Amphetamines
And then, for the unimaginative or unsophisticated cheat, there’s good old amphetamines to help you go. Whether you call it crank or speed, it’s the same thing, but fortunately use of these off-limit uppers seems to be pretty rare these days; at least no high profile busts since Tour of Spain winner Angel Arroyo had his title yanked in 1982 for testing positive.
Abuse of amphetamines remains tied to one of cycling’s most tragic stories, the death of British rider Tom Simpson on Mont Ventoux during the Tour de France in 1967 due to heart failure brought on by a combination of heat, dehydration, physical stress and the drugs he had taken on the morning of the race.
Cheating in Professional Cycling - Where to Go from Here?
So there you have it - the short list of plagues that have wrecked professional cycling. The sport’s governing bodies seem to be serious finally about wiping out this problem, but it’s been like burning down the house to get rid of a few termites. The 2006 Tour de France, for instance, saw Ullrich, Basso and six other riders kicked out on the eve of the Tour because of their implication in the Operation Puerto doping scandal. Four of the five final finishers behind Lance Armstrong the year before gone, just like that.
That’s a big reason that Floyd Landis could come in and take the yellow jersey in what looked to be one of cycling’s great comeback stories, an improbable 80-mile solo attack during Stage 17 through the Alps after falling six minutes behind the day before. But then he turned out to be juiced, too, and for many of us, it was like having our hearts ripped out and stomped on with bike shoes.
It’ll be painful for a while to be sure, but these are necessary steps for professional cycling to take, if there is to be any hope of one day luring back all of the sponsors and the fans who have vanished as a result of these dark episodes. They left, shaking their heads and asking, "Is there anyone who is clean in professional cycling?"
And for the answer, only time will tell.
