In shaming 90-year-old rider, anti-doping earns a black eye

With each pedal-stroke of his 80- and now 90-year-old legs, Carl Grove sought to show his fellow Americans that old age can be rich and rewarding.

His bike is his soapbox. As time caught up with many of his peers, the former United States Navy Band saxophonist , who played for U.S. presidents and visiting VIPs and who was born on his parents' kitchen table in an Indiana thunderstorm the year before the Great Depression, is still riding to escape its clutches.

He has set age-group cycling records in the 80- and 90-year-old categories and accumulated 18 national championships. But what has mattered most to Grove is setting a healthy, don't-give-up example in a country increasingly sickened by obesity and the inactivity of modern life.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010 file picture, Carl Grove poses for a portrait at his home near Bristol, Ind., USA. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed Grove that traces of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by U.S. cattle farmers to bulk up livestock, were detected in a urine sample he gave at the U.S. Masters Track National Championships in Trexlertown, PA., in July 2018, where the field’s oldest competitor again added to his collection of titles, setting times faster than men in their eighties, seventies and even sixties. (AP PhotoElkhart Truth, Ryan M.L. Young, File)

Through his exploits, his hope was to share the simple maxim he lives by: "Do not sit down."

"I see all kinds of people that, man, they go up two or three or four steps and I hear them kind of pant and what have you. This country is not like it used to be. I didn't see that when I was younger," says Grove, who will celebrate his 91st birthday on July 13.

"I try to show them that with just a little care and a little exercise and a proper attitude that, maybe, they can live the last eight, 10 years of their life with quality and not have aches and pains."

In this Tuesday, August 9, 2011 file picture, Carl Grove trains on an Elkhart County road near Bristol, In.. USA, in preparation for his return trip to the age-group world championships in Austria. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed Grove that traces of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by U.S. cattle farmers to bulk up livestock, were detected in a urine sample he gave at the U.S. Masters Track National Championships in Trexlertown, PA., in July 2018, where the field’s oldest competitor again added to his collection of titles, setting times faster than men in their eighties, seventies and even sixties. (AP PhotoElkhart Truth, J. Tyler Klassen, File)

But at the end of last year, the stay-fit mission he calls his "life's work" suffered a mighty and, in hindsight, completely unfair and unnecessary blow.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed Grove that traces of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by U.S. cattle farmers to bulk up livestock, were detected in a urine sample he gave at the U.S. Masters Track National Championships in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, last July, where the field's oldest competitor again added to his collection of titles, setting times faster than men in their 80s, 70s and even 60s. He was stripped of his gold medal in the pursuit — the day he tested positive — but kept two others.

Grove's conscience was clear.

In this photo taken on July 10, 2018 , Carl Grove, a 90-year-old record-setting cyclist, races at the USA Cycling Masters Track Nationals in Breinigsville, PA. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed Grove that traces of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by U.S. cattle farmers to bulk up livestock, were detected in a urine sample he gave at the U.S. Masters Track National Championships in Trexlertown, PA., last July, where the field’s oldest competitor again added to his collection of titles, setting times faster than men in their eighties, seventies and even sixties. (Kathy Watts via AP)

As USADA's own investigators eventually determined, he knew he hadn't doped. Instead, Grove had been inadvertently contaminated, probably by a dinner of cow's liver he ate at a local diner on the evening of July 10 — his way of celebrating his gold medal in the time trial that day, where he was the only competitor in the 90-94 age-group.

Still, the failed test was tough on Grove. He knew how it would look, how short attention spans would put the words "cycling," ''doping," ''steroids," ''disqualified" together and imagine the worst, perhaps picturing a 90-year-old version of Lance Armstrong, cycling's most infamous dope-cheat.

Sure enough, and despite USADA slipping its public announcement out on a Friday , news than an athlete so old had tested positive generated worldwide headlines this week and a mix of incredulity, mirth, sympathy and cruelty online.

In this photo taken on July 10, 2018, Carl Grove, a 90-year-old record-setting cyclist, races at the USA Cycling Masters Track Nationals in Breinigsville, PA. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed Grove that traces of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by U.S. cattle farmers to bulk up livestock, were detected in a urine sample he gave at the U.S. Masters Track National Championships in Trexlertown, PA., last July, where the field’s oldest competitor again added to his collection of titles, setting times faster than men in their eighties, seventies and even sixties. (Kathy Watts via AP)

"I was really kind of down for a while. But I'm over it," Grove now says, making his first and only public comments about the case in a telephone interview this week with The Associated Press. "I wanted to be an inspiration, if possible. I worked like a real horse to do it."

"They struck me from the records . I don't really care about that too much. The thing that I really, really care about is that I wanted to be a sterling, totally clean person in front of people that knew about me," he said. "It looked like I had not been an honest person to a lot of people. I guess I was kind of worried about what did other people think, you know? Then, I began to think, 'Well, some of them will believe me and some of them won't.' I guess that's just the way it is."

For the anti-doping system, this is another black eye. Taxpayer dollars should, within reason, continue to be spent on policing amateur sport, not least to combat the increasing use of steroids by body-conscious young men. But the naming and shaming of a well-intentioned great-grandfather smacks of vindictiveness, not justice. There are so many bigger battles, like cleaning up Russian sport , for the anti-doping system to fight. Rules that cannot give a complete pass to inadvertent victims like Grove clearly aren't fit for purpose and should be changed.

FILE - In this Tuesday, August 9, 2011 file picture, Carl Grove trains on an Elkhart County road near Bristol, In.. USA, in preparation for his return trip to the age-group world championships in Austria. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed Grove that traces of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by U.S. cattle farmers to bulk up livestock, were detected in a urine sample he gave at the U.S. Masters Track National Championships in Trexlertown, PA., in July 2018, where the field’s oldest competitor again added to his collection of titles, setting times faster than men in their eighties, seventies and even sixties. (AP PhotoElkhart Truth, J. Tyler Klassen, File)

USADA boss Travis Tygart says that even though the agency determined Grove wasn't at fault, it had no choice but to issue him with a public warning for the failed test, the lowest-level step it could take in such a case.

He "ate meat and had a test that you then can't just sweep under the carpet as much as you might otherwise want to," Tygart said. "Cases like this make us bang our head against the wall. The outcome is not right and it's a system gone awry."

Grove thinks taxpayer dollars that fund anti-doping could be better spent on catching cheats, not bystanders.

"Us old guys are kind of like peanuts. I think that they're wasting their time," he said. "What can I gain at 90 years old doing drugs? Tell me, I just don't know. So I think that somewhere there ought to be a cutoff and they ought to zero in on the stuff that is done for money reasons or whatever it may be. But I think after 65 or 70, you know, they ought to just give up."

Fortunately, Grove has a resilient attitude to go with his good genes (his mother lived to 105 and his father, a barber, was still cutting hair in his retirement home until a few years before his death at 97). He's already launched into a new challenge: Breaking the age 90-95 record for distance ridden in an hour, set by Frenchman Rene Gaillard in 2017 , who covered 29.278 kilometers (18 miles).

Grove said he'd start training immediately after getting off the phone with the AP.

"Sometimes, I ride in the morning and it's a beautiful sunrise. I'm alive. I'm looking. I'm looking around. I'm feeling good. I'm so happy," he said. "I've got so many gold medals and ribbons and stuff, and that doesn't count. What counts is getting out there and doing the best I can do and show people what they can do."

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester

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LE MONT-DORE, France (AP) — British rider Simon Yates won the first mountainous stage of the Tour de France on Monday and Irish rider Ben Healy was consoled by taking the yellow jersey.

Healy was nominated the most combative rider of the day after forcing the initiative on the 10th stage, but Yates - who won the Giro d’Italia last month – timed his break perfectly on the final climb to win a stage for the third time.

“It’s been a long time, but actually I also was not really expecting any opportunities here,” said Yates, a teammate of two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard. “We came here fully focused on Jonas and the GC (general classification), so the stage played out in a way that I could be there for the stage. I took it with both hands.”

Dutch rider Thymen Arensman was 9 seconds behind, while Healy finished third, 31 seconds behind Yates.

Three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar finished farther back alongside main rival Vingegaard and French rider Lenny Martinez with a gap of 4 minutes, 51 seconds.

It meant Healy, who claimed his first stage victory on Thursday, took the overall lead, 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar.

“It’s a fairy tale,” said Healy, the fourth Irish rider to wear the yellow jersey.

Remco Evenepoel was third in the general ranking, 1:29 behind, and Vingegaard 1:46 behind in fourth.

“I’m still behind and I have to take time at one point,” said Vingegaard, who remained positive that Pogačar wasn't too far ahead.

“So far I’ve been able to follow all his attacks which I couldn’t do in (Critérium du) Dauphiné," Vingegaard said, referring to the traditional Tour curtain-raiser. “I think that that shows that I have a better level now than I had in Dauphiné.”

Stage 10 took the riders on an arduous 165.3-kilometer route in the Massif Central — France’s south-central highland region — from Ennezat through seven category two climbs. It finished on the ascent of Puy de Sancy — the region’s highest peak — after 3.3 kilometers of an 8% gradient climb.

French rider Julian Alaphilippe lived up to expectations with the first break on France’s national day, Bastille Day, carving out a 10-second lead before he was caught on the first climb up Côte de Loubeyrat.

Norwegian rider Søren Wærenskjold had to withdraw early as the tough start proved too much after his crash the day before.

German rider Georg Zimmermann withdrew before the start following his crash on Sunday. His team, Intermarché-Wanty, said he “developed signs of a concussion during the night.”

Dutch sprinter Marijn van den Berg also retired due to injuries from his crash on Stage 1, EF Education-Easypost said.

The riders can look forward to their first rest day on Tuesday.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Stage winner Britain's Simon Yates climbs breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Quinn Simmons of the U.S., center, and Ireland's Ben Healy ride in the breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Ireland's Ben Healy leads the breakaway with Netherlands' Thymen Arensman, Australia's Ben O'Connor, Australia's Michael Storer, and Britain's Simon Yates, from right to left, during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and teammate Britain's Adam Yates ride on the Charade Circuit during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Britain's Simon Yates crosses the finish line to win the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)