Joseph M. Papp

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Joseph M. Papp


image_caption = Papp in 2006 after the GF Ceriale
fullname = Joseph Michael Papp
nickname = "JoePa" / "El Leon de Madruga"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1975|5|25
country = flag|USA / flag|IRL
height = height|ft=5|in=8
weight = convert|148|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
currentteam =
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = Sprinter
amateurteams = US National Team
Partizan-Whistle
Team Bianchi-Cinghiale
La Polar
UPMC-ACT
Champion Systems
amateuryears =
proyears =
proteams = Montgomery-Bell
Pittsburgh Power
majorwins =
updated = May 21, 2008

Joseph M. Papp (born 25 May, 1975) is an American professional racing cyclist. He holds dual Irish-USA citizenship, and his . [cite news|url=http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/pa/we_pittsburgh.htm|title=Weekend Wheeling in Pittsburgh - Hills for the Best|publisher=GORP.com|retrieved May 16, 2008] His work has appeared in print in such publications as VeloNews, Winning Bicycle Racing Illustrated, The Ride Magazine, Bike Culture and Cycling Times.

Cycling Experience

Papp began racing in 1989. He finished 1st overall at the 2004 Vuelta a Habana del Este and 3rd Overall in the 2002 USCF Criterium Rankings for Elite Men. Papp led that same ranking in 2003. He was the 2002 NYC Championship and Superweek Stage Winner. Papp competed internationally since 1994 when he first joined the United States National Team. Papp raced across the globe, including in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Chile, Cuba, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Macau, Monaco, Panama, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In 1999, he finished as first American, third overall, at the prestigious Univest GP. He is the only US male to have placed in the top-10 at the UCI Pan American Continental Championships road race, finishing 8th in 1996 and 2004, and 10th in 2005 as a Discretionary Nominee to the United States National Team. As a result of his doping sanction, however, Papp was disqualified from the results he obtained after mid-2001.

Suspension

Papp served a two-year suspension from competitive cycling after returning a urine sample on May 7, 2006, at the International 42nd Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey that was reported by the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) accredited Turkish Doping Control Center in Ankara, Turkey as positive for metabolites of testosterone or its precursors (6α-OH-androstenedione 6β-OH-androsterone). He was ineligible to compete in sanctioned cycling events from July 31, 2006 through July 31, 2008. According to the terms of his suspension, Papp was "disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to July 1, 2001," despite testing positive only in 2006, and after having signed an agreement with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that negated only those results obtained after May 6, 2006. Subsequent to testifying in the Landis Affair, in an interview with Dr. Dawn Richardson which was printed in VeloNews [cite news|url=http://www.velonews.com/article/13149/ask-the-doctor--the-medical-risks-of-doping.|title=Ask the Doctor: The medical risks of doping|publisher=VeloNews.com|date=August 23, 2007] , Papp admitted to an extensive doping regime that included steroids and EPO. He recounted that in his final race of the season for Team Whistle in Italy, what should have been a routine tumble resulting in nothing more than a bruise and road rash instead almost cost him his life. The combination of EPO and blood thinners led to hospitalization with internal bleeding.

Landis Affair

' positive result for testosterone from the 2006 Tour de France. USADA used his testimony to refute earlier claims made by Landis' attorneys that testosterone couldn't help Landis win the 2006 Tour and that he'd be crazy to use it if he knew he might be tested [cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSN1720395520070519.
title=Papp admits taking drugs, Landis set to testify|publisher=Reuters|date=May 18, 2007] .

"It's such a false statement that it makes me angry," Papp said. "Why am I here? I'm not getting anything out of being here. I have everything to lose from being here."

Papp rebutted both Landis theories — saying it was easy to stay below the threshold of a positive test with the gel and claiming the gel helped him greatly in recovering between stages. He said it was easy to get away with having allowed amounts of testosterone in his system if he timed it right. After leaving doping control, he could simply go to a private place and discreetly rub the gel into his chest.

During the Landis hearing, Papp acknowledged systematically doping under the guidance of medical professionals in the United States, Europe and Latin America. He admitted to using at various times EPO, HGH, cortisone, insulin, thyroid hormone, anabolic steroids and amphetamines. The testimony, while not fundamental to the arbitration panel's decision to uphold Landis's conviction, contradicted the claims of Landis and his legal team. In an interview published in VeloNews: The Journal of Competitive Cycling [cite news|url=http://joepapp.com/index.php?page=detailsnews&element=229|title=Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: Landis lashes out|publisher=Neal Rogers, Inside Communications|date=January 21, 2008] . Landis asked interviewer Neal Rogers, "Why did they [USADA] bring in Joe Papp? Who the f--k is that guy?"

Palmares

2006

*1st Giro di Terra D'Otranto
*1st GF Pinarello
*1st KOM competition - GF Max Lelli, Italy
*1st 2 Stages - International Presidency Tour of Turkey (UCI 2.2)
*2nd G.F. Città di Ceriale, Italy
*2nd Stage 2 - Tour of the South China Sea (UCI 2.2)
*2nd Stage 13 - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*2nd Stage 6 - Tour of the South China Sea (UCI 2.2)
*2nd Stage 5 - International Presidency Tour of Turkey (UCI 2.2)
*2nd Stage 7 - Tour of the South China Sea (UCI 2.2)
*2nd Points Classification - Tour of the South China Sea (UCI 2.2)
*3rd Gran Fondo Valli Parmensi
*3rd MF Portofino Kulm
*3rd Stage 10 - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*4th G.F. Selle Italia Prestigio, Italy
*4th Giro Valli dell' Alto Verbano
*4th Stage 3 - International Presidency Tour of Turkey (UCI 2.2)
*4th G.F. Umbria Verde, Italy
*5th Stage 4 - Tour of the South China Sea (UCI 2.2)
*5th Stage - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*5th Points Classification - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*6th Stage 2 - Volta de Ciclismo Internacional do Estado de São Paulo (UCI 2.2)
*6th MLK Classic
*7th GF Michele Bartoli
*7th 5 Stages - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*8th Stage 3 - Tour of the South China Sea (UCI 2.2)
*8th Stage - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*10th G.F. del Lambrusco Ceci, Italy
*10th Stage - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)
*19th Final General Classification - Vuelta a Cuba (UCI 2.2)

(Papp was disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to July 1, 2001.)

Other

Papp has a BA in History (summa cum laude) from the University of Pittsburgh and was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs and graduate student in Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy (2000-2001). He has delivered guest lectures at Chatham University on the topics of supplement use by athletes and gene-doping, and is currently pursuing an MBA there. Papp was previously married to champion Cuban cyclist Yuliet Rodríguez Jiménez, and in his spare time enjoys snowboarding, travel, spending time with friends and family and keeping abreast of international affairs.

In the aftermath of his suspension from competition, Papp began speaking publicly about the dangers of doping. In August 2007, he addressed a South Florida high school coaches conference, and has been quoted in Scientific American [cite news|url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-doping-dilemma
title=The Doping Dilemma|publisher=Scientific American|date=April 2008] , the Wall Street Journal [cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118601390396685515.html?mod=googlenews_wsj|title=Barry Bonds and the Egg|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|date=August 2, 2007] , the International Herald Tribune, and the New York Times. [cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/sports/sportsspecial1/29cheat.html?ex=1186286400&en=ac862170115ba207&ei=5070|title=The Puzzle of the Teflon Peloton|publisher=The New York Times|date=July 23, 2007] Papp also appeared as a guest on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" radio program [cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/popup.php?id=15121681&type=1&date=09-Oct-2007&au=1&pid=44636541&random=5121232043&guid=0000975AFEF9070D713EDB8A61626364&uaType=WM&aaType=RM,WM&upf=Win32&topicName=Diversions&subtopicName=Sports&prgCode=TOTN&hubId=-1&thingId=15121685&ssid=&tableModifier=&mtype=WM|title=Talk of the Nation|publisher=National Public Radio|date=October 7, 2007] and was featured in the June 2008 issue of Outside Magazine. [cite news|url=http://outside.away.com/outside/toc/200806.html|title=Vanishing Point|publisher=Outside Magazine|date=June 2008] Papp never retired from cycling, and as such he remains a member of the US Anti-Doping Agency's Out-of-Competition (OOC) testing pool. Papp must submit quarterly Athlete Location Forms (ALF) that list his physical whereabouts should USADA wish to subject him to a surprise doping control. Papp is also a member of UCI’s Whereabouts Testing Pool, and had no "Missed Tests" declared against him during the period in which he was ineligible to compete.

ee also

* List of doping cases in cycling

References

External links

* [http://www.joepapp.com Official Site]
* [http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2006/diaries/papp/?id=default Cyclingnews.com - "Papillon: The Joe Papp Diary" Archives]
* [http://www.facebook.com/people/Joe_Papp/722398018 Facebook Profile]