How easy is it to miss a drug test?
I was an athlete myself and I know how important it is not to have missed tests. It’s a very big responsibility for the athlete. It’s a terrifying system, to be honest. I always wished when I was competing that we could have a chip in our mobile phones to track where we were rather than simply relying on the mind, which is very dangerous. I can understand in the heat of the moment missing one test but I can’t understand not defending one that wasn’t your fault.
Why do you think Lizzie Armitstead waited until the third missed test before appealing against the first?
The fact it was the first test which Lizzie Armitstead has challenged, from back last year, I don’t understand. Why didn’t she defend that at the time if it was not her error? You can only have a certain number of missed tests within a set period. For us [in Australia] it was three within an 18-month period. I would be absolutely terrified if I just had one. So if it wasn’t my fault and I was aware I had a missed test, I would have defended it directly to have it cleared.
How unusual is it to miss a test?
It’s very hard not to have one missed test within a season, such as when there’s an emergency and you don’t think on your feet very quickly. But it’s a responsibility you need to take and that’s why they give you three strikes. When she had the emergency that’s also why you have a manager that’s given access to the [reporting] system, so that in an emergency situation you can let your representative know.
Will fellow pros be sympathetic?
It’s a difficult system to stay on top of but in the year leading up to the Olympics I’d have thought Lizzie would have had it as a higher priority and had people looking out for her. Personally I think the system is a little bit too much stress for an athlete. I wish we could opt to have a chip that locates your whereabouts, whether in a bracelet or necklace or in your phone. It’s a lot of responsibility for an athlete who is under a lot of pressure to remember those things in the heat of the moment.
Would this be viewed differently if Lizzie were Russian?
Yes, unfortunately. Of course.
Can you imagine the Australian cycling federation doing the same?
I can’t, no. I don’t think it has in the past. I really don’t think it would do that.
How will Lizzie be viewed by the peloton in Rio?
She is very well respected. More so as an athlete because not many people know her as a person, because she is quite reserved. But her professionalism and ability to move at the right time and control races, she’s just really amazed a lot of people. She’s really a role model for a lot of people.
What does it say about cycling and the anti-doping fight that the suspension was hidden?
Maybe if an athlete is being either investigated or suspended there should be a rule to say that … it should be made public or should be kept confidential until the outcome has been resolved. In Lizzie’s case, I guess I’m totally in agreement with it being kept confidential until the case has been heard because otherwise it’s damaging to the athlete in every way. She has been proven to be innocent so I don’t know if there was any need for it to be made public.