Mørkøv complains of public doping control at the Ghent Six Day

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When Belgian doping controllers showed up at  the Ghent Six Day race, it was not clear if the riders had to give urine samples during the race or wait until the end of the evening. Denmark's Michael Mørkøv was one of them, and ended up giving a urine sample “in front of 6000 people” and was not happy about it.

On Friday, “I had a very special evening,” Mørkøv said on parnr7.dk. “The doping controllers showed up just as the evening's first race started. They wanted the urine sample at the first possible time, which therefore meant it wasn't possible to pee before the race.”

"I had to hold it in until the evening's first 10 minute break, and then there wasn't enough time to go out of the track and find a separate toilet. I was forced to provide the urine sample in the little cabin in the track centre. It was the first time I've done a doping control in front of 6000 people.” Fortunately for Mørkøv there was a curtain covering the front of the cabin.

Dr. Hans Cooman, who conducted the controls for the Flemish Community, defended the testing, saying he told the riders that it was up to them whether they submitted their samples during or after the event.