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Doping Scandals in the Tour de France
Early riders in the Tour de France have been said to have consumed alcohol
and used ether among other substances as a means of dulling the agonizing
pain of competing in endurance cycling. As time went by, riders began using
substances as a means of increasing performance rather than dulling the
senses, and organizing bodies such as the Tour and the International Cycling
Union (UCI), as well as government bodies, enacted policies to combat this
practice.
Professional cycling in general has a reputation for being one of the most
doped sports. In particular there is continued controversy over the use of
EPO, a "blood booster" that offers increased cardiovascular endurance. Some
claim that EPO use is almost universal.
1967
On July 13, 1967, British cyclist Tom Simpson died climbing Mont Ventoux
following excessive usage of amphetamines.
1998
The 1998 Tour de France was perhaps the most scandal-ridden Tour in recent
memory. On July 8, 1998, a major scandal erupted when French Customs arrested
Willy Voet, the health assistant of the Festina cycling team whose lead
competitor was Richard Virenque, for the possession of illegal quantities of
prescription drugs and narcotics, including erythropoietin (EPO), growth
hormones, testosterone and amphetamines. He later revealed many common
practices of the cycling world in his book, Massacre à la Chaîne.
The UCI decided to act in order to "clean up" the image of cycling. On July
23, 1998, French police forces acting on search warrants raided several teams
in their hotels and found significant quantities of doping products in the
hotel and cars of the TVM team. In response the riders started a "sit-down
strike" and refused to ride, thereby putting millions of dollars of
endorsements and advertizing revenue in jeopardy. The Spanish teams quit the
Tour in a show of solidarity led by the ONCE team. In the end the "Tour of
Shame" continued after the UCI backed down and promised to limit the
heavy-handed actions, although several teams were forced to withdraw from the
race.
Richard Virenque denied doping himself and said that if he had been doped, it
was not willfully, a stance which led him to be ridiculed. In 2000, he and
the management of the Festina team were tried. During the trial, he confessed
to doping himself. While Virenque was not sentenced (but had penalties
imposed on him by sports authority), the management of Festina, the aides,
and some pharmacists were found guilty and handed down fines and suspended
jail sentences.
2003
Just before the 2003 tour, Jesus Manzano, a Spanish rider, told a Madrid
sports newspaper that he had been forced by his team, Kelme, to take banned
substances during 2002's Centennial Tour in Spain. He also went into
considerable technical detail about how riders avoid detection. His "reward"
was to be banned from the 2004 Tour.
2004
In 2004 the UCI introduced a somewhat more rigorous testing program, taking
urine samples a few times during the race. However the samples were not
tested for EPO, as the test was not ready for use and wouldn't be until after
the race completed. Although they intend to test the samples once the new
test is ready, it is not clear what actions will be taken if the tests come
back positive.
In 2004 time trial World Champion David Millar was banned from the Tour
because he was taken in for questioning by French police following up their
discovery of banned drugs at the offices of Cofidis, his team. Millar is one
of eight Cofidis members currently under investigation, implicated by the
testimony of fellow rider Philippe Gaumont, who has told investigators and
the press that doping with steroids, human growth hormones, EPO, and
amphetamines is systematic on his team. Millar later admitted to doping, and
has since offered his help in identifying the ways riders avoid testing
positive in drug tests.
Lance Armstrong
A continued controversy also surrounds Lance Armstrong. In 2002 Filippo
Simeoni told investigators about Dr. Michele Ferrari, a now-notorious sports
physician who was being tried in the Italian province of Bologna for sporting
fraud. Simeoni stated that Ferrari had developed a program for EPO use that
would remain undetected. Armstrong had admitted to using Ferrari's services
just before Simeoni's disclosure, leading to questions about Armstrong using
EPO, although Simeoni said nothing of the sort. In response Armstrong stated
that Simeoni was a complusive liar, eventually leading to Simeoni suing him
for defamation.
On the 18th stage of the 2004 Tour, Armstrong broke free of the peloton and
chased down a "break" that Simeoni was part of, agreeing to return to the
pack only if Simeoni did as well. Simeoni agreed, and after the peloton
caught up, Armstrong made "zipping the lips" gestures that many have
interpreted as a threat to Simeoni to "shut up". Simeoni appears to be being
ostracized by the riders on the tour, and it is unlikely he will ride
professionally again.
Note that during his entire post-cancer career, Armstrong has been subject to
blood testing after nearly every stage he has raced in the Tour, according to
his autobiography, It's Not About the Bike. He once tested positive for
minute traces of a banned substance, however it was explained that he had a
medical prescription for saddle sore relief cream which had introduced those
substances into his body chemistry, and he had cleared his use of the cream
in advance with UCI and Tour organizers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from Wikipedia
and from http://www.treadly.com
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