Still out there!” Harsh comments from current competitors raised over the doping violations of former J-League top bicycle racer Yuki Kitai.

Stripped of S-team for the first time in history

On February 20, JKA, a public interest incorporated foundation that oversees bicycle and auto racing, announced that it had found doping violations by top bicycle racer Yuki Kitai (35, Kanagawa). The JKA has issued a three-month suspension of his participation in races from March 1.

Kitai is the first rider in history to be stripped of the S-class S team,” said a sports newspaper reporter.

As a result of Kitai’s deprivation of the S-class classification, Yukiya Inubushi (29, Tokushima), an alternate and runner-up in the “KEIRIN Grand Prix 2024,” was additionally selected for the S-class S group as of April 1.

In ’18, a doping test for the track event of the All-Japan Professional Cycling Championships revealed that Shigenori Ito, 42, was found to have used a banned substance that has a muscle-enhancing effect. When the prohibited substances such as methandienone, which has muscle-enhancing effects, were detected in a doping test in the track event of the All-Japan Professional Cycling Championships in 2006, Ito was suspended from the competition for four years. Therefore, there are voices inside and outside the industry that say, ‘Isn’t the three-month suspension for Kitai too lenient? (A reporter for a sports newspaper).

There are cases of “inadvertent doping,” in which an athlete is caught in a test after taking cold medicine or other drugs just before a race, but the anabolic masculinizing steroid “methandienone” found in Kitai’s case was not a drug to be taken inadvertently.

Kitai, a former J-Leaguer, entered a bicycle racing school at the age of 30, and although he is an old rookie who debuted at the age of 31, he was promoted to the S-class within his first year of competition due to his high physical ability and the amount of practice that has made him the No. 1 cyclist in the world of bicycle racing. In June of last year, he won his first G1 race, which he had longed for. …… On the other hand, there were rumors of doping.

A few years ago, a player close to Kitai retired suddenly, and some suspected that he was caught in a doping test and was forced by the JKA to choose between announcing his decision or retiring, and chose to retire. After his retirement, Kitai grew at a fast pace, so there were rumors that “he may have been using as well. There was no official announcement by JKA.

Although there has been no official announcement by the JKA and it is only a rumor, current players have pointed out that doping is not limited to Kitai.

There will never be a fair race again!

On February 6, before Kitai’s doping violation was announced, Tomohiro Fukaya (35), a former member of the S-class S-team, reposted on X a September 2011 post by So Takei regarding doping.

If it was inadvertent or intentional doping, the person who used drugs should be given a one-shot deal, and should never be allowed to compete against natural athletes again.

In February, Kitai was absent from races due to “other absences” with no details given, causing bicycle race fans to ask, “Could Kitai’s absence be due to a doping violation?” Kitai’s absence from the race was then greeted with a furor, with fans wondering if his absence was due to a doping violation.

When the punishment against Kitai was announced, Kenta Ikeno (33), a member of the Class S-1 team, posted the following impassioned message on X. “Doping is a crime in the sports world.

Doping is a criminal act in the sports world. It’s impossible that I can come back to competition after a 3-month suspension.

There are so many races in bicycle racing that doping tests are not conducted in most races. Doping tests are not conducted in most races, and several top riders are constantly whispered about doping suspicions. Some of the current competitors say with resignation, “There is no way I can beat a doping athlete. ……” (see above, bicycle race track official).

Kitai has received harsh criticism from fans who say that he should retire.

It is true that Kitai never took a day off and practiced more than anyone else. I hope he is not pushed harder than necessary because of his serious nature. …… It is hard to believe that he would dope on his own accord, coming from the outside world of the J-League.

The person who instructed him should also be punished. If there are other dopers, as Ikeno posted, it is a big problem. It is disrespectful to both the athletes who are competing fairly and to the customers who are buying tickets. I hope that this will be a good opportunity to drain out all the pus.

At the “G1 All-Japan Selected Bicycle Races” held at Toyohashi Racetrack on February 24, Yuta Wakimoto (35, Fukui), who also represented Japan, achieved the “Grand Prix Slam” by winning all seven grade races including the KEIRIN Grand Prix. The audience cheered him on as he became the first bright topic in a long time.

Both the fans and the riders themselves hope that the industry will become cleaner.