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Laurent Rebours/AP
Riccardo Ricco (seen here) is the third
cyclist who tested positive for the use
of EPO in this Tour de France. (AP)
Riccardo Ricco (seen here) is the third
cyclist who tested positive for the use
of EPO in this Tour de France. (AP)
Tour de France Again Marred by Doping
July 22, 2008 05:59 AM
With Riccardo Ricco becoming the third rider to test positive for a banned drug, the Tour de France has once again become overshadowed by illegal drug use.
30-Second Summary
Ricco had won two stages of the race and was by far the biggest name to be caught using the performance-enhancing drug EPO. He was immediately ejected from the race and suspended, and his team chose to drop out of the race.
His ejection is the latest in a long line of doping scandals in the Tour de France, particularly in the past three years. The 2006 winner, Floyd Landis, was stripped of his championship and 2007 race leader Michael Rasmussen was fired from his team under suspicion of drug use with just four stages to go.
Cyclists in Tour de France have been using performance-enhancing drugs since it began in 1903, reports NBC Sports. The grueling demands of the race make it almost necessary for cyclists to use drugs.
“No dope, no hope,” says German journalist Hans Halter. “The Tour, in fact, is only possible because—not despite the fact—there is doping.”
For much of the race’s history, authorities have looked the other way. This changed in 1998, when a team official was caught with PEDs. Authorities began raiding hotel rooms and conduct random drug testing, tactics that have become a hallmark of the tour.
The prevalence of PED use has damaged the credibility of all riders and caused fans to question the integrity of the race over the years. Sponsors are pulling out and riders’ salaries have decreased as much as one third compared to last year.
His ejection is the latest in a long line of doping scandals in the Tour de France, particularly in the past three years. The 2006 winner, Floyd Landis, was stripped of his championship and 2007 race leader Michael Rasmussen was fired from his team under suspicion of drug use with just four stages to go.
Cyclists in Tour de France have been using performance-enhancing drugs since it began in 1903, reports NBC Sports. The grueling demands of the race make it almost necessary for cyclists to use drugs.
“No dope, no hope,” says German journalist Hans Halter. “The Tour, in fact, is only possible because—not despite the fact—there is doping.”
For much of the race’s history, authorities have looked the other way. This changed in 1998, when a team official was caught with PEDs. Authorities began raiding hotel rooms and conduct random drug testing, tactics that have become a hallmark of the tour.
The prevalence of PED use has damaged the credibility of all riders and caused fans to question the integrity of the race over the years. Sponsors are pulling out and riders’ salaries have decreased as much as one third compared to last year.
Headline Link: Ricco tests positive for a PED
Ricco was a promising young rider who had won two stages this year and stood in ninth place. He tested positive for CERA, a form of EPO that helps produce red blood cells. He was fired by his team Saunier-Duval and now faces doping-related charges in France.
Source: ESPN
Historical Context: Doping in the Tour de France
The Tour de France has been famous for cyclists’ drug use since the first race in 1903, when riders used caffeine, peppermint, alcohol and cocaine to keep themselves alert. “For as long as the Tour has existed, since 1903, its participants have been doping themselves. No dope, no hope. The Tour, in fact, is only possible because—not despite the fact—there is doping. For 60 years this was allowed. For the past 30 years it has been officially prohibited. Yet the fact remains: great cyclists have been doping themselves, then as now,” said German journalist Hans Halter.
Source: NBC Sports
Though the race has long been associated with doping, its first major scandal occurred in 1998. After finding large quantities of PEDs in the car of the Festina team masseur, police began late night raids and conducted surprise drug tests on many riders. Steroid and doping expert Dr. John Hoberman wrote that the 1998 race proved that “long-distance cycling has been the most consistently drug-soaked sport of the twentieth century.”
Source: Think Muscle
Opinion & Analysis: The doping problem
How does it affect the race?
The race has lost much of its credibility and even clean riders are being implicated as dopers. After Ricco was caught, an Associated Press writer asked stage winner Mark Cavendish, “Why should we believe that you or any other rider is clean?” Australia’s Herald Sun described his reaction: “The deeply dismayed expression as he took his time finding the right words spoke volumes about the emotional impact this never-ending drama continues to have on the innocent as well as the guilty—not that anyone really knows who is which.”
Source: The Herald Sun
Many fans have become jaded by the drug use and no longer think that riders are clean and each doping scandal is turning more fans away from the sport. “Cycling has shown how people can lose faith for good. After the scandals of the 2006 and 2007 Tours, no clear progress has been made. Many spectators aren't just skeptical now; they also just don't follow the sport anymore,” writes German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
Source: Der Spiegel
Rider salaries have dropped since last year as sponsors are pulling their support. Many in the racing world suspect that the sponsors won’t return until the sport is clean “The last few years people nobody has believed in what riders were doing,” said retired cyclist Cedric Vasseur. “When they start believing again, the money will come back.”
Source: Bloomberg
Why do riders continue to use drugs?
Slate’s Nathaniel Vinton wrote last year that “there's no reason not to dope at this year's Tour de France.” He believes that there aren’t enough disincentives for elite riders; after serving suspensions, they are usually welcomed back by teams, sponsors and, in some cases, even fans.
Source: Slate
How can it be fixed?
Team Columbia manager Bob Stapleton called for the creation of a single independent body to oversee all drug testing. Currently, there are several competing bodies that oversee different races. “People now understand that this (doping) is a part of cycling and probably a part of many professional sports now,” he said. “But I would like to see politics stay out of doping. I really want to see this in the hands of an international body that oversees all the testing.”
Source: The Canadian Press
Last year, Julian Savulescu, Professor at Oxford University’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, argued that drug use should be regulated. “Some of the recent controversy on the Tour could have been avoided if we allowed riders to take EPO or blood dope up to some safe level, for example where their red blood cells make up 50 per cent of their blood,” he writes. “A rational, realistic approach to doping would be to allow safe performance-enhancing drugs which are consistent with the spirit of a particular sport, and to focus on evaluating athletes' health.”
Source: Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics (PDF Document)
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
