- Doping scandals in the world of cycling have become more common.
- Blood tests have made it easier to test for doping, because small trace amounts of the drugs can be found in the blood.
- Cyclists using dope to get better performance is nothing new, and the first doping related fatality in cycling was in the year 1960.
1. In 1960, during the Olympics which were held in Rome that year, cyclist Knud Jensen finished the race, collapsed, and died after doping up for the race. He had won a gold medal by finishing first, but he did not survive to receive it. This was the first doping scandal in cycling and it had a big impact because it ended in a fatality for the cyclist.
2. The Tour de France experienced the first doping scandal with a fatality as well, English cyclist Tom Simpson in 1967 on July 13. He collapsed while cycling up Mont Ventoux, and it was later discovered that he had amphetamines in his pocket and his system. The drugs and overexertion were blamed for his death.
3. Eddy Merckx, who won the Tour de France five times, was caught doping in 1969 at the Giro d’Italia and was disqualified, and no longer allowed to compete in the race. This scandal was just one of several in this year between doping and cycling.
4. German cyclist Rudi Altig was discovered to be doping at the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France in 1969, and was disqualified. Until this year doping was not really considered a serious problem.
5. During the Tour de France in 1980, cyclist Dietrich Thurau was forced to withdraw from the race because he was found to test positive three times. The publicity was enormous because three different tests came back positive. Before this technology was not as advanced and it was harder to find evidence of doping.
6. In 1998, the Festina scandal occurred at the Tour. The Spanish team was evicted from the race because the Festina masseuse was caught with four hundred vials of doping agents in his possession.
7. During the Giro d’Italia in 1999, the defending winner of the previous year was not allowed to race. Marco Pantani was excluded based on the blood test results, which were positive for doping agents. In June of 2002 the Italian was banned for eight months from cycling, and he passed away in February 2004 because of a drug overdose, this time cocaine.
8. In 2002, the Giro d’Italia attracted a lot of attention with a huge scandal. Former champion Stefano Garzelli and and a number of others, including Roberto Sgambelluri from Italy, Faat Zakirov from Russia, and Gilberto Simoni, had positive test results. This caused all of these cyclists to be excluded from racing and disqualified. This same year the Tour de France went off with no positive doping test results at all out of the one hundred and forty one tests done.
9. Javier Pascual Llorente, a cyclist from Spain, was caught doping in 2003, and his entire racing team wa sbarred from competing in the 2004 Tour de France. This Tour also saw scandal from another direction as well, because the time trial world champion in the race, David Miller, never even got to start the race because his dope tests came back negative. He was not allowed to compete and was excluded.
10. The biggest and one of the most recent cycling scandals to hit was the 2006 Tour de France scandal. One day before the race started, a number of cyclists were disqualified and barred from competing in the 2006 Tour de France. One of the biggest parts of the scandal was the cyclists that tested positive for doping. They included Ivan Basso, Oscar Sevilla, Jan Ullrich, Joseba Beloki, and Francisco Mancebo. The doping was taken care of by doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, a physician from Madrid. In this scandal arrests were made, and a large number of cyclists were caught and disciplined, in part due to recent revelations that doping is more widespread than commonly believed.
Drugs have been used by cyclists for decades. It does sound embarassing, though. I am really furious about this fact ’cause sportsmen have to be clean in order to present their country with honor.
The use of drugs may be explained. Everybody wants to be better, faster and stronger than their competitors.
Well, as wee see, today, the use of these performance-enhancing substances in sports have come to be known internationally. In my opinion, tests need to be done more thoroghly and punishment must be severe.
That’s just hilarious…. Nothing can be done here! Doping is something you strart using and never wanna quit then!
i heard folks are going crazy over the doses. the standard dose may be like 10 mg and they are taking like 100 mg! No wonder some of hem even die..
To be honest, I love cycling and have my favourite athletes. I don’t think that this kind of scandal would give me a pause in supporting a certain athlete. Fans should be forgiving, I think
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i guess the “doping agents” are taking great risks. It’s not only about their health problems but it’s much of a shame to be dropped out of the competitions or even be disqualified
It’s kind of sad, really. Cycling is such a fun thing to do, especially for kids. For me, it was associated with personal freedom and enjoyment. I guess I can understand the feeling of wanting to compete so bad against other good racers that you want an extra “edge”. But I can’t justify it, no way. And it does make the sport look bad. Of course, what sport doesn’t have a doping problem?
I still don’t get why athletes feel like they need to risk their health, their career, or even their life just to get a better time or win a race. I know life is transitory, and maybe there isn’t a hereafter to go to. Even so, I can’t justify taking the risk. It’s not worth dying for, really.
I sort of lean toward forgiveness I guess, but it still bothers me that doping is becoming so common in sports of all kinds, not just cycling. I want to forgive the racers because they are under all kinds of pressure not just from themselves or their coaches, but from any sponsors they may have. It’s a vicious world when you’re talking about professional sports at any level.