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The following is an incomplete list of doping cases in cycling, where doping means "use of physiological substances or abnormal method to obtain an artificial increase of performance"[1]. It is neither a 'list of shame' nor a list of illegality, as the first laws weren't passed until 1965 and their implementation is an ongoing developing process. Thus the list contains doping incidents, those who have tested positive for a illegal performance-enhancing drugs, prohibited recreational drugs or have been suspended by a sporting body for failure to submit to mandatory drug testing. It also contains and clarifies cases where subsequent evidence and explanation has shown the parties to be innocent of illegal practice.

In 1963 the Council of Europe gave a definition of doping.

"Doping means to make use of physiological substances in immoderate quantity or abnormal method from healthy people whose only aim is to obtain an artificial increase of the performance during the competition"[1]. or ...

"The administration of or use by a competing athlete of any substance foreign to the body or any physiologic substance taken in abnormal quantity or taken by an abnormal route of entry into the body with the sole intention of increasing in an artificial and unfair manner his/her performance in competition. When necessity demands medical treatment with any substance which, because of its nature, dosage, or application is able to boost the athlete’s performance in competition in an artificial and unfair manner, this too is regarded as doping."[2].

Contents

1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

1800s

1886

In 1886 an English cyclist is popularly reputed to have died after drinking a blend of cocaine, caffeine and "stricnina", supposedly in the Bordeaux to Paris race. This was included in the 1997 International Olympic Committee study on the Historical Evolution of Doping Phenomenon, and listed as the presumed first death due to doping during a competition. The report did allow that in this period it was common practice, and not illegal[1]. This is alternatively reported as trimethyl poisoning[2]. However, the main Bordeaux-Paris race did not start until 1891, and the cyclist who supposedly died in 1886, Arthur Linton, actually finished second in 1896 and died a few weeks later, reportedly from a combination of drug induced exhaustion and typhoid fever.[3] Linton was managed by the notorious Choppy Warburton - See 1896 below.[4] The truth of the story may be lost or apocryphal.

1896

  • Arthur Linton from Aberdare in Wales died aged 24 of 'exhaustion and typhoid fever' a few weeks after finishing second in the Bordeaux-Paris race and a race at Catford. Linton was managed by the notorious Choppy Warburton[4] who's success was questioned, with claims that he drugged his charges.[5] Jimmy Michael is said to have accused Warburton of poisoning him, before he was taken to court for libel.[6] Rudiger Rabenstein claims that Arthur Linton was "massively doped" for the 1896 Bordeaux-Paris[7].

Nitroglycerine was used to stimulate the heart after cardiac attacks and was credited with improving riders' breathing.[8] Riders suffered hallucinations from the exhaustion and perhaps the drugs. The American champion Marshall Taylor refused to continue a New York race, saying: "I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand."[9]

1897

“ "Choppy has been firmly identified as the instigator of drug-taking in the sport [cycling] in the 19th century."[10] ”

Warburton was banned from the sport after unproven claims of massive doping in the 1896 Bordeaux-Paris and the early deaths of Arthur Linton, Tom Linton and Jimmy Michael.[11][12]

1900s

1904

  • Jimmy Michael of Wales, world cycling champion, died aged 27, en voyage to New York. The cause of death was noted as delirium tremens, probably brought on by drinking.[13] Michael was managed by the notorious Choppy Warburton[4] whose success was questioned, with claims that he drugged his charges. Michael was reported to have taken a potion and within a few laps collapsed on the track, picked himself up and then in a daze, set off in the wrong direction.[5] Michael is said to have accused Warburton of poisoning him, before he was taken to court for libel.[14]

1910s

1911

  • Paul Duboc of France was doped/poisoned during the Tour de France. He was favourite but collapsed in a ditch in the Pyrenees after drinking from a spiked/poisoned bottle, allegedly given by a rival team manager. He finished in second place.

1920s

1924

Henri Pelissier, 1919
  • Henri Pélissier, Francis Pélissier, Charles Pélissier of France. In 1924, following their abandon of the Tour de France, the first real drug scandal arose when the Pélissier brothers gave an extraordinary interview to journalist Albert Londres. They said that they used Strychnine, cocaine, chloroform, aspirin, "horse ointment" and others drugs to keep going. The story was published in 'Le Petit Parisien' under the title 'Les Forçats de la Route' ('The Convicts of the Road'). Francis is reported as saying "In short, we run on dynamite." Henri is reported as saying "Do you know how we keep going? Look, this is cocaine, chloroform, too. And pills? You want to see pills? Here are three boxes - We run on dynamite." Francis Pélissier said much later: "Londres was a famous reporter but he didn't know about cycling. We kidded him a bit with our cocaine and our pills." Even so, the Tour de France in 1924 was no picnic. [15] [16][17][18]. See Doping at the Tour de France - The Convicts of the Road.

1930s

1930

The acceptance of drug-taking in the Tour de France was so complete by 1930 that the rule book, distributed by Henri Desgrange, reminded riders that drugs would not be provided by the organisers.[19]

1940s

1949

  • Fausto Coppi of Italy admitted in a television interview (date unknown) that he used 'la Bomba' as there was no alternative if you wanted to remain competitive. This referred to amphetamines, which had been developed for military use during the World War II to keep aircrew, merchant seamen and submariners awake, alert and energetic. After the war they found a ready market among endurance sportsmen.[17] Coppi also said, "One day I will take the wrong pill and pedal backward."[20] He also joked on camera that he only took drugs when absolutely necessary, which is nearly always[21][22].

1950s

1955

  • Jean Malléjac of France collapsed on Mont Ventoux during the 1955 Tour de France, it was widely attributed to drug abuse. Ten kilometres from the summit he was: "Streaming with sweat, haggard and comatose, he was zigzagging and the road wasn't wide enough for him... He was already no longer in the real world, still less in the world of cyclists and the Tour de France."[23] Malléjac collapsed, falling to the ground with one foot still trapped in a pedal. The other leg pedalled on in the air. He was "completely unconscious, his face the colour of a corpse, a freezing sweat ran on his forehead.[24] He regained consciousness after 15 minutes attention, oxygen, water, and an injection of solucamphre (a decongestant)[25]. In the ambulance he insisted that he had been drugged against his will and that he wanted to start legal proceedings. He denied wrongdoing right up to his death in September 2000.

1956

In 1956, following the 14th Stage of the 1956 Tour de France, the entire Belgian team went down with a mystery illness. It was officially attributed to their having eaten 'bad fish' at dinner, an excuse also used in 1962 and 1991.[17]

1958

  • Roger Rivière of France admitted, after his career was finished, to having taken "amphetamines and solucamphre" during his hour record of 1958 -- including taking tablets during the attempt.[26]

1959

  • Charly Gaul from Luxembourg was implicated in July when French customs confiscated pills that were destined for him.[27]

1960s

1960

  • Knud Enemark Jensen of Denmark participated in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome riding under the influence of amphetamines, he collapsed during the 100km team time trial during the Games, fracturing his skull, and in a nearby Rome hospital shortly thereafter, he was pronounced dead. The autopsy showed he had taken amphetamine and another drug, Ronicol (Ronicol Retard, (Nicotinyl alcohol tartrate) A direct-acting peripheral vasodilator that causes flushing and may decrease blood pressure. [28] (He was also reported as swallowing 8 pills of phenylisopropylamine, 15 pills of amphetamine and coffee.[1]) The chairman of the Dutch cycling federation, Piet van Dijk, said of Rome that "dope - whole cartloads -[were] used in such royal quantities."[29][30] Jensen's death led to pressure on the International Olympic Committee, which studied a report on doping drawn up by doctors demanding dope controls.
  • Gastone Nencini of Italy, was discovered by Tour de France doctor Pierre Dumas in his bedroom with plastic tubes running from each arm to a bottle of blood, retransfusion was a legal practice at the time.[31]. In the 1930s Scandinavian runners were believed to have used retransfusion to increase the number of corpuscles that carry oxygen to the muscles. In 1972, Dr Björn Ekblom of the Sport and Gymnastics Institute in Stockholm found that retransfusing cells increased oxygen uptake by nine per cent and athletic potential by 23 per cent.
  • Roger Rivière of France, admitted that his career ending crash on the 1960 Tour de France was probably attributable to using Palfium (Dextromoramide), a painkiller that affects reflexes and judgment, during the descent of the Col de Perjuret on Mont Aigoual[26]. Palfium was used to deaden pain in leg muscles where it was directly injected, (sometimes while riding). It was suggested that it had so numbed Riviere's fingers so that he couldn't feel the brake levers.[17] He said he had an injection of solucamphor and amphetamine before the start and swallowed several amphetamine tablets.[32] He said he was an addict who downed thousands of pills a year.

1962

The Wiel's-Groene Leeuw affair. At the stage from Luchon to Carcassonne of the 1962 Tour de France, twelve riders fell ill and said 'bad fish' was the cause. Tour doctor Pierre Dumas realized they had all been given the same drug by the same soigneur.[17] Hans Junkermann of Germany had been ill overnight so the start was delayed by 10 minutes, but at the first hill he got off his bike and sat by the roadside, telling onlookers "I ate bad fish at the hotel last night." [33] Eleven other riders abandoned the Tour that day, including the former leader, Willy Schroeder, the 1960 winner Gastone Nencini and a future leader, Karl-Heinz Kunde. Jacques Goddet wrote that he suspected doping but nothing was proven - other than that none of the hotels had served fish the previous night.

1964

Testing began at the Tour de France. Raymond Poulidor was the first rider to be tested in the Tour. He said "I was strolling down the corridor in ordinary clothes when I came across two guys who asked if I was a rider. They made me go into a room, I pissed into some bottles and they closed them without sealing them. Then they took my name, my date of birth, without asking for anything to check my identity. I could have been anyone, and they could have done anything they liked with the bottles."[34] Next morning, on the way to the Pyrenees the riders climbed off, began walking and shouting protests.

France passed its first anti-doping law in November 1964[35]

1965

  • Jacques Anquetil of France never hid that he took drugs - a common practice at the time - and in a debate with a government minister on French television said that only a fool would imagine it was possible to ride Bordeaux-Paris on just water. He and other cyclists had to ride through "the cold, through heatwaves, in the rain and in the mountains", and they had the right to treat themselves as they wished, he said in a television interview, before adding: "Leave me in peace; everybody takes dope." [36] There was implied acceptance of doping right to the top of the state: the president, Charles de Gaulle, said of Anquetil: "Doping? What doping? Did he or did he not make them play the Marseillaise [the national anthem] abroad?"[37] The veteran reporter Pierre Chany said: "Jacques had the strength - for which he was always criticised - to say out loud what others would only whisper. So, when I asked him 'What have you taken?' he didn't drop his eyes before replying. He had the strength of conviction."[38]
  • André Bayssière, a French amateur, collapsed in the Tour de l'Avenir in July and was banned when he confessed to using amphetamines.[17]
  • Peter Post of the Netherlands acknowledged that he had doped at the Tour de France[39].
  • Luis Santamarina of Spain was disqualified from the Milk Race in Great Britain, as one of three competitors who were caught in the first official blood tests. (See below - Performance-enhancing drugs became illegal) Having won a stage which started at Scarborough and crossed Rosedale Chimney, riding ahead of the race on one of the race's hardest climbs. He rode into the back of a car parked beside the road as an official waited to time him. He remounted and won the stage and led the race. Two days later he and three others were disqualified for doping. The Spanish team went home.[40][41]

Performance-enhancing drugs became illegal on June 1, 1965. The first riders to be caught were three amateurs, two Spanish (Luis Santamarina) and one British, who were thrown out of the Milk Race when they tested positive for amphetamines after Professor Arnold Beckett first applied sensitive gas chromatographic techniques to monitor drug abuse.[17][2][40]

1967

Memorial to Tom Simpson on Mont Ventoux
  • Tom Simpson of Great Britain died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the 1967 Tour de France. The post mortem found that he had taken amphetamines and alcohol, a diuretic combination which proved fatal when combined with the hot conditions, the notoriously hard climb of the Ventoux and a pre-existing stomach complaint. Investigators discovered more drugs in his hotel room at Sete and the pockets of his jersey[42][43]

1969

  • Eddy Merckx of Belgium tested positive for the stimulant Reactivan at Savona during the 1969 Giro d'Italia, after leading the race through 16 stages. Merckx was found positive at doping control and expelled from the Giro. The controversy began to swirl when his test results were not handled in the ordinary manner. The positive doping control was released to the press before all parties (Merckx and team officials) involved were notified.[45]

1970s

1972

1974

In 1974, an advance in testing caught 13 prominent riders including Herman van Springel.

1975

  • Erik de Vlaeminck of Belgium, never failed a drugs test in his racing career, but he was treated after it for amphetamine addiction at a psychiatric institute. Many stories circulate about his supposed wild behaviour after races and after his career was over and when he returned to racing, the Belgian federation would offer him a licence for only a day at a time until it saw how his life would progress. He refuses to speak of this period of his life.

1976

  • Rachel Dard of France was reported to have raced across France to avoid a positive dope finding and then ended up in a row which exposed organised drug-taking in cycling in the 1970s.[55] Dard and a team-mate, Bourreau, were caught trying to defraud the doping control with a condom of untainted urine in their shorts to give the impression they were urinating.[56] A few weeks later Dard went to L'Équipe and spilled the inside story, incliuding the prescriptions for dope that Bellocq, the team doctor, had given him. [57] He said riders treated with cortisone and steroids were now in "a pitiful state".[58].

1977

  • Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands tested positive for Pemoline (steroid) in the 1977 Tour de France, although Pemoline was a legal substance at that time. In the 1979 Tour de France he tested positive for 'hormones'.[59][60]

In 1977 the Belgian doctor, Professor Michel Debackere, perfected a test for pémoline, an amphetamine-like drug, and caught three of the biggest names in Belgium: Eddy Merckx, Freddy Maertens and Michel Pollentier.

1978

  • Maarten Ducrot was a Dutch professional road bicycle racer. In January 2000, on the Dutch TV-show Reporter, he admitted that he had used cortisone and testosterone, as well as Synacthen, "a very bad medicine," and he still regrets using it. Ducrot said he experimented with synacthen in 1982 when he was an amateur.[61]
  • Gilbert Glaus of Switzerland, the World Amateur Champion, tested positive for steroids.
  • Jean-Luc van den Broucke of Belgium confessed that "In the Tour de France, I took steroids. That is not a stimulant, just a strengthener. If I hadn't, I would have had to give up. What do you think? I'm on the bike all year from February onwards, I have to do well in the classics in all the little races, and also in the Tour de France. On the first rest day, before we went into the Pyrenees, I had a first hormone injection. I had another one on the second day, at the start of the last week. You can't call that medically harmful, not if it's done under a doctor's control and within reason."[62] See Doping at the Tour de France - Steroids and allied drugs

1980s

1980

  • Vicente López Carril of Spain, died on March 29, 1980 aged 37 from a heart attack. His death was noted by Willy Voet in his book Massacre à la chaîne although he acknowledged the impossibility of proving the link between these early deaths and the drugs taken while racing[63].
  • Freddy Maertens of Belgium, admitted to the French newspaper L'Équipe, after his retirement, that "like everyone else", he had used amphetamines in round-the-houses races but he insisted that he had ridden without drugs in important races - not least because he knew he would be tested for them.

1982

  • Vicente Belda of Spain was said said to have tested positive for Methylphenidate (Ritalin), a stimulant on the Vuelta a España.[66] Methylphenidate was a popular drug for doping in cycling at that time.[67]
  • Marc Demeyer of Belgium died on January 20, 1982, aged 31 from a heart attack. His death was noted by Willy Voet in his book Massacre à la chaîne although he acknowledged the impossibility of proving the link between these early deaths and the drugs taken while racing[63].
  • Steven Rooks was a Dutch cyclist whose professional career ran from from 1982-1995. On the Dutch TV-show Reporter in 2000, Rooks admitted (together with Maarten Ducrot and Peter Winnen that they had doped in their careers. Rooks said he used testosterone and amphetamines during his whole 13 year career.[68]
  • Willy Voet wrote about Bert Oosterbosch riding the 1982 Grand Prix des Nations in his 2002 book Massacre à la Chaîne ("Breaking The Chain"). Oosterbosch was flat from the start due to the Synacten he had taken. The drugs initially blocked his ability to work hard. An hour after the injection it started working as planned and his tempo increased.[69] Note - Voet may have been referring to the 1979 or 1984 events.[70]

1982 Vuelta a España - Angel Arroyo won the 1982 Vuelta a España, but 48 hours later it emerged that in the doping control that was conducted after the stage 17 Arroyo tested positive. Three other riders also failed the doping test after stage 17: Alberto Fernández, Vicente Belda and Pedro Muñoz Machín Rodríguez. The four riders were said to have tested positive for Methylphenidate (which is also known as Ritalin), a stimulant.[66] Methylphenidate was a popular drug for doping in cycling at that time.[67] Arroyo and his team denied the allegations and asked for a second analysis of the sample. The B analysis confirmed the first positive test.[66] Arroyo was assigned a 10 minute penalty and stripped of his Vuelta win which was given to Lejarreta. With the 10 minute penalty Arroyo went down to 13th place in the classification.[71] The disqualification of the winner of the Vuelta has been called the worst scandal that has ever hit the race on the official La Vuelta website.[66]

1983

  • Adri van der Poel the Dutch world cyclocross champion and Tour de France stage winner tested positive for Strychnine. He said that his father-in-law, had served a pigeon pie for Sunday lunch, and only when he tested positive did he realise that the pigeons had been doped with strychnine.[72][73][74]

1984

  • John Beckman of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. The USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]
  • Brent Emery of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. The USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]
  • Steve Hegg of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. The USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]
  • Pat McDonough of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. The USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]
  • Leonard Nitz of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. BThe USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]
  • Rebecca Twigg of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. The USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]
  • Mark Whitehead of the USA admitted to receiving blood transfusions in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[75] (See Systematic Blood Doping below for details) The practice was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. The USA team coach Eddie Borysewicz set up a clinic in motel room. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. [77]

Systematic Blood doping at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The USA cycling team's successes were coloured by revelations that riders had blood transfusions before their events, a practice known as blood-doping. The transfusions were to increase red blood cells in riders' blood. That would take more oxygen to their muscles. They received the blood of others with similar blood types. [75] The practice, instigated by national coach Eddie Borysewicz, was not against Olympic rules although Games medical guidelines discouraged it. Borysewicz and a colleague, Ed Burke, set up a clinic in a Los Angeles motel room and four of the seven athletes who had transfusions won medals. [76] The US federation banned blood-doping in January 1985. Borysewicz and Burke were fined a month's pay. Mike Fraysse, a former president of the federation, was demoted from first to third vice-president. [77]

Steve Hegg, won a gold and a silver; Rebecca Twigg, Pat McDonough and Leonard Nitz won silver medals. The others were John Beckman, Mark Whitehead and Brent Emery. They were identified in the subsequent inquiry as having had transfusions. The rest of the team had refused.[75]

1986

  • Peter Winnen is a Dutch former road racing cyclist. He was professional from 1980 until 1991. In January 2000, on the Dutch TV-show Reporter, Winnen admitted that he had doped. He came third in the 1983 Tour de France (undoped) but he said that in the 1986 Tour de France "I was very bad and had the choice: go back to home or to provide me with testosterone." - Winnen reached Paris. During his career with Raleigh, Panasonic and Buckler, Winnen used testosterone,amphetamines and corticosteroids.[68]

1987

  • Kim Andersen of Denmark tested positive for doping in 1987, and was banned for life, a sentence that was later changed to a one year quarantine. In 1992 he was tested positive again, and fired from his team. He rode as an individual for the rest of the year, before finally retiring.[78]

1988

  • Pedro Delgado of Spain tested positive for probenecid at the 1988 Tour de France. Probenicid interferes with chemicals which the kidneys secrete, and thus aroused a suspicion that he was using it as a masking agent for steroid use. Though other sports governing bodies, such as the IOC, recognized probenecid as a doping agent, the UCI, which oversaw cycling, did not, and thus Delgado was allowed to continue in the event without sanction.[79]
  • Gert-Jan Theunisse of the Netherlands tested positive for testosterone during the Tour de France and received a ten-minute penalty which moved him from fourth to eleventh place overall.[80] He admitted in 2000 to using illegal substances during his career, according to an interview published by the Dutch regional newspaper Dutch "Eindhovens Dagblad". He confessed "to having used a great deal of Celestone," a corticoid, but he denied to having taken testosterone.[81]
  • Geert Van de Walle of Belgium died on November 26, 1988, aged 22, from a heart attack. His death was noted by Willy Voet in his book Massacre à la chaîne although he acknowledged the impossibility of proving the link between these early deaths and the drugs taken while racing[63].
  • In 1988, the first rider was banned for using EPO.[82].

The Emergence of EPO - In the late 1980s a genetically engineered drug created for people suffering from kidney failure became a substance abused by athletes seeking enhanced stamina and performance. The drug is recombinant erythropoietin, known as EPO, which was developed by the Amgen company. Recombinant EPO is a genetically engineered copy of a hormone normally produced in the kidney and was not detectable by any test at the time.[83]

EPO stimulates the bone marrow in order to increase red blood cell production and thus the body's ability to carry oxygen. A study of 15 Swedish athletes by the Stockholm Institute of Gymnastics and Sports found an improvement of nearly 10 percent in aerobic performance. The increased thickness of the blood also increases the risk of blood clotting which can block blood vessels causing a heart attack or stroke, especially in the middle of the night when the heart's rate is lowest. Doctors and blood specialists concluded that the drug could have been implicated in the deaths of as many as 18 European professional bicycle racers between 1987 and 1991. One of them was Johannes Draaijer, a 27-year-old Dutch rider who finished 130th in the 1989 Tour de France.[83] Although the autopsy did not specify the cause of death Draaijer’s wife later told the German news magazine Der Spiegel that her husband became sick after using EPO.[84]

1989

  • Laurent Fignon of France tested positive for amphetamines at the Grand Prix de la Liberation in Eindhoven on September 17, 1989.[85][86]
  • Bert Oosterbosch of the Netherlands died on August 18, 1989, aged 32, from a heart attack and poor health. His death was noted by Willy Voet in his book Massacre à la chaîne (translated as "Breaking the Chain". A more accurate translation would be "Systematic Massacre" - literally "Chain massacre", reference to both the bicycle chain and to "chainsaw massacre") although he acknowledged the impossibility of proving the link between these early deaths and the drugs taken while racing[63]. It is widely presumed, but not proven, that the death is attributable to EPO use[87][88] but this is disputed.[89] Voet also talked about Oosterbosch riding the 1982 Grand Prix des Nations. Oosterbosch was flat from the start due to the Synacten he had taken. The drugs initially blocked his ability to work hard. An hour after the injection it started working as planned and his tempo increased.[69] In fact, Voet may have been referring to the 1979 or 1984 events.[70]
  • Johan van der Velde of the Netherlands undertook hospital treatment for his addiction to amphetamines at the end of his career. He said in an interview with the author Jan Siebelink ("Pijn is genot") that he had trouble coping when that success began to dry up. Van der Velde said he remembered shivering at the start of an Italian race, the skin of his arms wrinkled in goosebumps, because of the amphetamine he had taken just to start. He was also disqualified from the 1981 Liege-Bastogne-Liege race.[90]

1990s

1990

  • Johannes Draaijer from the Netherlands. It is widely presumed, but not proven, that his death was attributable to EPO use.[87][83] The autopsy did not specify the cause of death, but Draaijer’s wife later told the German news magazine, Der Spiegel, that her husband became sick after using EPO.[84]

The PDM Affair, In November, 1997 Cyclingnews.com reported about an inquiry that had just been made public in The Netherlands.[91] This inquiry appeared to reveal doping in the PDM cycling team. The doctor of the team from between 1990 and 1991 was Wim Sanders who was the centre of the investigation which was reported to have been initiated when the General Manager of the team, Manfred Krikke, called the FIOD (Fiscal Information and Investigation Service) to investigate the medical business of the team. It was said that Wim Sanders supplied anabolic steroids and EPO to the team and was responsible for the ‘intralipid affair’of the 1991 Tour de France,[91] when the entire team withdrew due to what was reported at the time as food poisoning.[92] In a 2008 TV documentary[93]; team members and team doctor Wim Sanders explain how the cause was in fact careless storage of Intralipid, a nutritional aid with which the team members had been injected.[94]

According to cyclingnews.com, 1990 was the height of the drug taking in the team and during this year, two riders had to stop with acute heart problems[91]; whether this refers to stopping with professional cycling or performance enchaning drugs is unclear. Team manager Gisbers denied any knowledge of doping in the team.[94]

1991

  • Carey Hall, the Australian track cyclist, tested positive for the use of banned substances and lost the medal he won in the World Championship at Stuttgart and placed on probation for 6 months[95].
  • Seán Kelly of Ireland was described in Willy Voet's book 'Massacre a la Chaine' thus "He won the Tour of Lombardy three times (1983, 1985, 1991 (also won amateur version in 1976)) and on at least one of times he did it with the help of a corticoide injection. Kelly was positive after Paris-Bruxelles in 1984 and that came as a surprise because he used the urine of a mechanic. But the mechanic was using banned substances himself because he had to work long hours at night and needed the lift to stay awake."[96]
  • Stephen Pate, the Australian track cyclist, tested positive for the use of banned substances and lost the medal he won in the World Championship at Stuttgart and placed on probation for 6 months[95].
  • Jesper Skibby of Denmark released his autobiography in November, in which he confessed[97] to having used doping for more than 10 years. In 1991 he started using steroids, in 1992 growth hormones and testosterone, and finally by 1993 he was also using EPO. He claimed that he requested the drugs himself, and he did not name any other riders or contacts in the book.

PDM. Some teams used sophisticated recovery techniques whereby riders were put on a drip during the night and fed nutrients such as Vitamin B12. This practice was blamed when the entire PDM team went down with a fever on the 10th Stage of the Tour de France. PDM management blamed a virus although only riders were infected. Ten days later a press release stated that the team had used recovery substances which were past their sell-by date.[17]

1992

  • Jesper Worre from Denmark tested positive for use of amineptine, a stimulant drug, which had been prohibited on January 1 that same year. He admitted the offence and received a conditional quarantine. He is now particularly known for his strong and uncompromising struggle against the use of doping in professional cycling.[98][99]

1993

  • Claudio Chiappucci from Italy, confessed in 1997 that he had used drugs from 1993 - 1995, but later retracted that statement.[100] Chiappucci used the practice of doctor Conconi[101], who was accused of applying EPO to cyclists.[102][103] Conconi was found 'morally guilty', but was acquitted, because the crime had aged.[104] The judge had looked at medical reports of 33 cyclists in the period 1993-1995, including Chiappucci's, and all blood tests showed largely fluctuating hematocrit-values, indicative for EPO-use.[105]
  • Lennie Kristensen from Denmark tested positive for a stimulant drug. The Danish Cycling organisation banned him but the UCI did not.[106]
  • Stephen Roche of Ireland. According to an investigation in Italy into the practices of Francesco Conconi, Roche was involved in the case, having received EPO in 1993[107] In May 1990, Paul Kimmage published Rough Ride exposing apparently endemic drug use in the peloton, and Roche threatened litigation. It was reported in the Rome newspaper, La Republica, in January 2000 that Francesco Conconi, a professor at the University of Ferrara involved with administering EPO to riders on the Carrera team with which Roche had some of his best years, had provided riders including Roche with EPO. Roche denied the allegations.[108] This was further reported in the Irish Times several days later, Roche again denying EPO.[109] In March 2000 the Italian judge Franca Oliva published a report detailing the investigation into sports doctors including Conconi.[110] This official judicial investigation concluded that Roche was administered EPO in 1993, his last year in the peloton.[111] Files part of the investigation allegedly detail a number of aliases for Roche including Rocchi, Rossi, Rocca, Roncati, Righi and Rossini.[112] In 2004 Judge Oliva alleged that Roche had taken EPO during 1993 but due to the statute of limitations, neither Roche nor his team-mates at Carrera would be prosecuted.[113]

1994

  • Joachim Halupczok from Poland - died, aged 26, on February 5, 1994. In 1988 he was the World Champion cyclist, Olympic Silver medalist, and was voted 'best athlete in Poland'. In 1990 he turned professional and took part in the World Championships in Japan, but in autumn that year health problems (heart arrhythmia) caused his retirement from the sport, aged 24. It was suspected that the problems was associated with the abuse of drugs (EPO).[114][115]. His death was also noted by disgraced soigneur Willy Voet in his book Massacre à la chaîne although he acknowledged the impossibility of proving the link between these early deaths and the drugs taken while racing[63].

1995

  • Bo Hamburger from Denmark admitted taking EPO from 1995-1997 in his 2007 autobiography. He had vociferously denied taking banned substances throughout his active career.[116][117]
  • Marco Pantani of Italy recorded a haematocrit level of 60.1% in the Milan-Turin race in October, about twenty percent higher than his natural level.[17][118]

1996

  • Udo Bölts of Germany confessed publicly on May 23, 2007 to having used EPO and growth hormones in preparation for the Tour de France in 1996 when he was with Team T-Mobile, and continued in 1997. Consequentially Bölts resigned as the sports director of Team Gerolsteiner on May 24, 2007[121]
  • Bert Dietz of Germany confessed publicly on May 23, 2007 to having used EPO in preparation for the Tour de France in 1996 when he was with Team T-Mobile, and continued in 1997.[122][123][124].
  • Christian Henn of Germany used banned substances (including EPO) while riding for the T-Mobile team in the mid 1990s. He admitted this in May 2007.[125]
  • Brian Holm of Denmark admitted doping during the 1990s in his 2002 autobiography. This did not cost him his job as manager for the Danish national team, despite some concern about him being a role model for the young riders. In May 2007 he admitted having used erythropoietin (epo) on two occasions in 1996 at Team Telekom.[119]
  • Rita Razmaite of Lithuania, tested positive for Bromantan. She was suspended, along with a Russian coach and a Belarussian doctor, by the International Olympic Committee.[126]
  • Filippo Simeoni of Italy admitted in 2002 that he was instructed by doctor Michele Ferrari in 1996 and 1997 on how to use the EPO and Human Growth Hormone that were prescribed. He also testified in court that he had used doping since 1993. Dr. Ferrari was also Lance Armstrong's doctor and this lead to a public falling out at the 2002 Tour de France.[128] In 2001 and 2002 Simeoni was suspended for several months for doping use.
  • Erik Zabel of Germany, on May 24, 2007, admitted having used Erythropoietin (EPO) in preparation for the 1996 Tour de France. In the press conference he said that he experimented with EPO for a week, but did stop then due to severe side effects. Zabel also publicly apologized for having lied about his use of EPO in the past. [119][120]
Bjarne Riis, winner of the 1996 Tour de France, admitted having used doping and EPO in the 1990s.

The Telekom Affair, In May 2007, several former riders admitted to using banned substances (including EPO) while riding for the team in the mid 1990s, including Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Brian Holm,[125] Bjarne Riis,[129] Bert Dietz, Udo Bölts and Christian Henn including the seasons in which Riis and Ullrich won the Tour de France.[122] Team doctors Andreas Schmid and Lothar Heinrich has also confessed to participating and administering banned substances. The latter was Team Telekom's sporting director until May 3, 2007 when he was suspended following allegations published in former team member Jef d'Hont's book.[130]

On May 25, 2007 Riis issued a statement confessing to taking EPO, growth hormone and cortisone for 5 years, from 1993 to 1998, including during his victory in the 1996 Tour de France.[131] Earlier in the week, five of Riis' former teammates from Team Telekom confessed to having used banned substances during the 1990s when Riis won the Tour.[132] [133] Riis said that he bought and injected the EPO himself, and team coach Walter Godefroot turned a blind eye to the drug use on the team.[134]. Riis removed from the official record books of Tour de France,[135] but in July 2008 he is written back in the books along with additional notes about his use of doping.

1997

  • Djamolidine Abdoujaparov from Uzbekistan became the first rider to be disqualified from the 1997 Tour de France for taking banned substances after testing positive for Bromantan[136][137] and the anabolic steroid, Clenbuterol.[138][139] It was later revealed that he had tested positive for drugs after six races in 1997, including the Tour de France. He was subsequently banned for a year after the UCI appealed against a six-month ban imposed by the Uzbekistan Cycling Federation, claiming it was too lenient.[140]
  • Gilles Bouvard of France admitted on July 28, 1998 that he had doped when with his former team Festina.
  • Brian Dalgaard Jensen of Denmark confessed in a DR TV documentary in March 2003, to using EPO during his career, especially during his 1997 success in Belgium. In 2004 he was awarded an anti-doping prize for his openness.[141]
  • Rune Jogert of Norway tested positive for Ephedrine during a stage race in Germany (the Berliner 4-Etappen-Fahrt). He was suspended for 2 months from February 1, 1998, fined 500 Swiss francs ($US345) and lost 15 UCI ranking points. Additionally the Norwegian Cycling Federation was fined 5,000 Swiss francs (about $US3,500) because it had not taken any action against Rune Jogert and not told the UCI[142].
  • Emmanuel Magnien of France admitted on July 28, 1998 that he had doped when with his former team Festina.
  • Michael Skelde from Denmark tested positive for testosterone. [143]

1998

  • Laurent Brochard of France was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On July 24 he confessed to using performance enhancing drugs. On December 15, 1998 he was suspended by the French Cycling Federation for six months.
  • Francesco Casagrande of Italy was caught in March 1998 with a positive testosterone finding. He was suspended for 6 months, later increased to 9 months, and sacked by Cofidis.[144]
  • Laurent Dufaux of Switzerland was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On July 24 he confessed to using performance enhancing drugs.
  • Pascal Hervé of France was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On October 25, 2000 he admitted to doping during the 1998 Tour de France.[145]
  • Luc Leblanc of France, the 1994 world champion, admitted to the court in the Festina trial he had used performance-enhancing erythropoetin (EPO) to prepare for the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta over the last six years (1992-1998). He took EPO in 1994 to compete in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. "It is true, but I could have taken a lot more to win these races," said Leblanc. He also insisted that his Rainbow Jersey was not won on illegal substances.[146][147]
  • Rodolfo Massi of Italy tested positive for Cortisone during the 1998 Tour de France and received a 6 month suspension from the Italian Cycling Federation. He was also fined around $US1800, thrown out of the Tour while wearing the Mountain's jersey and arrested by police. He was accused of being one of the drug dealers in the peloton.[148]
  • Armin Meier of Switzerland was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On July 24 he confessed to using performance enhancing drugs.
  • Christophe Moreau of France team was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On July 24 he confessed to using EPO[149]. [150] Confessing alongside the other team members - except Richard Virenque - Moreau served a six-month suspension before returning to racing.[151]. On December 15, 1998 he was suspended by the French Cycling Federation for six months.
  • Per Pedersen of Denmark who raced the Tour de France on four occasions and worked for Team CSC as a directeur sportif in 2001, confessed to taking substances that are now prohibited. "It concerned cortisone," he admitted in December 2006.[152][153]
  • Didier Rous of France was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On December 15, 1998, he was suspended by the French Cycling Federation for six months.
  • Richard Virenque of France was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On October 24, 2000, he admitted to doping at the 1998 Tour de France[154] but on December 22, 2000, he was cleared by the French court[155]. On December 30, 2000 the Swiss cycling federation gave him a nine-month ban and a 4,000 Swiss franc fine. [156]
  • Alex Zülle of Switzerland was ejected from the Tour de France on July 17, 1998 with the entire Festina team. On July 24 he confessed to using performance enhancing drugs. His hematacrit level was recorded as 52.3%, whereas the maximum allowed figure is 50%. He also stated in court that he has been employing EPO for four years, including during his time with ONCE. [157]

The Festina Affair is the events that surround several doping scandals, doping investigations and confessions of riders to doping that occurred during and after the 1998 Tour de France. The affair began when a large haul of doping products was found in a car of the Festina cycling team just before the start of the race which led to an investigation, this was followed by the re-opening of a separate case into the TVM team and a subsequent searching of many teams during the race. The affair highlighted systematic doping and suspicion of a widespread network of doping in many teams of the Tour de France and was characterised by the constant negative publicity of the case, police searches of hotels, a spate of confessions by retired and current riders to doping, the detainment and arrest of many team personnel, protests by riders in the race as well as mass withdrawal of several teams from the race.

1999

  • Uwe Ampler tested positive for steroids and high testosterone level during the Sachsen Tour in August 1999. He admitted his error, blaming a cocktail of drugs taken during a bout of influenza.[158]
  • Lance Armstrong tested positive for corticoids during the 1999 Tour de France. The small amounts of corticoids in a urine sample were explained by the prescription for skin cream (saddle sores / boil / allergy) that he subsequently presented to the UCI, thus he was cleared of any offence. [161].
  • Ludo Dierckxsens was removed from the Tour de France by his Lampre team after winning the 11th stage. At the post race drugs test he told the race doctor about his use of the corticoid Synacthene (Tetracosactide) under prescription to treat a knee injury from the previous month.[162]
  • Claus Michael Møller of the Dutch TVM team tested positive for banned substances and received a 2 year ban[163]

1999 Tour de France - In 2005 the French sports daily L'Équipe accused Lance Armstrong of using the performance-enhancing drug EPO during 1999 Tour de France. For years, it had been impossible to detect the drug, called erythropoietin, until UCI began using a urine test for EPO in 2001. According to the newspaper, tests on 1999 urine samples were done to help scientists improve their detection methods. The newspaper said 12 samples had revealed EPO use, including six from Armstrong.[167] [168] In 2006 a UCI appointed independent lawyer, Emile Vrijman, released a report in 2006 claiming that Lance Armstrong should be cleared of any suspicion surrounding the retrospective testing of the 1999 Tour de France. Vrijman denounced the manner in which the doping laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry carried out its research, claiming that there were too many procedural and chain of custody gaps.[169][170] The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rejected it, calling it defamatory to WADA and its officers and employees, as well as the accredited laboratory involved. [171]

In 2005, French daily 'Le Journal du Dimanche' reported that Spanish rider Manuel Beltrán, Danish Bo Hamburger and Colombian Joaquim Castelblanco were suspected of being among those whose frozen urine samples reportedly tested positive.[172]

2000s

2000

  • Neil Campbell tested positive at a World Cup track meeting in Turin on July 13 and at the British Championships on July 29. Both samples showed higher concentrations of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) than permitted.[175]
  • Jan Hruška from the Czech Republic was thrown out of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after testing positive for an unspecified banned substance.[176]
  • Emmanuel Magnien of France was banned for three months by the International Cycling Union (UCI) after testing positive for corticoids during Tour de France.[176][177]
  • Tammy Thomas, US track cyclist, tested positive for testosterone at the 2000 US Olympic trials, and in 2001 tested positive for a previously unseen steroid Norbolethone. She received a lifetime ban from the sport.[178]

2001

  • Riccardo Forconi tested positive for blood doping/EPO use prior to the Giro d'Italia.[180]
  • Dario Frigo was expelled from the Giro d'Italia after police discovered banned substances in his hotel room[181][182]. In 2005 he was arrested and banned from the Tour de France after police found 10 doses of erythropoietin (EPO) in his wife's car.[183].
  • Marcin Gebk of Poland was excluded from the 2001 Peace Race after failing a hematocrit test prior to the event. He was one of three riders for the Polish CCC Mat team who received a two week ban.[184]
  • Bjoern Glasner of Germany and Team Cologne was excluded from the 2001 Peace Race after failing a hematocrit test prior to the event. He received a two week ban.[184]
  • Bo Hamburger becomes the first rider to test positive for EPO under a new system introduced by the UCI in 2001. Hamburger was later acquitted by the Danish Sports Federation after irregularities in the handling of Hamburger's B sample analysis.[185] Hamburger denied ever taking any banned substances, but in 2007 he published a book and revealed that he took EPO from 1995 to 1997.[186]
  • Roland Meier from Switzerland tested positive for EPO at the end of la Flèche Wallonne on April 18. The Swiss Cycling Federation (SRB) stated that the B sample 'counter-evaulation' was carried out by the IUML (University Institute of Forensic medicine) in Lausanne and it confirmed the first analysis.[187]. He was suspended for 8 months by the SRB.[188]
  • Piotr Przydzial of Poland was excluded from the 2001 Peace Race after failing a hematocrit test prior to the event. He was one of three riders for the Polish CCC Mat team who received a two week ban.[184]
  • Ondřej Sosenka of the Czech Republic was excluded from the 2001 Peace Race after failing a hematocrit test prior to the event. He was one of three riders for the Polish CCC Mat team who received a two week ban.[184][192]
  • Tammy Thomas, US track cyclist, tested positive for a previously unseen steroid Norbolethone. She received a lifetime ban from the sport.[178]

2001 Giro d'Italia - The Giro was overshadowed by a series of scandals related to doping. Police raided the hotels of several teams during the race, uncovering a variety of banned substances. Italian Dario Frigo, who was fighting for the race lead at the time, was expelled from the race as a result.[193] The week prior to the raid saw Pascal Hervé and Riccardo Forconi expelled from the race after testing positive for EPO. Italian police carried out anti-drugs raids on a number of hotels in the town of San Remo where the participants of the race were staying. About 200 officers were involved in the raid. Police officers search the rooms of riders from all 20 teams, confiscating medicines. The organizers decided to cancel the 18th stage after second-placed Dario Frigo was sacked by Fassa Bortolo team after illegal drugs were found in his room. Frigo later admitted carrying them as security in case he needed a boost during the final stages of the race. Italian Marco Pantani was banned for six months after an insulin syringe was found in his room.[190][191]

2002

  • Nicola Chesini was detained by Italian police as part of an investigation into the supply of performance-enhancing drugs during the 2002 Giro d'Italia. Chesini was taken from his hotel near Cuneo after the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia.[194]
  • Jef D'hont was a masseur to professional cycling teams. In 1998 he was involved in the doping scandal during the Tour de France (festina affair). For his involvement in doping in the team Française des Jeux, he got a 9 month prison term on probation in December 2000. In April 2007 he exposed the doping practises of the Team Telekom in the 1990s, and admitted his own use of amphetamines in 1963.[197][198]