In the end, Tyler Hamilton made a choice he hopes will get his life back on the right path. But in the process, he can no longer take that path on a bicycle.
The Boulder-based cyclist, who finished fourth in the 2003 Tour de France and later was banned two years for doping, announced his retirement Friday after admitting to a positive doping test, the third of his career.
Hamilton, 38, tested positive for DHEA, a banned steroid used in Mitamins Advanced Formula for Depression, an over-the-counter herbal product he began using this winter to help a longtime battle with depression. If confirmed, he faces an eight-year ban.
“I was wrong to take it,” Hamilton said in a conference call. “Obviously, I made a huge mistake. That being said, at the time I decided my mental health was more important than anything else.”
Hamilton said he began taking anti-depressants in 2003, ironically the best year of his career. He said he even occasionally abused alcohol.
Hamilton was tested Feb. 9, five days before the Tour of California in which he finished second to last. When Hamilton returned from the Tour of Mexico in March, he was informed of the positive drug test.
While he knew DHEA was a banned substance, Hamilton said he wanted to race well for his Rock Racing teammates.
“Looking back, should I have gone to the Tour of California?” he asked. “No, I shouldn’t have. But as an elite athlete you try to put things like that behind you. I said throughout my career I wanted to be strong for the others and not show weaknesses. I’ll deal with issues later.
“How painful it is to me today to say it, but I did make a huge mistake.”
Hamilton has a history of family depression. His grandmother and grandfather had depression.
Hamilton, who paused twice to control his emotions in the 45-minute teleconference, believes he’s had depression dating back to prep school and even to his days at the University of Colorado, where he competed on the ski team.
He sought treatment in September 2003. In 2004 he tested positive for blood transfusions at the Tour of Spain and the Athens Olympics, where he was able to keep his gold medal when the testing procedure proved faulty.
Hamilton again denied doping in those incidents Friday, but he was banned from cycling from 2004-06. He returned with Tinkoff Credit Systems, a Russian-based team whose owner he eventually sued for breach of contract. He is currently going through a divorce with his wife, Haven. In November, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After the diagnoses, Hamilton left Boulder and spent five weeks with his mother in suburban Boston, training indoors. He said recent events in his personal life were not factors in his depression.
“A lot of people in this world go through divorce,” he said. “A lot of people in this world have family members or close friends who go through cancer. Certainly that hasn’t helped my depression. But I have depression regardless of those things, regardless of the previous suspension I served. I have depression.”
It is not clear how much DHEA helps athletic performance, but the adrenal gland naturally produces it and it can possibly be converted into other hormones, including testosterone and estrogen.
It is recommended not only for depression but for women going through menopause or older men suffering from fatigue.
“I prescribe it every day,” said Paul Berger, Hamilton’s doctor at Boulder Community Hospital, who also prescribed his previous medications, Celexa and Lexapro. “I can’t wait for him being in that circle. I wouldn’t recommend it to him (before) because I couldn’t.”
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
