After amateur rider Robin Townsend was handed a second four-year ban by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) earlier this week, another British amateur has been given the same.
Ian Edmonds, who rode for Mapperley Cycling Club, was banned for refusing to take an out-of-competition test in May 2016 after UK Border Force seized doping products that were addressed to him in early April.
>>> Amateur rider given extended suspension for racing while banned
Edmonds, from Nottingham, was expecting to receive 20 capsules of testosterone and 100 tablets of anabolic steroid, nandrolone before the parcel they were shipped in was seized by the Border Force.
After refusing the subsequent anti-doping test, 41-year-old Edmonds was interviewed by UKAD on June 6, 2016. There he admitted to the charges of ‘Attempted Use of a Prohibited Substance’ and ‘Refusing to Submit to Sample Collection,' which saw the British doping authorities impose a four-year ban from all sports.
According to UKAD, Edmonds had not competed in any events and claimed that he was not aware that he had to abide by anti-doping regulations and refused to provide a sample. UKAD said that his "ignorance of the fact" did not warrant a reduction in punishment.
Edmonds's ban will run from August 1, 2016 to midnight on August 1, 2020.
“The ordering of Prohibited Substances online by those subject to the anti-doping rules continues to be a major concern for UKAD," said UKAD director of operations Pat Myhill.
"Whether they are obtained in an attempt to improve sporting performance or for aesthetic purposes, a significant threat is posed to both clean sport and public health. Ordering Prohibited Substances via the internet may result in a ban from all sport and, in some cases, constitute a criminal offence."
Myhill continued to say that the Edmonds case was "an excellent example of how we work alongside law enforcement partners to deter and detect doping in the UK", and encouraged anyone with information about those purchasing or supplying doping products to get in tough with UKAD authorities.
