In an interview today, Johnny GoFast shocked the world when he announced that he had just tested positive for blood doping. With his long time friend, The Griffociraptor, sitting next to him for support, GoFast read from a prepared statement and then fielded questions from the assemblage of reporters. In the statement, GoFast revealed that he had tested positive during an out of competition test performed in Alamo, California. He was informed of the non-negative on Wednesday evening at his home. He is not contesting the validity of the result or the procedures used to identify the non-negative. He has not asked for the back up B sample to be tested. There has been no word from Paul Carter, President and founding member of the Pegasaurus/VandenBerghe Properties presented by Contra Costa Cycling Club, on whether GoFast will immediately be sacked from the team. GoFast acknowledged that he certainly assumes that this positive test will result in the end of a very mediocre career. Below is the brief statement and details from the question and answer period that followed:

"I was informed on Wednesday evening by someone within the USA Cycling Organization that an out of competition test performed within the last month had revealed the presence of a foreign body within my blood stream. Although I'm saddened by the fact that I resorted to performance enhancing methods to attain my results, I feel that it is a great relief to have this cloak of dishonesty removed from my conscience. My only regrets are the decision to dope in the first place and my decision to continue the doping protocol after I had started. It is an awful thing to know that the success that I have achieved is the result of dishonest actions. I owe a great apology to all that I have raced and all that I have cheated as a result of these poor decisions. Most of all, I owe an apology to Griff, who I have dedicated my life to beating. My results are all the work of modern chemistry and have nothing to do with hard work. I am not contesting the result nor the methods used to obtain the result. I will take my punishment and work in the future to educate those that find themselves in a position of temptation in regards to taking performance enhancing drugs. I will now 'man up' and field your questions."

Henry Schulman SF Chron: Mr. GoFast, can you give us the nature of the result and specifically what abnormalities or foreign bodies were found in your blood stream?

"Yes. Well it was more of a foreign body...not foreign bodies as reported in some international news releases. The doping control and lab were able to isolate Michael Rasmussen in my blood stream. They found him in the beaker of blood that they took from my vein.

Ray Ratto SF Chron: Johnny, can you elaborate on this development? Specifically, how exactly did you inject Rasmussen into your veins, where did you find him and how much did this procedure cost?

"Thanks for that question Ray. It's important to get this information out to the public and to the people within doping control so that everyone is aware of the ongoing problems. Injecting Rasmussen was not that big of a deal. You can get a hypodermic needle very easily from any needle exchange program in San Francisco. And that bitch is skinny, so getting him into the syringe and into the vein was relatively easy. I've been injecting Michael for the past few years now. It may explain why he is non-existent anywhere but the tour. I do a little blood letting close to the beginning of July to let him race, and then re-inject him at the end of the month. As for the cost, it's not cheap that's for sure. I don't have exact figures, but I would hazard to guess that it was in the $5,000. range per anum."

Brian Gilmore CoCo Times: John, a lot has been made recently about Michael Rasmussen being one of the so called 'men in black' and there seems to be some controversy regarding his whereabouts just prior to the tour. Can we assume that he was in your blood stream at that time?

"He was in my blood stream and indeed wearing black."

Nancy Gay SF Chron: Johnny, how much did this help your performance do you estimate, and what can you tell others about the perils of doping?

"As for the perils, injecting Michael Rasmussen really wasn't that big of a deal from a health standpoint. Other than not knowing what he was on and whether he would blow up inside my body, I really don't think my health was at risk. The biggest let down of all was knowing that anything I achieved was the result of cheating and not the result of hard work. As for the benefits, he helped quite a bit. He has mountain biking traditions so I was at a tremendous advantage on the dirt. He also came in handy on road races that went up. No shocker that I haven't done a lot of time trials. Not exactly his strong suit."

Brian Gilmore CoCo Times: John, have you had any discussions with Michael now that he is no longer in your system?

"We've been separated and as far as I'm concerned we are through. I will say that every year about this time, Michael would try and jack up his fee. He comes from a nation that is absolutely berzerker about cyclocross. On numerous occasions I have been approached by top level cyclist, Svens Nys comes to mind, regarding the services of Mr. Rasmussen.

I would just like to thank you for hearing me out on this. I am not proud of the things that I've done as stated above. It is a great relief to air this news publicly and I only hope that in time I will be forgiven by my family, friends and fans. I am only human and prone to lapses in judgement. I can only ask for your forgiveness and hope to one day earn that. Thank you for your time."

Associated Press