his racing license.

They said it was doing it so for health reasons. When the initial 60 day ban expired, Dr Francis Plotinus – president of the National Anti-Doping Tribunal ordered the suspension to be extended by a period of 30 days.
It ran out early in September and on the 4th, Riccò appeared in front of the Italian Olympic Committee. He went on to deny his involvement with doping and said the staff lied. According to reports Riccò’s lawyer Fiorenzo Alessi went on to say the following, “We set our alternative version. We think we can say there was no autotransfusions.” However he also claimed that Riccò was tired of always being misunderstood and that he is consequently being refused to speak to the media outside the offices.

Alessi believes that he would remain part of the peloton in the near future however does not consider himself as a rider during that year. He will not race anymore this season but there were not plans of stopping.
Riccò’s also tried to take out a Croatian racing license however the national federation informed the International Cycling Federation (UCI) that they have refused to issue a racing license.

Riccò that has been known as the Cobra during the years of racing, will not be allowed to participate in any international events until his suspension are over.

By South African Ambassador Yolande Pretorius @yolpret

Research has shown that an untested product has a risk of approximately 1 in 4 being contaminated with steroids.

It is increasingly the case that athletes, both professional and amateur alike, must take supplements in order to compete at their desired level.  However, there is an ever growing concern that supplements are the cause of a number of failed drug tests in the professional sporting arena, so that top athletes are simply advised not to take supplements – advice which is then commonly ignored.

Whilst some supplements are specifically designed to enhance performance via the inclusion of banned substances, the real concern behind the paranoia is not so much the knowledgable use of such products, but an issue of “unintended contamination” across the whole range of available supplements.

HFL Sport Science (which operates the Informed-Sport testing programme) carried out surveys in the USA in 2007 and in the UK in 2008 that revealed up to 25% of supplement products on shelves can, in fact, contain low levels of steroids and/or stimulants, none of which may be declared on the label. So – how do you address this risk of taking contaminated supplements?

WADA (the World Anti Doping Agency) take a firm stance – that it is the responsibility of the athlete to understand the risk of taking a supplement, advising elite athletes that they should simply not take supplements – recommending instead that a balanced diet will provide all of the necessary nutrition. However, it is clear that many supplements are indeed beneficial to performance, and many athletes take a variety of such supplements. Indeed, it is not at all clear that any successful athlete can effectively compete at their highest level without some form of supplementation (even if it is just a rehydration drink)!

The risk of taking contaminated supplements cannot be made to disappear.  If this is the case, how do athletes minimise the risk when taking a supplement?   The answer is to look for products that have been subjected to safeguards throughout the manufacturing process.  This risk may not be eliminated, but it can be effectively managed.

Such safeguarding requires some basic good practice by manufacturers to ensure that products are not inadvertently contaminated:

1. Look for evidence that raw ingredients have been sourced with care – many ingredients are purchased cheaply from geographies with poor quality control.

2. Cleaning procedures at the manufacturing and packaging facilities must be capable of removing traces of possible banned contaminants to avoid cross contamination from product to product.

3. Products should be tested prior to release for sale for trace levels of banned substances by a reputable sports doping control lab, using tests accredited to the ISO 17025 standard.  These tests should specify both the substances being looked for, and the levels that they will be found at (typically parts per billion levels!).

But unless you are an expert in such matters, how will you know?  This is the purpose of the Informed-Sport testing programme.

The Informed-Sport testing programme, developed by HFL Sport Science (a world class anti doping laboratory based in the UK), provides a quality assurance programme allowing athletes and their connections to make a choice about the risks associated with the use of supplements. If the Informed-Sport logo is shown on the product, it is an indicator that the product has been subjected to:

- manufacturing and raw ingredient review as part of a product registration process;

- testing by a world class anti doping laboratory, against internationally recognised standards (ISO 17025).;

- analysis for the widest practical list of banned substances (as defined by the World Anti Doping Agency);

- analysis at trace detection levels demanded by the world of anti doping – essential for effective risk management;

- routine testing of batches manufactured – and approved prior to release for sale.

Research has shown that untested product has a risk of approximately 1 in 4 being contaminated with steroids.

Products that have been through a rigorous certification programme reduces this risk to BETTER than 1 in 500 (any contaminated batches are destroyed prior to release for sale).

For More Information visit www.informed-sport.com

So Jo, thanks for taking the time to do this interview from Melbourne just prior to the Worlds there. How has preparation been in the run up to this event?
Everything’s gone great, we’re very much looking forward to the Worlds now and after our success at the London World Cup we’re keen to keep moving forward and progress. We’ve been working really hard in the run up to the Worlds but this event for us will be a major stepping stone to our big goal which is the London Olympics.

The World’s are important, there’s no doubt about that but the Olympics are THE big goal for you now, that’s what all athletes dream of, Olympic success.
Yes sure that’s the big one, the one we really want to win. To win here in Melbourne would be a great confidence boost certainly but success here isn’t essential and we’ve our main focus on the London Olympics.

Yourself, Laura Trott and Danni King broke the world record at the recent World Cup in London which was an amazing performance, what have you been doing since then in the run up to these World Championships?
We headed to Majorca, Spain, for a training camp shortly after the London World Cup and continued with some hard training without a real break then it was straight to the track in Manchester to do our usual training drills and riding together as a team making sure we were on the track the majority of the time.

So there are four of you as part of the 3km team pursuit squad, Laura Trott, Danni King and Wendy Houvenaghel, but obviously only three of you take part at any one time as part of the race. How is it determined who is selected for the events whether that be qualifying or a final?
The strongest rider at that time is selected although we’d normally change our line up in qualifying and other rounds so that we can stay fresh and focussed. It’s never set in stone whenever they make a selection.

So who makes that call on the day, is it down to your own honest feedback to your coaches on how you are feeling?
Its always based on evidence or how we’re timed on the track, there’s lots of analysis to go on. Shane Sutton, our head coach and the other coaches make the final decisions based on the final efforts we’ve put in on the track.

What would a normal track team pursuit training session entail?
We’d focus on riding as a team, always riding together and rarely training on our own. The skills side is vitally important. 99% of our training is as part of the team.

So what events are you down to ride at the worlds and Olympics?
I’m due to ride the team and individual pursuit at the worlds but with the individual being scrapped from the Olympics I’ll just focus on the team event at London.

You’re already a former world champion on the track and the current team pursuit world record holders so London 2012 is your primary goal. It will be your first Olympics so how have you been planning mentally and how are the nerves as we approach the event?
Ever since I started riding the bike at 15 years old I knew that the Olympics were going to be in London so its always been something I’ve been working towards so I’m not really nervous at all. It’s just so exciting, we’ve had a great start to the year and I just can’t wait to start racing really.

So how did you first get into cycling?
I got involved through British Cycling’s talent team, where they basically send out talent scouts to schools throughout the UK. I was about 15 years old when they came to my school and we basically did a timed test, endurance test and sprint test. My figures were pretty good so I got invited back for some more testing and I was then enrolled on the talent team. At that time I was a first year junior so I had a year of racing before I joined the national squad as a second year junior where I rode the junior world championships and I’ve progressed up the British Cycling programs ever since.

Women’s cycling is going through a boom with the formation of many larger more organised teams now. You form part of the UK’s Matrix Fitness team managed by Stefan Wyman and its building well.
I think being a track rider, its better that more of the Olympic track events have equal events to that of the men now where previously they didn’t. This has been reflected in the other major track races where national teams are bringing better quality fields to events especially in the bunch races. Regards the road its a little more difficult for me to comment simply because I’ve been focusing primarily on the track but it is great to see events like the Tour of Flanders catering for both sexes when they have the women’s race on the same day giving the women some good coverage and more prestige to the results. If more organisers can be encouraged to do the same then we’ll continue to see the women’s side flourish.

What are your plans after the worlds, the time between the worlds and Olympics?
I’m going to be doing some road races and be based in Surrey close to London and then also maybe head to Belgium for some racing there. I don’t have a definite plan of races as yet but there will be plenty of races open to me and these races will hopefully put me in good form for the Olympics.

So will the GB team be allowed on the new London Velodrome, to become more familiar with it prior to the beginning of the Olympics?
No, we’ll just have normal training in Manchester. I think the whole Olympic park goes into what has been termed ‘lock down’ in May so no riders will have access to the velodrome. I know we’ll be traveling to London only a few days before the events which means we’ll also miss the opening ceremony.

After the Olympics you’ll be taking a holiday then!
Yes definitely! I’ll be looking forward to a holiday! It’s difficult looking further than the Olympics to be honest simply because it’s been a primary focus for so long and it’s almost strange to think of life beyond London 2012.

Looking further ahead in your career, how do you see things developing, do you see yourself as riding in Europe with some of the bigger teams there?
I’d like to possibly do a year on the road because I enjoy it a lot, but I’ve also the Commonwealth Games and more Track World Championships to focus on.

So what would be your strengths on the road?
I’m more of a time triallist and a breakaway rider I guess.

What does being part of Bike Pure mean to you?
It’s great to be part of any organisation that promotes honest, drug free sport, I think it’s a really powerful message you send out. To speak out about honesty and ethics in sport and not shy away from it I feel is important. It’s great to be involved with it and so many other riders who are now on board.

We wish Jo all the very best for the forthcoming World Championships and the Olympics. You can catch Jo in action when she takes part in the team pursuit at the World Championships on Thursday 5th April and the Individual Pursuit on Sunday 8th April.

Please check out Jo’s website here and follow her on Twitter here.
You can also visit the Matrix Fitness team website here.

You’ve had a great start to 2012 with 5th overall, King of the Mountains title and young rider title in the Tour Down Under, plus gold in the team pursuit at the Track World Cup. Was it always a goal to try for a high overall at your home Tour?
Thanks Andy yeah it has been a pretty good start to the year with the two jerseys and 5th overall in the Santos Tour Down Under, then jumping onto the track to work towards my Olympic goals this year. The high GC was never a goal of mine leading into the TDU. After the first stage when I was leading the young rider classification my goals changed from having a go at getting off the front for exposure on stirling stage to just trying to finish with the front bunch.

Was there any point during the Tour Down Under that you felt like you were in with a shot at the final GC?
The night before the penultimate Willunga Hill stage Dave Sanders told me that I can podium the next day. I was shocked and not backing myself at that point still but when I realised Dave was being serious I trusted his judgement and mentally got ready for a big day.

You’re no stranger to success on both the road and the track and still only 21 years of age, will your focus switch to the road after London 2012 Olympics?
After the London Olympics my focus will be changing to the road but never ruling out that I may come back to the track further down my career.

With London 2012 in mind, your season is geared to success in the Team Pursuit. There are some great team pursuit squads putting in some good times at present but during last months Track World Cup in London we all got a taste of the intense yet healthy rivalry between Team GB and the Australia, what are your thoughts on the competition?
Well just like you said it was a little taste of what both teams can do and I’m sure both us and the GB team have more work to do before we are at full flight.

Will you be concentrating solely on the Team Pursuit or will you be riding other events at the London Olympics?
Every bit of my training is going towards the team pursuit. These days with everything being so specific there are not many people who can swap and change between different events and our coach Ian isn’t willing to risk gold in the team pursuit.

What are your thoughts on the removal of the Individual Pursuit?
The removal of the individual pursuit was in my eyes pretty crap, especially with such a strong pursuit group in Australia with three of us consistently going sub 4.20 even when not primed for track. Then there’s Jack (Bobridge) with the world record of 4.10 it’s definitely a medal opportunity lost for us.

Team Rabobank have been helping you on previous seasons in Europe. What’s your relationship with the team and will we see you in Rabobank kit after the Olympics?
Rabobank were great to work with last year. I learnt a lot from them and I could not thank them enough for the experience. At this point in time I have no idea what team I will be riding for next year but anything is possible.

You recently won the Australian U23 road race championships and showed what a versatile rider you are. Did you prepare specifically for that event?
I had actually been juggling my track and road work leading into the road nationals and Tour Down Under. To the point that I actually did a track session the day before TDU classic so you could say I wasn’t specifically training for the road race.

You are a talented all round rider, what area would you say is a weakness and one you have to focus on more during training?
My sprinting is probably my weakness and my climbing is also a weakness of mine at certain stages of the season (straight after an off season) haha

Who is the worst room mate?
I’m probably the worst room mate with my sleep talking, night terrors and on the odd occasion a bit of a sleep walk.

When watching the team pursuit it’s sometimes difficult for spectators, especially on television, to see the amount of pain you guys are enduring throughout that 4km. Can you give us an insight to your feelings in those closing few laps of a major team pursuit event?
I don’t think any session doesn’t hurt but the constant longer efforts can mind numb you a bit sometimes. There’s a few different feelings in those closing few laps of a team pursuit. Generally I’m counting whether I have to be on the front again and preparing myself for that very painful lap but on the odd occasion I may be hoping the guys in front of me in the team get out of my way because I’m on a good one. I still feel that pain on the good days and it will always be there but there is something about being able to push that pain aside and not let your head roll off your shoulders on those days. Keeping positive at that stage of the race is a huge bonus and upper hand if you can do it every time.

Looking further ahead into your career, which races do you see yourself wanting to excel in?
I actually have no idea what races I would like to excel in in the future but I would love to be able to start with the shorter tours and classics at the start of my career and see where that takes me.

You’ve been a role model for our organisation for a number of years now. What does that mean to you as a cyclist?
It’s a great honour being able to promote clean cycling and showing it is possible to win without any help from banned substances.

Cycling is doing so much to combat doping within cycling. What are your thoughts on the fact that some other sports are a long way behind in relation to out of competition testing and blood testing?
I just think the general public needs to have a good look at how much effort our sport is putting into anti-doping compared to some other sports, and other sports need to follow in our footsteps. I’m happy our sport is leading the way in anti-doping.

Who is your favourite training partner and why?
Probably Jack Bobridge as we have known each other since we both pretty much started cycling and have had the same goal in mind for the last 4 years.

Who is the worst training partner?
Probably the Sunday rider who blows you away on your recovery ride after you passed them along the beach!

Who never buys the coffee?
The Sunday rider…jumps on the back and attacks us to leave us at the coffee shop all by ourselves.

Off the bike, how do you spend your recovery days?
I spend a lot of time in front of the Playstation with my brother when I’m home or watching the good old idiot box.

If you weren’t a cyclist what would you be doing?
I have always liked Motorsport so that is what I’d try get into if I wasn’t a cyclist.

How did you get into cycling and who do you most look up to?
I was picked up through a program called talent identification when I was 15. I use to swim and when I started cycling I could see a much brighter future and enjoyed it a lot more as it is a much more social sport. I’m not quite sure who I look up to most but have always looked at Jack (Bobridge) and aspired to ride as well as him at the same age. He has always pushed the limit and showed that it is possible to go faster than anyone else so I respect him a lot.

Who is the joker on the Aussie track squad?
If by joker you mean always takes that joke one step or a leap over the line I’d have to say that’s me according to the others haha.

Are you a coffee addict like most cyclists?
It’s not a recovery ride if you don’t stop for at least a double shot.

Whats your favourite ProTour kit?
I like a few but ones that are simple appeal to me more so leopard and sky.

Will your family be traveling to watch you in London in July?
Yeah if I make the final team my family will definitely be traveling to London to watch me race which will be a pretty special moment for me!

We would like to thank Rohan for the interview and wish him every success this year and throughout his career. You can follow him on Twitter here:

Photos courtesy of www.jxpphotography.com

Bike Pure have launched a major poster campaign to promote sporting ethics and integrity. The poster campaign entitled ‘Put Your Hands Up For Fair Honest Sport’ is launched in eight languages and will be available for download on the organisations website and displayed in cycle stores worldwide. The campaign posters are produced in eight languages including English, French, Dutch, Italian, German, Polish, Norwegian and Portuguese.

The campaign will run across Bike Pure’s social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter and also be available as a free download on the organisation’s website (below). The poster was produced with the help of the organisation’s growing number of global Ambassadors who helped in the translation, wording and effectiveness of the poster campaign.

Bike Pure co-founder Andy Layhe said, “It’s vitally important that we all promote sporting ethics and set a foundation for younger cyclists coming into the sport that you don’t have to cheat in order to be successful. Education is the cornerstone in the fight against doping and other unethical sporting practices.”

Layhe added, “It sends a simple message about the importance of honesty and integrity in sport. In a world where the importance of sporting values and ethics is diminishing, it’s vitally important we all promote this positive message. We encourage people to do their part for honest sport, share this poster either on email, on your Facebook page, Twitter pages, blogs, websites and wherever. Print it out, put it up in your team club room or local cycle store to show you care about your sport.”

“We hope this poster will serve as a platform for improved sporting ethics, so we ask people ‘put their hands up for fair, honest sport’ and help us spread the message. Every person can do their part in the promotion of fair sport by promoting this poster in their own individual way.”

The campaign posters are proudly supported by Lemond Fitness and GalibierVelo.com. Head of Lemond Fitness and three time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond commented, “Lemond Fitness fully support this poster campaign, I’m incredibly proud to support Bike pure in their efforts to promote & support clean sport. It’s great to be part of the fight against cheating in sport.”

The posters can be downloaded in a variety of formats for distribution, printing and email below. We shall be producing the poster in a number of additional languages over the coming days.

Bike Pure wish to thank all our ambassadors who helped with translation and to Marianne Westacott for her finishing touches on the design.

Poster Downloads (please click on appropriate link)

English: Low Resolution JPEG • High Resolution JPEG • Print Ready PDF (2MB)

Dutch: Low Resolution JPEG • High Resolution JPEG • Print Ready PDF (2MB)

French: Low Resolution JPEG • High Resolution JPEG • Print Ready PDF (2MB)

German: Low Resolution JPEG • High Resolution JPEG • Print Ready PDF (2MB)

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Polish: Low Resolution JPEG • High Resolution JPEG • Print Ready PDF (2MB)

Portuguese: Low Resolution JPEG • High Resolution JPEG • Print Ready PDF (2MB)