The 1998 Tour de France became labelled as the Tour de Farce. It was the year when police stopped a Festina support vehicle loaded up with doping products. It revealed the extent of widespread doping in the peleton. Two convicted Festina riders said the only rider on the team definitely not doping was Christophe Basson. Willy Voet, the support staff driving the car, later wrote a book ‘Breaking the Chain‘ explaining how all the doping products were used by the team, including the French darling Richard Virenque. The 1998 Tour de Farce was won by Marco Pantani, who would later tragically die from a drug overdose. Pantani along with Bjarne Riis acquired the nickname of Mr 60% for reportedly having one of the highest raised haemotacrit levels of 60%.
The Tour de France in the glory years, when riders used nothing other than honest, sweat, toil and tears and had to walk up mountain passes. Cycling was always better in black and white. (image copyright free)
Ironically, no – one failed a dope test in 1998.
At the end of the 1998 Tour, the head of the Tour de France, Jean Marie Le Blanc promised this would be a catalyst to clean up the Tour. Next year, the race would be slower because riders would be using less drugs. Except in 1999, the race wasn’t slower, it was faster.
David Walsh claims that when Lance Armstrong won at Sestriere in 1999, the press corp were at first laughing because everyone knew how it was being achieved (link to interview). Christophe Basson later expressed his concern at the ongoing state of doping in the sport. Later on the stage to Alpe d’Huez Armstrong rode up to Basson to tell him – he shouldn’t speak like that and if he didn’t like cycling he should go home. Armstrong later repeated the sentiments in a TV interview at the end of the stage
“His accusations aren’t good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he’s wrong and he would be better off going home.” [link from 1999 Tour]. Isolated and shunned by the peleton, Basson left the tour, and retired shortly later.
However, the inspiring story of the 1999 tour was Betsy and Frankie Andreu. When Betsy saw Frankie riding on the bottom of the Sestriere climb for the US Postal Team, she knew that wasn’t the real Frankie. She knew he must have taken doping products to make such substantial improvements so quickly. Betsy rang him that night and confronted Frankie asking about how he made such improvements. Frankie was sheepish and said he didn’t want to talk about it. But, his wife didn’t leave it and she came to France to watch the last week, talking with her husband about why he was doping.
Frankie Andreu later admitted to taking EPO to prepare for the 1999 tour.
So a nagging wife can be a good thing. I’m lucky I just get my mother saying ‘are you wearing your helmet. Are you eating enough cake. Don’t forget to rest.’
A bit different to Edith Rumsas, who carried a car full of doping products for her husband (Raimondas Rumsas) who finished 3rd in the 2002 Tour de France. Rumsas didn’t fail a drugs test in the 2002 tour, and claimed that the EPO, blood doping products were destined for his mother in law in Russia. Despite a car full of doping products, Rumsas continued to race until he tested positive in the 2003 Giro d’Italia. His wife received a suspended prison sentence.
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Notes from the grammarian in the family:
Singular = woman. A woman’s intuition.
All women in the world, with their intuition = women’s intuition.
Also: fewer drugs. Not less drugs.
Apostrophe added to title. I hope that’s right. I’m sure my sister will come and tell me if wrong.