Daily Cycling Facts 01.09.2013

Franco Bitossi

Franco Bitossi

Born in Camaioni di Carmignano on this day in 1940, the Italian Franco Bitossi became known to friends as Cuore Matto - "Crazy Heart," on account of the cardiac arrythmia that would frequently cause him to have to stop halfway through a race. His palmares, built up over the course of a 17-year professional career, is for that reason all the more impressive.

Bitossi had three successful years as an amateur, during which time he was noticed by 1960 Tour winner Gastone Nencini, who took him under his wing and gave him advice; then got picked up by Philco, managed by Fiorenzo Magni, as soon as he reached the age of 21, the minimum age for professionals at that time - which came as something of a surprise because his arrythmia had already been detected and he'd assumed he wouldn't be able to compete at the top level as a result. He won a stage at the Tre Giorni del Sud that year, 1961, then in 1963 he came second on Stage 20 at the Giro d'Italia and third overall in the King of the Mountains after arrythmia suffered in the first three stages suddenly cleared up. The year after that he attained five podium finishes (but no wins) as the season got under way, then went back to the Giro and won Stages 3, 16, 17 and 20, was second on four others, finished in tenth place overall and won the King of the Mountains. In 1965 he won the Tour de Suisse, then took one stage, seventh place overall and another King of the Mountains at the Giro. After six early-season victories in 1966, Bitossi won Stages 14 and 16 and a third King of the Mountains at the Giro (coming eighth overall this time) and went to the Tour de France where he won Stages 5 and 17; then he won Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro di Lombardia in 1967.

One of the best-known truths in cycling is that climbers cannot sprint and vice versa. Climbers are usually finely-boned, sinewy greyhound-like creatures with body fat levels that, were professional cyclists normal human beings, would get doctors worried; their job being to get their bodies and their bikes up the great climbs as quickly as possible. Sprinters are heavy, heavily muscled; homo sapiens robustus compared to the climbers' h. sapiens gracile. They are highly specialised to their environments and do not trespass into one another's territory - except, that is, for Bitossi; who, in 1968 and after all those King of the Mountains trophies, came second in the Points competition at the Giro, then won it at the Tour (where he was also second on the Mountains); and he would win the Points at the Giro in 1969 and 1970. Interestingly, the only other male rider to have performed so well on the climbs and the sprints was Eddy Merckx, who won the General Classification in 1970 and the Points and GC in 1973 - and who also suffered from a heart defect that, had he have been riding as an amateur today, would have prevented his selection for a professional team.

Left: Marino Basso; right: Bitossi

Bitossi never did so well in the Grand Tours again after 1970 as his heart condition worsened, but he remained a force with which to be reckoned for many years. In 1971 he won twelve victories in addition to the National Road Race Championship, then nine victories in 1972 (when he was beaten by an infinitesimal amount by his team mate Marino Basso to the World Champiobship title) and 1973 respectively and 18 in 1974 including Stages 6, 8 and 18 at the Giro. He won six times the following year, the most prestigious being Stage 15 at the Giro and 11 times, including another National Championhip in 1976, and then ten times in total over 1977 and 1978 - a period during which he began to excel in cyclo cross as much as on the road, winning the National Championship in both years.

He is estimated to have won at least 158 races across the course of his career, not including amateur events, yet is frequently described by journalists who interview him as humble, welcoming, humourous and deeply respectful of the riders he raced against. Who knows what he might have achieved without his heart condition?

Riccardo Riccò
Born in Formigine on this day in 1983, Italian Riccardo Riccò is a former professional cyclist who became best known for his second place General Classification finish at the 2008 Giro d'Italia, when he also won the Youth category, but has since become more famous for doping.

Riccò at the 2008 Giro d'Italia

Riccò's first taste of success came in 2001 when he won the National Junior Cyclo Cross Championship. Two years later he won the Coppa della Pace and a stage at the Baby Giro, then in 2004 he became Under-23 National Road Race Champion and in 2005 the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda and a stage at the U-23 Giro della Toscana. Professional teams began to take an interest that year and he settled on a contract with Saunier Duval-Prodir for 2006, riding his first Tour de France with them and then, late in the season, winning the Japan Cup. He remained with the team throughout 2007, when he won the Points competition at Tirreno-Adriatico and his first Grand Tour stage, Stage 15 at the Giro d'Italia, which he finished in sixth place overall; then when he returned to the Giro in 2008 he won Stages 2 and 8, was third overall on Points and second overall in the General Classification. The new star of Italian cycling, he was selected for Saunier's Tour de France squad later in the summer - and, after Stage 11, the news broke that a sample he'd provided following Stage 4 had tested positive for the EPO variant CERA. He was the third rider to be caught using the same drug that year and was thrown out of the race immediately, after which manager Mauro Gianetti withdrew the team voluntarily, then sacked the rider.

Riccò expressed his anger to journalists. "I spent a night in the police station and it was like being in prison," he said. "The magistrate listened to what I had to say. They searched my bags but only found some vitamins that we all use and so they decided to let me go home." He was being half-truthful - his hotel room had been searched and no illegal drugs were found, but a selection of unexplained medical equipment - including intravenous drips and syringes - had been; it was also revealed that he had sped away from Stage 4 apparently in an attempt to evade testers, but they had caught up with him in heavy traffic and obtained the sample (it was also revealed that CERA's manufacturer, Roche Pharmaceuticals, had been working in secret with WADA to develop and perfect a test for the drug, which had previously been undetectable). For once in his life, Riccò decided that honesty was the best policy and made a full confession, stating that he had used CERA to prepare himself for the Tour and that he had done so entirely independently and without the knowledge of anyone at Saunier. He also publicly apologised to the team and to fans and later told journalists that the drug had been supplied to him by Carlo Santuccione, whose licence to practice a a doctor had been suspended from 1995 to 2000 and would be removed for life in 2007 after the investigation into the Oil For Drugs doping ring, of which he was believed to have been ringleader (Santuccione, incidentally, had worked at the University of Ferrara's Biomedical Institute alongside Francesco Conconi, who is thought to have been the man who first brought EPO into cycling and who later served on the medical committee of the Italian Olympic committee CONI, which funded his research into new anti-doping tests - which he then used to devise new ways to get around the tests). It was expected that Riccò would be shown leniency on account of his compliance, but initially he was not and received the full two-year ban. Once again he expressed bitterness to journalists, whilst admitting "I made a mistake and it's fair that I pay;" in March 2009, the Court of Arbitration in Sport reduced the ban to 20 months. As the ban was backdated, he was free to return to competion in March the following year and did so with Irish-based Ceramica Flaminia.

Riccò in 2007

When a rider returns from a doping ban, he or she will usually experience problems finding a contract to ride at the same level as prior to their ban - this is partially because of the loss of race experience and partially because the top teams can afford to be choosy and don't wish to be seen as providing a home for convicted dopers - hence his step back to ProContinental Ceramica. However, his results over the next five months, including overall victory at the Österreich-Rundfahrt, were sufficient to pique the interest of the ProTour teams. Riccò was not the sort of rider who felt that he should repay the second chance Ceramica had given him by riding a full season for them; so he appears to have had few of any qualms about terminating his contract with them in August and going to the ProTour team Vacansoleil-DCM. He won the Coppa Sabatini with them late in the year, then came seventh at the season-opening GP de Ouverture in 2011.

Seven days after the Ouverture, on the 6th of February, Riccò was rushed to hospital. He was in critical condition with acute kidney failure believed to have been caused by a non-medical autologous transfusion (ie, using his own blood) performed using blood that was 25 days old and had presumably been incorrectly stored, which he is alleged to have admitted to the doctor who treated him. He could very easily have died, but fortunately recovered well enough to be discharged after only two weeks. Vacansoleil sacked him, though he insisted that he had neither made the alleged admission to the doctor nor ever used blood doping (in October that year, reports were published that he had admitted it; these were quickly denied by his lawyer). He also claimed that he would be retiring from cycling and began a new life working in a bar, but later announced that he would make a return. According to reports Amore & Vita offered him a contract with the conditions that he worked with the Italian authorities to help end doping in sport and that he would be sacked if proof arose that he had in fact received an illegal transfusion - if such a contract was offered, he refused it and instead signed to Meridiana-Kamen. He was expected to make his return to racing with them at the Kroz Srbiju, beginning on the 19th of June; however, eight days before the race began CONI suspended him and launched an investigation. On the 19th of April 2012, the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping found him guilty of the use and attempted use of prohibited methods and banned him from any involvement in professional cycling for a period of 12 years.


Émile Masson Jr., born in Hollogne-aux-Pierres, Belgium on this day in 1912, won La Flèche Wallonne and Stage 17a at the Tour de France in 1938 and Paris-Roubaix in 1939. After the Second World War he returned to cycling and became National Road Race Champion in 1946 (when he also won Bordeaux-Paris) and again in 1947. He died on 2nd of January 2011, aged 95. Masson was the son of Émile Masson Snr., who won Stages 11 and 12 at the Tour in 1922 and his own Bordeaux-Paris a year later.

Andrea Ferrigato, who was born in Schio, Italy on this day in 1969, won Stage 12 at the Giro d'Italia in 1994. Three years later, he won Stage 5 at Tirreno-Adriatico and first place at the GP Ouest-France.

Other cyclists born on this day: Arthur F. Andrews (USA, 1876); Giorgio Ursi (Italy, 1943); Jean Govaerts (Belgium, 1938); Erhard Neumann (USA, 1932, died 2002); Huub Duyn (Netherlands, 1984); Juho Jaakonaho (Finland, 1882, died 1964); Wayne Burgess (South Africa, 1971); Hong Seong-Ik (South Korea, 1940); Alfred Ebanks (Cayman Islands, 1953); Iñaki Lejarreta (Spain, 1983); André Bar (Belgium, 1935).

Daily Cycling Facts 29.08.2013

Geneviève Jeanson

Geneviève Jeanson with André Aubut

Born in Lachine, Canada on this day in 1981, Geneviève Jeanson won the Junior World Road and Time Trial Championships in 1999 and went on to have one of the most controversial careers of any professional female cyclist.

In 2000, she faced allegations that she had asked for - and received - special treatment from the nation cycling federation in order to be able to take part in that year's Olympics, persuading them to give her a place if she could finish in the top eight of two out of five pre-decided races rather than, as was the case with other athletes, based on cumulative results gained during 1999 and up until the Games. However, since she had been a junior in 1999 and junior results didn't count, it's arguable if this could be termed unfair; she also exceeded the requirement by winning the Tour de Snowy and Waalse Pijl, then coming second at the Elite national Time Trial Championship (beating all the Olympics hopefuls in the event). She got her place at the Games and came 11th in the road race and 15th in the time trial, but not without further controversy: during the road race, Canadian team mate Lyne Bessett escaped the peloton in a breakaway. Many people believed that, with permission from her coach André Aubut, Jeanson had assisted rival teams in chasing and catching the break; though she would later claim that she had moved to the front of the pack to try to hold back the chase group and only gone with them to try to bring them back when they gained a slight gap.

The following year she won Stages 1, 3, 4 and 6 at the Redlands Classic and Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 at the Tour of the Gila, taking the General Classification at the former with an overall advantage of 9'23" and at the latter with 14'57" - huge and unexpected improvements that immediately raised suspicions. At the Montreal round of the World Cup the same year, she lapped all but a few of the other riders; then in 2002 she won a second Tour of the Gila, this time with an advantage of 11'42". Few people expressed any sort of surprise in 2003 when, after winning Redlands by 12'52" and either winning or reaching the podium in 24 races, she failed a haematocrit reading, a red blood cell count used to detect possible EPO use or blood transfusion (tests for EPO and homologous transfusions - ie, those using blood from a donor - had been developed in 2000 but were not yet widely used away from the top levels of European men's cycling; other than checking for traces of plastic from the IV bags within which blood is stored, there is still no test for autologous transfusions which use the subject's own blood). However, a high haematocrit reading proved nothing; therefore all the UCI could do was ban any rider who failed one for two weeks "for health reasons." Jeanson claimed that she used an oxygen tent as part of her training and that this had caused her high red cell population; when she passed a count two weeks later she was free to continue racing.

Jeanson in 2002

She was caught by an out-of-competition test in 2005 at the Tour de Toona, later explaining to journalists that the sample she provided had been declared positive for EPO and insisting that she was innocent. She still denied that she had ever doped by January the following year, then announced her retirement. Later that year, in November, the UCI revealed news that she had decided to accept their back-dated two-year ban, then a little under a month later she told journalists that she did not plan to return to cycling when the ban expired in July the following year. Finally, in September 2007, she confessed; admitting to Radio Canada that she had been using EPO for most of her career but placing the blame squarely on André Aubut whom, she claimed, had suggested she start using the drug shortly after he first began coaching her when she was 15. "I hated everything. I hated myself for doing it. I hated myself not being able to get out of it," she said in an interview. "It was miserable. It was not Geneviève that lied, it was someone else I did not know. It was something I was told to do and yes, I do regret it."

Aubut and a doctor who had worked with her Rona team were subsequently banned from working with athletes for life, but there are still questions: when Jeanson failed the haematocrit test in 2003, she was reportedly tested for EPO and blood transfusions but no indication of either was detected. Had she temporarily stopped using the drug in favour of autologous transfusions? If not - and she certainly didn't say she'd stopped using it at that point - how many other riders might also have been using it and escaped detection?


Frank Hoste, who was born in Ghent on this day in 1955, won Gent-Wevelgem, the Belgian National Road Race Championship and Stage 8 at the Tour de France in 1982; Stage 16a at the Giro d'Italia and Stages 1, 2 and 8 at the Tour de Suisse in 1983; Stages 1, 6, 21 and the Points competition at the Tour in 1984; Stage 6 at the Giro in 1985 and Stage 15 at the Tour in 1986.

Andrey Amador

Andrey Amador, born in San José, Costa Rica on this day in 1986, won the prologue and came fifth overall the Tour de l'Avenir in 2008. Four years later, he won Stage 14 at the 2012 Giro d'Italia; leaving little doubt that at the age of 26 he is a rider to watch in the coming years.

Ole Ritter, born in Slagelse in Denmark on this day in 1941, set a new Hour Record of 48.653km at Mexico City in 1968. It was the first time the record had been broken at altitude since 1898 and it would stand for four years until Eddy Merckx bettered it by 778m in 1972. Ritter rode the Giro d'Italia in 1967 and beat Merckx, Rudi Altig and Jacques "Monsieur Chrono" Anquetil in the Stage 11 individual time trial; he also won Stage 5 in 1969 and Stage 2 in 1973. He is the subject of two films, both made in 1974. The first, The Stars and the Water Carriers, follows the 1973 Giro d'Italia and also heavily features José Manuel Fuente and Merckx; the second, The Impossible Hour, follows on from The Stars and tells the story of his Hour Record attempt, taking him back to Mexico City where he managed to beat his 1968 record twice in a week (but not Merckx's record - the Belgian shows up a lot in this one too).

Valentin Uriona, born in Muxica in Spain on this day in 1940, won Stage 2 at the Milk Race (Tour of Britain) in 1961, Stage 9 at the same event a year later, Stage 7 at the Vuelta a Espana in 1963, overall at the 1964 Critérium du Dauphiné and Stage 4 at the Vuelta in 1966. He was killed in a crash at the National Championships the following year

Stijn Devolder at the 2012 Omloop Het
Nieuwsblad

Stijn Devolder, who was born Kortrijk on this day in 1979, is a Belgian cyclist who has enjoyed much success in one-day events, including his victories in the National Road Race Championship of 2007, the National Time Trial Championship of 2008 and both events in 2010 as well as at the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2008 and 2009. A good climber and a great time trial rider, he has also gained impressive results in the shorter stage races, winning the Österreich-Rundfahrt in 2007, the Volta ao Algarve in 2008 and the Tour of Belgium in 2008 and 2010. Somewhat surprisingly, this ability has not translated into Grand Tour success and he hasn't won a stage either the Tour de France nor the Vuelta a Espana, the two that he has entered, though he was 11th overall at the Vuelta in 2006.

Henk Faanhof, born in Amsterdam on this day in 1922, was disqualified from the 1947 National Championships after officials saw him swap bikes with a team mate - a new UCI rule, unbeknownst to either rider, had recently banned bike exchanges during races. Two years later, Faanhof became Amateur Road Race Champion and the year after that he won two stages at the Ronde van Nederland; then in 1954 he won Stage 9 at the Tour de France.

Other cyclists born on this day: Jhon González (Colombia, 1971); Veaceslav Oriol (Moldova, 1968); Hector Zamarron (Mexico, 1980); Giuseppe Faraca (Italy, 1959); Hernán Medina Calderón (Colombia, 1937); Gil Suray (Belgium, 1984); Xaver Kurmann (Switzerland, 1948); Denis Špička (Czechoslovakia, 1988); Alessandra Grassi (Mexico, 1976); Michael Belcourt (Canada, 1964); Georgios Portelanos (Greece, 1966); Fausto Lurati (Switzerland, 1929); Carlos Torrent (Spain, 1974); Walter Gorini (Italy, 1944).

Daily Cycling Facts 30.07.2013

Bert Oosterbosch

Born in Eindhoven on this day in 1957, Bert Oosterbosch showed enormous potential as an amateur and won seven major races in 1978, the year before he turned professional with Peter Post's legendary Ti-Raleigh, then in his first season with the team he won six victories and became World Pursuit Champion.

Oosterbosch did well on the track throughout his career with three National and one World Champion titles, but he would become known primarily as a road time trial specialist. Yet he could also perform well enough on mass-start stages to place well in General Classifications, as was the case in 1980 when he won the Tour de Luxembourg and Stage 8 at the Tour de France. He would also win Stages 6 (time trial) and 8 (222km mass-start) at the Tour in 1983, and in 1985 he won the Prologue at the Vuelta a Espana.

All in all, Oosterbosch achieved around 91 professional victories, mostly for Ti-Raleigh or Panasonic, the team Post set up after Raleigh withdrew from racing. He would almost certainly have won many more had he not have been plagued by bad health - he had meningitis twice, and his career was brought to a premature end in 1988 when he developed severe knee problems. In 1989 his knees had recovered sufficiently that he came out of retirement, winning his first post-return race on the 13th of August. Five days later, aged just 32, he died of a massive heart attack, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters.

As is invariably the case when any young athlete dies, suspicions soon arose that Oosterbosch's death was caused by doping, specifically EPO which has been linked to numerous similar cases - if so, he would be one of the first victims of the drug. Willy Voet, the Belgian soigneur who was arrested with a car full of drugs and thus sparked off the notorious Festina Affair of 1998, claims in his book Breaking the Chain that Oosterbosch used Synacthen (tetracosactide), a drug that stimulates the adrenal glands and thus raises cortisol blood levels, at the GP des Nations in 1982. However, his statement that the rider came 18th because "the drugs initially blocked his ability to work hard" when he in fact came third may be an indication that Voet's memory is unreliable (perhaps as a result of his taste for the odd injection of Belgian Mix - a concoction of cocaine, heroin, morphine, amphetamine, caffeine and, apparently, anything else that happened to be around) or that - as many people believe - he is a liar; and it is equally possible that Oosterbosch's death was caused by a pre-existing heart defect, undiagnosed by the methods available at that time.


Ben Greenwood, born in Nether Kellet, Lancashire on this day in 1984, was British Under-23 Road Race and Time Trial Champion in 2005.

Aldo Bini, born Montemurlo, Italy on this day in 1915, won the Giro di Lombardia in 1937 and 1942. He also won Stage 2 at the Giro d'Italia in 1936 (and came second at the World Championships), 13, 14 and 19b in 1937 and 5b in 1946. His career lasted from 1934 to 1955.

Julio Alberto Pérez, born in Tlaxcala on this day in 1977, won the Giro del Trentino in 2005 and remains the only Mexican to have ever won the race. In 2002, he won Stages 13 and 16 and the overall King of the Mountains at the Giro d'Italia.

Ángel Madrazo Ruiz, born in Santander, Cantabria on this day in 1988, had won just enough races to be signed up by Movistar in 2011. That year, fans at the Tour Down Under made him the subject of their very fine tradition of picking the humblest non-English speaking domestique in the race and treating him like the greatest cyclist that ever lived, turning up at hotels in vast numbers, painting his name in vast letters on the roads and cheering him at every opportunity. He paid them back in 2012 with a superb performance for fourteenth place overall and later came fifth at the Tour Méditerranéen and fourth at the GP Miguel Indurain.

Mike Fraysse, born in the USA on this day in 1943, was president of US Cycling from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1994 to 1998, having sat on the Federation's board of directors from 1969 to 1994. As a result, he was involved in the coaching and development of some of the finest riders his nation has ever produced, among them Greg Lemond, Connie Carpenter, Rebecca Twigg, Andy Hampsten and Lance Armstrong. He also holds life membership of the Polish Federation, which awarded him its Medal of Distinction in recognition of his work with and support for the legendary coach Eddie Borysewicz. Fraysse designed and built the bike ridden to second place by Greg Lemond at the 1979 Junior Worlds, believed to be the first frame to use aerodynamic teardrop-shaped tubing, and now owns and runs a private training facility.

Other cyclists born on this day: Janez Žirovnik (Yugoslavia, 1935); Jiang Guang-Nan (Taipei, 1948); Joseph McClean (Great Britain, 1935); Vicente Reynès (Spain, 1981); Conor Henry (Ireland, 1970); Arnaldo Carli (Italy, 1901); John Lundgren (Denmark, 1940); Gilles Maignan (France, 1968); Håkan Karlsson (Sweden, 1958); Karl Hansen (Norway, 1902, died 1965); Rainer Müller (West Germany, 1946); Giorgio Morbiato (Italy, 1948).

Daily Cycling Facts 01.09.12

Franco Bitossi

Franco Bitossi

Born in Camaioni di Carmignano on this day in 1940, the Italian Franco Bitossi became known to friends as Cuore Matto - "Crazy Heart," on account of the cardiac arrythmia that would frequently cause him to have to stop halfway through a race. His palmares, built up over the course of a 17-year professional career, is for that reason all the more impressive.

Bitossi had three successful years as an amateur, during which time he was noticed by 1960 Tour winner Gastone Nencini, who took him under his wing and gave him advice; then got picked up by Philco, managed by Fiorenzo Magni, as soon as he reached the age of 21, the minimum age for professionals at that time - which came as something of a surprise because his arrythmia had already been detected and he'd assumed he wouldn't be able to compete at the top level as a result. He won a stage at the Tre Giorni del Sud that year, 1961, then in 1963 he came second on Stage 20 at the Giro d'Italia and third overall in the King of the Mountains after arrythmia suffered in the first three stages suddenly cleared up. The year after that he attained five podium finishes (but no wins) as the season got under way, then went back to the Giro and won Stages 3, 16, 17 and 20, was second on four others, finished in tenth place overall and won the King of the Mountains. In 1965 he won the Tour de Suisse, then took one stage, seventh place overall and another King of the Mountains at the Giro. After six early-season victories in 1966, Bitossi won Stages 14 and 16 and a third King of the Mountains at the Giro (coming eighth overall this time) and went to the Tour de France where he won Stages 5 and 17; then he won Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro di Lombardia in 1967.

One of the best-known truths in cycling is that climbers cannot sprint and vice versa. Climbers are usually finely-boned, sinewy greyhound-like creatures with body fat levels that, were professional cyclists normal human beings, would get doctors worried; their job being to get their bodies and their bikes up the great climbs as quickly as possible. Sprinters are heavy, heavily muscled; homo sapiens robustus compared to the climbers' h. sapiens gracile. They are highly specialised to their environments and do not trespass into one another's territory - except, that is, for Bitossi; who, in 1968 and after all those King of the Mountains trophies, came second in the Points competition at the Giro, then won it at the Tour (where he was also second on the Mountains); and he would win the Points at the Giro in 1969 and 1970. Interestingly, the only other male rider to have performed so well on the climbs and the sprints was Eddy Merckx, who won the General Classification in 1970 and the Points and GC in 1973 - and who also suffered from a heart defect that, had he have been riding as an amateur today, would have prevented his selection for a professional team.

Left: Marino Basso; right: Bitossi

Bitossi never did so well in the Grand Tours again after 1970 as his heart condition worsened, but he remained a force with which to be reckoned for many years. In 1971 he won twelve victories in addition to the National Road Race Championship, then nine victories in 1972 (when he was beaten by an infinitesimal amount by his team mate Marino Basso to the World Champiobship title) and 1973 respectively and 18 in 1974 including Stages 6, 8 and 18 at the Giro. He won six times the following year, the most prestigious being Stage 15 at the Giro and 11 times, including another National Championhip in 1976, and then ten times in total over 1977 and 1978 - a period during which he began to excel in cyclo cross as much as on the road, winning the National Championship in both years.

He is estimated to have won at least 158 races across the course of his career, not including amateur events, yet is frequently described by journalists who interview him as humble, welcoming, humourous and deeply respectful of the riders he raced against. Who knows what he might have achieved without his heart condition?

Riccardo Riccò
Born in Formigine on this day in 1983, Italian Riccardo Riccò is a former professional cyclist who became best known for his second place General Classification finish at the 2008 Giro d'Italia, when he also won the Youth category, but has since become more famous for doping.

Riccò at the 2008 Giro d'Italia

Riccò's first taste of success came in 2001 when he won the National Junior Cyclo Cross Championship. Two years later he won the Coppa della Pace and a stage at the Baby Giro, then in 2004 he became Under-23 National Road Race Champion and in 2005 the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda and a stage at the U-23 Giro della Toscana. Professional teams began to take an interest that year and he settled on a contract with Saunier Duval-Prodir for 2006, riding his first Tour de France with them and then, late in the season, winning the Japan Cup. He remained with the team throughout 2007, when he won the Points competition at Tirreno-Adriatico and his first Grand Tour stage, Stage 15 at the Giro d'Italia, which he finished in sixth place overall; then when he returned to the Giro in 2008 he won Stages 2 and 8, was third overall on Points and second overall in the General Classification. The new star of Italian cycling, he was selected for Saunier's Tour de France squad later in the summer - and, after Stage 11, the news broke that a sample he'd provided following Stage 4 had tested positive for the EPO variant CERA. He was the third rider to be caught using the same drug that year and was thrown out of the race immediately, after which manager Mauro Gianetti withdrew the team voluntarily, then sacked the rider.

Riccò expressed his anger to journalists. "I spent a night in the police station and it was like being in prison," he said. "The magistrate listened to what I had to say. They searched my bags but only found some vitamins that we all use and so they decided to let me go home." He was being half-truthful - his hotel room had been searched and no illegal drugs were found, but a selection of unexplained medical equipment - including intravenous drips and syringes - had been; it was also revealed that he had sped away from Stage 4 apparently in an attempt to evade testers, but they had caught up with him in heavy traffic and obtained the sample (it was also revealed that CERA's manufacturer, Roche Pharmaceuticals, had been working in secret with WADA to develop and perfect a test for the drug, which had previously been undetectable). For once in his life, Riccò decided that honesty was the best policy and made a full confession, stating that he had used CERA to prepare himself for the Tour and that he had done so entirely independently and without the knowledge of anyone at Saunier. He also publicly apologised to the team and to fans and later told journalists that the drug had been supplied to him by Carlo Santuccione, whose licence to practice a a doctor had been suspended from 1995 to 2000 and would be removed for life in 2007 after the investigation into the Oil For Drugs doping ring, of which he was believed to have been ringleader (Santuccione, incidentally, had worked at the University of Ferrara's Biomedical Institute alongside Francesco Conconi, who is thought to have been the man who first brought EPO into cycling and who later served on the medical committee of the Italian Olympic committee CONI, which funded his research into new anti-doping tests - which he then used to devise new ways to get around the tests). It was expected that Riccò would be shown leniency on account of his compliance, but initially he was not and received the full two-year ban. Once again he expressed bitterness to journalists, whilst admitting "I made a mistake and it's fair that I pay;" in March 2009, the Court of Arbitration in Sport reduced the ban to 20 months. As the ban was backdated, he was free to return to competion in March the following year and did so with Irish-based Ceramica Flaminia.

Riccò in 2007

When a rider returns from a doping ban, he or she will usually experience problems finding a contract to ride at the same level as prior to their ban - this is partially because of the loss of race experience and partially because the top teams can afford to be choosy and don't wish to be seen as providing a home for convicted dopers - hence his step back to ProContinental Ceramica. However, his results over the next five months, including overall victory at the Österreich-Rundfahrt, were sufficient to pique the interest of the ProTour teams. Riccò was not the sort of rider who felt that he should repay the second chance Ceramica had given him by riding a full season for them; so he appears to have had few of any qualms about terminating his contract with them in August and going to the ProTour team Vacansoleil-DCM. He won the Coppa Sabatini with them late in the year, then came seventh at the season-opening GP de Ouverture in 2011.

Seven days after the Ouverture, on the 6th of February, Riccò was rushed to hospital. He was in critical condition with acute kidney failure believed to have been caused by a non-medical autologous transfusion (ie, using his own blood) performed using blood that was 25 days old and had presumably been incorrectly stored, which he is alleged to have admitted to the doctor who treated him. He could very easily have died, but fortunately recovered well enough to be discharged after only two weeks. Vacansoleil sacked him, though he insisted that he had neither made the alleged admission to the doctor nor ever used blood doping (in October that year, reports were published that he had admitted it; these were quickly denied by his lawyer). He also claimed that he would be retiring from cycling and began a new life working in a bar, but later announced that he would make a return to cycling. According to reports Amore & Vita offered him a contract with the conditions that he worked with the Italian authorities to help end doping in sport and that he would be sacked if proof arose that he had in fact received an illegal transfusion - if such a contract was offered, he refused it and instead signed to Meridiana-Kamen. He was expected to make his return to racing with them at the Kroz Srbiju, beginning on the 19th of June; however, eight days before the race began CONI suspended him and launched an investigation. On the 19th of April 2012, the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping found him guilty of the use and attempted use of prohibited methods and banned him from any involvement in professional cycling for a period of 12 years.


Émile Masson Jr., born in Hollogne-aux-Pierres, Belgium on this day in 1912, won La Flèche Wallonne and Stage 17a at the Tour de France in 1938 and Paris-Roubaix in 1939. After the Second World War he returned to cycling and became National Road Race Champion in 1946 (when he also won Bordeaux-Paris) and again in 1947. He died on 2nd of January 2011, aged 95. Masson was the son of Émile Masson Snr., who won Stages 11 and 12 at the Tour in 1922 and his own Bordeaux-Paris a year later.

Andrea Ferrigato, who was born in Schio, Italy on this day in 1969, won Stage 12 at the Giro d'Italia in 1994. Three years later, he won Stage 5 at Tirreno-Adriatico and first place at the GP Ouest-France.

Other cyclists born on this day: Arthur F. Andrews (USA, 1876); Giorgio Ursi (Italy, 1943); Jean Govaerts (Belgium, 1938); Erhard Neumann (USA, 1932, died 2002); Huub Duyn (Netherlands, 1984); Juho Jaakonaho (Finland, 1882, died 1964); Wayne Burgess (South Africa, 1971); Hong Seong-Ik (South Korea, 1940); Alfred Ebanks (Cayman Islands, 1953); Iñaki Lejarreta (Spain, 1983); André Bar (Belgium, 1935).

Daily Cycling Facts 29.08.12

Geneviève Jeanson

Geneviève Jeanson with André Aubut

Born in Lachine, Canada on this day in 1981, Geneviève Jeanson won the Junior World Road and Time Trial Championships in 1999 and went on to have one of the most controversial careers of any professional female cyclist.

In 2000, she faced allegations that she had asked for - and received - special treatment from the nation cycling federation in order to be able to take part in that year's Olympics, persuading them to give her a place if she could finish in the top eight of two out of five pre-decided races rather than, as was the case with other athletes, based on cumulative results gained during 1999 and up until the Games. However, since she had been a junior in 1999 and junior results didn't count, it's arguable if this could be termed unfair; she also exceeded the requirement by winning the Tour de Snowy and Waale Pijl, then coming second at the Elite national Time Trial Championship (beating all the Olympics hopefuls in the event). She got her place at the Games and came 11th in the road race and 15th in the time trial, but not without further controversy: during the road race, Canadian team mate Lyne Bessett escaped the peloton in a breakaway. Many people believed that, with permission from her coach André Aubut, Jeanson had assisted rival teams in chasing and catching the break; though she would later claim that she had moved to the front of the pack to try to hold back the chase group and only gone with them to try to bring them back when they gained a slight gap.

The following year she won Stages 1, 3, 4 and 6 at the Redlands Classic and Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 at the Tour of the Gila, taking the General Classification at the former with an overall advantage of 9'23" and at the latter with 14'57" - huge and unexpected margins that immediately raised suspicions. At the Montreal round of the World Cup the same year, she lapped all but a few of the other riders; then in 2002 she won a second Tour of the Gila, this time with an advantage of 11'42". Few people expressed any sort of surprise in 2003 when, after winning Redlands by 12'52" and either winning or reaching the podium in 24 races, she failed a haematocrit reading, a red blood cell count used to detect possible EPO use or blood transfusion (tests for EPO and homologous transfusions - ie, those using blood from a donor - had been developed in 2000 but were not yet widely used away from the top levels of European men's cycling; other than checking for traces of plastic from the IV bags within which blood is stored, there is still no test for autologous transfusions which use the subject's own blood). However, a high haematocrit reading proved nothing; therefore all the UCI could do was ban any rider who failed one for two weeks "for health reasons." Jeanson claimed that she used an oxygen tent as part of her training and that this had caused her high red cell population; when she passed a count two weeks later she was free to continue racing.

Jeanson in 2002

She was caught by an out-of-competition test in 2005 at the Tour de Toona, later explaining to journalists that the ample she provided had been declared positive for EPO and insisting that she was innocent. She still denied that she had ever doped by January the following year, then announced her retirement. Later that year, in November, the UCI revealed news that she had decided to accept their back-dated two-year ban, then a little under a month later she told journalists that she did not plan to return to cycling when the ban expired in July the following year. Finally, in September 2007, she confessed; admitting to Radio Canada that she had been using EPO for most of her career but placed the blame squarely on André Aubut whom, she claimed, had suggested she start using the drug shortly after he first began coaching her when she was 15. "I hated everything. I hated myself for doing it. I hated myself not being able to get out of it," she said in an interview. "It was miserable. It was not Geneviève that lied, it was someone else I did not know. It was something I was told to do and yes, I do regret it."

Aubut and a doctor who had worked with her Rona team were subsequently banned from working with athletes for life, but there are still questions: when Jeanson failed the haematocrit test in 2003, she was reportedly tested for EPO and blood transfusions but no indication of either was detected. Had she temporarily stopped using the drug in favour of autologous transfusions? If not - and she certainly didn't say she'd stopped using it at that point - how many other riders might also have been using it and escaped detection?


Frank Hoste, who was born in Ghent on this day in 1955, won Gent-Wevelgem, the Belgian National Road Race Championship and Stage 8 at the Tour de France in 1982; Stage 16a at the Giro d'Italia and Stages 1, 2 and 8 at the Tour de Suisse in 1983; Stages 1, 6, 21 and the Points competition at the Tour in 1984; Stage 6 at the Giro in 1985 and Stage 15 at the Tour in 1986.

Andrey Amador

Andrey Amador, born in San José, Costa Rica on this day in 1986, won the prologue and came fifth overall the Tour de l'Avenir in 2008. Four years later, he won Stage 14 at the 2012 Giro d'Italia; leaving little doubt that at the age of 26 he is a rider to watch in the coming years.

Ole Ritter, born in Slagelse in Denmark on this day in 1941, set a new Hour Record of 48.653km at Mexico City in 1968. It was the first time the record had been broken at altitude since 1898 and it would stand for four years until Eddy Merckx bettered it by 778m in 1972. Ritter rode the Giro d'Italia in 1967 and beat Merckx, Rudi Altig and Jacques "Monsieur Chrono" Anquetil in the Stage 11 individual time trial; he also won Stage 5 in 1969 and Stage 2 in 1973. He is the subject of two films, both made in 1974. The first, The Stars and the Water Carriers, follows the 1973 Giro d'Italia and also heavily features José Manuel Fuente and Merckx; the second, The Impossible Hour, follows on from The Stars and tells the story of his Hour Record attempt, taking him back to Mexico City where he managed to beat his 1968 record twice in a week (but not Merckx's record - the Belgian shows up a lot in this one too).

Valentin Uriona, born in Muxica in Spain on this day in 1940, won Stage 2 at the Milk Race (Tour of Britain) in 1961, Stage 9 at the same event a year later, Stage 7 at the Vuelta a Espana in 1963, overall at the 1964 Critérium du Dauphiné and Stage 4 at the Vuelta in 1966. He was killed in a crash at the National Championships the following year

Stijn Devolder at the 2012 Omloop Het
Nieuwsblad

Stijn Devolder, who was born Kortrijk on this day in 1979, is a Belgian cyclist who has enjoyed much success in one-day events, including his victories in the National Road Race Championship of 2007, the National Time Trial Championship of 2008 and both events in 2010 as well as at the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2008 and 2009. A good climber and a great time trial rider, he has also gained impressive results in the shorter stage races, winning the Österreich-Rundfahrt in 2007, the Volta ao Algarve in 2008 and the Tour of Belgium in 2008 and 2010. Somewhat surprisingly, this ability has not translated into Grand Tour success and he hasn't won a stage either the Tour de France nor the Vuelta a Espana, the two that he has entered, though he was 11th overall at the Vuelta in 2006.

Henk Faanhof, born in Amsterdam on this day in 1922, was disqualified from the 1947 National Championships after officials saw him swap bikes with a team mate - a new UCI rule, unbeknownst to either rider, had recently banned bike exchanges during races. Two years later, Faanhof became Amateur Road Race Champion and the year after that he won two stages at the Ronde van Nederland; then in 1954 he won Stage 9 at the Tour de France.

Les Triplettes de Belleville
On this day in 2003, Les Triplettes de Belleville was released in the UK. A 78-minute animated film, it tells the story of Champion Souza (who looks like many great cyclists, but especially like Tom Simpson) who is kidnapped along with two of his rivals during the Tour de France by mysterious gangsters, who wish to use them to power a cinema. Souza's grandmother, accompanied by her dog Bruno, go in search of him and end up in Belleville, where they befriend and are assisted by Les Triplettes, an aging jazz group.

Many have tried to work out which Tour Les Triplettes is set within; the truth is that is is an amalgamation of several, allowing writer/director Sylvain Chomet to employ various devices and bits and pieces of Tour history wherever he wishes. However, in the film one stage finishes in Marseilles and the leader of the Tour is clearly based on Jacques Anquetil; Stage 12 in 1957 was the only stage in any of the Tours ridden by Anquetil to finish in the city.

Other cyclists born on this day: Jhon González (Colombia, 1971); Veaceslav Oriol (Moldova, 1968); Hector Zamarron (Mexico, 1980); Giuseppe Faraca (Italy, 1959); Hernán Medina Calderón (Colombia, 1937); Gil Suray (Belgium, 1984); Xaver Kurmann (Switzerland, 1948); Denis Špička (Czechoslovakia, 1988); Alessandra Grassi (Mexico, 1976); Michael Belcourt (Canada, 1964); Georgios Portelanos (Greece, 1966); Fausto Lurati (Switzerland, 1929); Carlos Torrent (Spain, 1974); Walter Gorini (Italy, 1944).

Daily Cycling Facts 30.07.12

Bert Oosterbosch

Born in Eindhoven on this day in 1957, Bert Oosterbosch showed enormous potential as an amateur and won seven major races in 1978, the year before he turned professional with Peter Post's legendary Ti-Raleigh, then in his first season with the team he won six victories and became World Pursuit Champion.

Oosterbosch did well on the track throughout his career with three National and one World Champion titles, but he would become known primarily as a road time trial specialist. Yet he could also perform well enough on mass-start stages to place well in General Classifications, as was the case in 1980 when he won the Tour de Luxembourg and Stage 8 at the Tour de France. He would also win Stages 6 (time trial) and 8 (222km mass-start) at the Tour in 1983, and in 1985 he won the Prologue at the Vuelta a Espana.

All in all, Oosterbosch achieved around 91 professional victories, mostly for Ti-Raleigh or Panasonic, the team Post set up after Raleigh withdrew from racing. He would almost certainly have won many more had he not have been plagued by bad health - he had meningitis twice, and his career was brought to a premature end in 1988 when he developed severe knee problems. In 1989 his knees had recovered sufficiently that he came out of retirement, winning his first post-return race on the 13th of August. Five days later, aged just 32, he died of a massive heart attack, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters.

As is invariably the case when any young athlete dies, suspicions soon arose that Oosterbosch's death was caused by doping, specifically EPO which has been linked to numerous similar cases - if so, he would be one of the first victims of the drug. Willy Voet, the Belgian soigneur who was arrested with a car full of drugs and thus sparked off the notorious Festina Affair of 1998, claims in his book Breaking the Chain that Oosterbosch used Synacthen (tetracosactide), a drug that stimulates the adrenal glands and thus raises cortisol blood levels, at the GP des Nations in 1982. However, his statement that the rider came 18th because "the drugs initially blocked his ability to work hard" when he in fact came third may be an indication that Voet's memory is unreliable (perhaps as a result of his taste for the odd injection of Belgian Mix - a concoction of cocaine, heroin, morphine, amphetamine, caffeine and, apparently, anything else that happened to be around) or that - as many people believe - he is a liar; and it is equally possible that Oosterbosch's death was caused by a pre-existing heart defect, undiagnosed by the methods available at that time.


Ben Greenwood, born in Nether Kellet, Lancashire on this day in 1984, was British Under-23 Road Race and Time Trial Champion in 2005.

Aldo Bini, born Montemurlo, Italy on this day in 1915, won the Giro di Lombardia in 1937 and 1942. He also won Stage 2 at the Giro d'Italia in 1936 (and came second at the World Championships), 13, 14 and 19b in 1937 and 5b in 1946. His career lasted from 1934 to 1955.

Julio Alberto Pérez, born in Tlaxcala on this day in 1977, won the Giro del Trentino in 2005 and remains the only Mexican to have ever won the race. In 2002, he won Stages 13 and 16 and the overall King of the Mountains at the Giro d'Italia.

Ángel Madrazo Ruiz, born in Santander, Cantabria on this day in 1988, had won just enough races to be signed up by Movistar in 2011. That year, fans at the Tour Down Under made him the subject of their very fine tradition of picking the humblest non-English speaking domestique in the race and treating him like the greatest cyclist that ever lived, turning up at hotels in vast numbers, painting his name in vast letters on the roads and cheering him at every opportunity. He paid them back in 2012 with a superb performance for fourteenth place overall and later came fifth at the Tour Méditerranéen and fourth at the GP Miguel Indurain.

Mike Fraysse, born in the USA on this day in 1943, was president of US Cycling from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1994 to 1998, having sat on the Federation's board of directors from 1969 to 1994. As a result, he was involved in the coaching and development of some of the finest riders his nation has ever produced, among them Greg Lemond, Connie Carpenter, Rebecca Twigg, Andy Hampsten and Lance Armstrong. He also holds life membership of the Polish Federation, which awarded him its Medal of Distinction in recognition of his work with and support for the legendary coach Eddie Borysewicz. Fraysse designed and built the bike ridden to second place by Greg Lemond at the 1979 Junior Worlds, believed to be the first frame to use aerodynamic teardrop-shaped tubing, and now owns and runs a private training facility.

Other cyclists born on this day: Janez Žirovnik (Yugoslavia, 1935); Jiang Guang-Nan (Taipei, 1948); Joseph McClean (Great Britain, 1935); Vicente Reynès (Spain, 1981); Conor Henry (Ireland, 1970); Arnaldo Carli (Italy, 1901); John Lundgren (Denmark, 1940); Gilles Maignan (France, 1968); Håkan Karlsson (Sweden, 1958); Karl Hansen (Norway, 1902, died 1965); Rainer Müller (West Germany, 1946); Giorgio Morbiato (Italy, 1948).

Breaking: Ciprelli charged with trafficking EPO

French sports news website L'Equipe reported yesterday that Patrice Ciprelli, husband of 59-time French National Champion Jeannie Longo, has confessed to purchasing the banned blood-booster EPO in 2010 and 2011. Ciprelli was arrested during a police raid on the couple's home on the 8th of February. Evidence was  presented on Friday to a judge and the decision has now been taken to charge him with trafficking the drug

Doctor arrested, BigMat cyclists questioned, possible EPO link

Arnold Jeannesson has expressed dismay
at becoming associated with the case
(image credit: Jejecam CC BY-SA 3.0)

L'Equipe, the French sports newspaper, is reporting that former BigMat-Auber93 team doctor Philippe Bedoucha has been arrested and is being questioned with regard to suspicions he may have supplied EPO and/or an un-named growth hormone to riders.

Original reports stated that the doctor is currently employed by the team, an error reproduced here. It is now understood that Dr. Bedoucha is not connected to BigMat-Auber93 and has not been employed by the outfit since 2010. It is believed that he is suspected of supplying banned products to amateur cyclists.

A mountain biker is also reported to be under arrest in connection with the investigation, but it's not clear if this is in connection with use or supply. Some sources claim it to be Philippe Tellier, who has previously tested positive for EPO.

It is believed that as many as twelve other riders have also be questioned under caution, including the French star Arnold Jeannesson; though as the article points out they mat be providing witness statements and this should not be seen as indication that the riders will face either suspicions or charges. Jeannesson has since stated that he has not been able to provide police with any information and expressed dismay at being associated with the case.

Dr. Bedoucha is listed as operating from an address in Rue Cheret at a premises occupied by a pharmacy and a phytotherapie (a "pharmacy" supplying products based on natural ingredients and herbs) in Creteil - the riders were also questioned in the Paris suburb.

One possible - and serious - outcome of the investigation is that BigMat, who recently withdrew funding from Garmin-Cervélo, leaving the women's team in a precarious position, are now likely to face bad press; despite no longer maintaining connections with the doctor. This may prove to have a detrimental effect when other companies are considering sponsoring a cycle team and could persuade them not to become involved even if the team in question have an impeccable record.

EPO "causes irreversible changes to the human body"

News just in: 

Scientists working at the world-renowned Cycling Research Anti-doping Project laboratory in South Ballifoald, Ireland, have produced shocking new evidence that EPO use can cause irreversible changes to the human body including dramatic musculoskeletal alteration and excessive hair growth.

The test subjects at the beginning of the study...

Scientists at the laboratory were able to complete the study only when one of them, an amateur cyclist, heard two members of his club discussing the notorious performance-enhancing drug and their plans to start taking it so as to gain an edge in competition. After their anonymity was guaranteed, the two men agreed to permit scientists to monitor their bodies weekly and record any changes they found.

...and following one year of unrestricted EPO use. This terrifying new evidence will be a great worry to any cyclists considering cheating by using the drug to enhance their performance.

Doping in Cycling

Depending on who one talks to, doping (the use of drugs to have an effect upon peformance) is either the biggest problem to face cycling or one of the more amusing and interesting aspects of the sport. Doping allegations have been a part of the Grand Tours since the inaugural Tour de France in 1903 when riders used alcohol and ether to deaden the pain felt during and after the phenomenally long stages. The use of performance enhancing drugs dates to even earlier days, having been a part of the sport before the Tour began. Health concerns - as opposed to allegations of cheating - didn't appear until the years following World War 2 and  began in earnest following the death of British rider Tom Simpson from heart failure brought on by  amphetamines, alcohol and sheer exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux in 1967, though concerns had been raised earlier including in 1960 when Frenchman Roger Rivière plunged into a ravine and broke his neck, choosing to blame a mechanic for leaving oil on the wheel rims. Doctors who treated Rivière later stated that their patient had such high levels of drugs in his body that, in their opinion, he would have been either unable to judge when to brake or physically incapable of doing so. Rivière later admitted this and confessed to having a drug addiction and swallowing thousands of tablets each year.

Tom Simpson brought doping to the public's attention after he died as a result of heart failure brought on by amphetamine use in 1967. A memorial erected where he fell on Mont Ventoux has become a site of pilgrimage for cyclists from around the world.

Since the criminalisation of doping in 1965, the UCI and race organisers have introduced ever more sophisticated measures designed to prevent doping, whereas those riders willing to risk it have strived to keep one step ahead - as one observer put it, "The Tour, in fact, is only possible because - not despite the fact - there is doping." Mandatory testing in French events began in 1966, revealing that a third of the riders subjected to tests at that year's Tour returned positive results.

Tests for other drugs became available in the 1970s including for Pemoline, a drug which has a similar effect to amphetamines and saw Eddy Merckx (considered by many to be one of the greatest cyclists in history) caught out in 1977. Steroid and corticoid use became so prevalent during that decade that it was said that only the high cost of obtaining them in the sort of quantities cyclists got through limited their use; when Jan-Luc van den Broucke tested positive in 1978 he went on record saying, "There was a mass of steroids used in the Tour, everyone will admit that. How can we stay at the top otherwise?"

EPO, erythropoietin, was a revolution in cycling on a par with the invention of derailleur gears and had a correspondingly enormous impact on the sport. Not only did the drug boost the production of red blood cells, thus allowing the muscles to receive more oxygen and nutrients for a longer period, it was also impossible to distinguish it from the testosterone naturally produced in the body. Organisers were forced to adopt a system whereby any rider tested and discovered to have a haematocrit level (red cell count) in excess of 50% (45% in men and 40% in women is considered normal in healthy adults) would be required to "rest" from a race for a given period. However, since cyclists frequently use high-altitude training to boost red cell counts, this system could lead to false accusations and was far from ideal.

Richard Virenque confessed to using EPO, a drug that became so prevalent in cycling that the term was almost synonymous with doping.

EPO use became so prevalent that estimates of how many riders were using it in the Tours between the late 1980s and 2000, when a test was finally developed, and the term became almost synonymous with doping. To this day, messages still appear painted on the roads of the Tour accusing riders disliked by those respinsible of "l'EPO." Matters came to a head in 1998 when the Festina team soigneur Willy Voet was arrested as he attempted to enter France with a bag full of banned drugs including EPO, testosterone amphetamines and an assortment of various growth hormones and narcotics - now, even those with no interest in cycling became aware that drug use was rife within the sport and there were even calls for all cycling events to be axed from the Olympics for fear of giving out the message to young sports fans that drugs could be used to enhance performance. Such has been the furore surrounding the matter since that accusations of doping, even when based on no evidence, are now used as an underhand tactic designed to undermine an opponent's credibility and tire him out with the rigourous testing to which anyone under suspicion will be subject - and testing can be rigourous indeed; as Lance Armstrong, himself the target of several doping allegations based either on nothing or his association with Michele Ferrari, who was convicted of supplying drugs to athletes, reveals in his autobiographies the UCI testers can strike at any time, anywhere and any attempt to escape them is liable to result in increased suspicion. They can even show up at a rider's private home and demand a test there and then - and a positive test isn't the only way to get a ban, failure or refusal to give a sample can also be viewed as legitimate reason.

The 2006 Tour looked set to become farce when Operation Puerto carried out by the Spanish police revealed yet more widespread drug use. Five members of the Astana team were banned, leaving an insufficient number to start the race, along with two members of T-Mobile and one each from CSC and AG2R-Prevoyance. Floyd Landis of Phonak tested positive for suspiciously high testosterone after Stage 17 and was later banned from the sport for two years.

2006 was possibly the worst ever year for doping in the Tour de France with one team unable to start after five members received bans. A number of other riders were also later caught out.

The Tour in 2007 began with suspicions flying all over the place - even Alessandro Pettachi, an asthmatic, was suspended after he tested positive for salbutmol, a very common anti-asthma drug. The suspension was later overturned after further tests revealed that the drug was present only in quantities confirming to standard therapeutic usage but too late, he'd already had to miss the Tour. Two German television companies abandoned their plans to film and televise the event and Astana abandoned the race after Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov tested positive following the second time trial, subsequently retiring from the sport (though he has since returned and raced in the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. Then following Stage 16 and a positive result supplied by Christian Moreni, Team Confidis also abandoned and Michael Rasmussen was ordered to leave the event by his team Rabobank for failing to provide a sample when required to do so during two consecutive days a fortnight before the Tour.

A list of riders convicted, sanctioned or suspected (with some grounds) to have doped is virtually indistinguishable from a list of the great names in the sport: Jacques Anquetil, Tour winner in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964 who managed to achieve detection whilst active, confessed to doping following his retirement; Eddy Merckx, five time Tour winner and one of the most successful cyclists in history, provided four positive samples and was banned from one Giro d'Italia; Stephen Roche, tour winner in 1987, was believed to have used EPO in 1993 but never supplied a suspicious haematocrit; Jan Ullrich, Tour winner in 1997, banned for apparently recreational amphetamine use; Marco Pantani, received a six month ban following the discovery of insulin in his hotal room; Alberto Contador, involved in the Operation Puerto case and later banned in a 2010 unrelated test; Bjarn Riis, Tour winner in 1996 and current owner of Saxobank Sungard, later admitted to have won with the help of performance enhancing drugs; Pedro Delgado, Tour winner in 1988, tested positive for a questionable substance but escaped sanctions as it was not yet banned by the UCI; Laurent Fignon, Tour winner in 1983 and 1984, positive test results after two separate events in 1989; Joop Zoetemelk, tested positive in three different Tours de France; Bernard Thévenet, confessed to doping (but wasn't caught) in the 1975 and 1977 - but not, coincidentally, in the 1976 Tour which he won; Lucien Aimar, Tour winner in 1966, banned from the Vuelta the same year after a positive test... In the last half decade, a mere nine have never tested positive for doping - Carlos Sastre in 2008, Lance Armstrong (tested positive for non-prescribed drug hormone, but result believed to be false and caused by the large number of drugs used during his cancer recovery) with his unprecedented seven wins, Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, Lucien van Impe, Luis Ocaña, Jan Janssen, Roger Pingeon and Felice Gimondi. Were they truly innocent or were they lucky enough to escape detection? Unless any confess, we'll never know.

What would professional cycling be like without doping? Bernard Hinault, winner of five Tours de France and the only man to have won all three Grand Tours more than once, is apparent proof that results can still be achieved - he's never given a positive test.

So what will the 2011 Tour bring? The madness of 2006 and 2007 has long since died down and some commentators are willing to suggest that anti-doping tests are now so effective that the problem has been brought into check, but past history suggests it never will be and it's only a matter of time before the latest doping methods emerge into the daylight. 2010 was an unusually dope controversy-free year: French newspaper l'Equipe published a leaked document listing all the riders and the level of suspicion they were under, from 0 (no suspicion) to 10 (extreme suspicion), with examples likely to give rise to suspicion including:


 1. sudden drop in hemoglobin one month before the summer of 2010 which could point to an important loss of blood possibly destined to be re-injected during the Tour


2. suspicion of EPO use during the 2009 Giro


3. hematocrit, hemoglobin or stimulation index superior to 2010 values, which could have led to a start ban before the UCI rules were changed


4. low parameters off-race

...which revealed that the vast majority of riders were rated less then 4 - winner Contador, who returned a positive test for the banned bronchodilator Clenbuterol during the race but was not banned after successfully claiming that contaminated food was the cause, was rated at five. At present, there's no way of knowing but the riders can be sure of scrutiny this year as cycling attempts to show the world it's cleaned up its act.