LeMond: He Cheated & It Cost Me Tour de France Title

An Extract from conversation with Greg LeMond
“Why I Quit”

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But when I was racing at the end of my career EPO made a dramatic impact on my cycling career and I so there’s my own performance like in 1991 I look back and I I was in better shape at that tour than I was I was like

In 1986 I could tell cuz I didn’t have a power meter at that point but I had a vesa that I did motor pacing on and I’ve never gone that fast behind for hours behind or at least like I to simulate a climb for 4 5 minutes and you know it’s

Doing 85 km an hour that’s maxed out um but and I could you know you know when you’re riding well and I took the lead right away and I look back now and I I did a 70 km time trout I was 8 seconds behind inan 8 seconds that’s it and then

Indan has been I don’t I like the guy but they’re all linked to concone and I I look at at that point I mean I really I think I got I lost that tour because of epo at the same time I had a friend

That was on U PDM at the time and yanas drer married to American woman and we got a call and my wife got a call middle of the night I think it was 1990 uh going to 1991 um he died of a heart attack next to her and we can’t say it

Was EPO I think but she indicated it was probably related to some kind of drugs and then at the end of my career I’m Philip cido um he died of a heart attack he went to Italian team so it wasn’t just doping it was killing people and the

Riders are sometimes treated like um labrats they’re giv stuff they don’t even know um I remember hearing about writers giving anti-depressants I mean I’ve taken anti-press you try to get off them you can go into severe depression you could literally feel like you’re dying and so

These guys are just given whatever and I always we’ve seen it in The Paton H recently Greg like we’ve seen uh like drugs like Tramadol widely abused in the Pro pelaton and if you read the label on tramol if anyone taken traod just listen to the podcast read the label it’s an

Opioid and you’re not meant to operate heavy machinery like if you’re not meant to operate heavy machinery you’re definitely not meant to Bunch Sprint on it at 80k an hour leaning on somebody but what’s Insanity what is an opiate going to do for your psych you’re going to kill the

Pain it’s insanity this I said the Riders are taking something but somebody unethical is tell telling them to do that I can guarantee you I would I would love to see data on take an opiate if if would improve your performance but bike riders will follow they’re like sheep

And they’ll get told if if this helps it’s a nature of comp competition if they can get an edge they’re going to do it that’s why it’s really important for really good controls I mean I’m not expecting this sport ever to be 100% clean but I go back to always what I had

Tried to convinced or talked to the W at one point 2006 after uh Floyd was busted was to kind of work on plea Bargains where Riders if they got busted they could they gave up all their sources um you know they could get back racing right away and I I remember watching a

Documentary on the F days um uh uh um which operation quk though operation yeah and I always heard the story about Dr Mao uh he was always referenced in you know hear these horror stories Dr Mao and I think gar talked about him um Gard my

Coach sir Gard in 1971 he took the lead of the of the tour and this was the his doctor at the time he made it till like two two days ago his knees gave out who knows it was the what if it was cortisone whatever but that same doctor

Was treating cyclist in 20 0 6 and so the same doctors Ferrari’s there you know Kone Ferrar I mean my wife was in hungry when with the inventor of the Hidden bike and guess who calls him at midnight Ferrari looking for six more bikes so um it’s these guys are all

There and had you eliminated those guys um they they play a huge uh role in in uh in influencing writers and the fact is EPL makes a huge difference in performance and that’s why it’s it the biological passport and really strict controls my hope is just that you limit

The amount and so that riders that are clean or somewhat clean can not sacrifice their health and and win and I guess I like right now I just love watching it because the sport right now is what it used to be when you were 19 you didn’t

Your V2 Max didn’t improve when you’re 26 it was their year 18 19 he got pogar Bernal um all these writers at a very young age they’re showing their talent I’m certain if I did the tour France at 21 I probably would have done

As well at when I was 25 26 at the time the belief oh you’re too young to do it but you’re not physiologically uh you’re you’re I probably could have 18 years old 19 years old um so but I do see things and I’m not saying it’s I’m not claiming

It’s I I don’t know you’ll never know the inside of what’s going on they’re always going to be taking what they think is the one of the things that you know the irony is ketones everybody’s talking about the benefits of ketones well guess what very in-depth research came out keton lower performance by

2% so there’s no proof that those improve improve it’s the nature of an athlete isn’t it where they’re always looking for an edge whether it’s you know true legal or illegal and it it shows it’s very insightful to the mindset of an athlete and why they’re

Maybe not the best person for public to mimic their patterns behaviors or habits because the lens they view the world through is performance to the exclusion of Health longevity and happiness you’re right that’s actually nailed it right there and but I do believe Riders when they start cycling like me they do not

Start cycling with the idea that they’re going to be taking a whole Pharmacy of drugs and I think that was the case in the 90s and in and in the first decade of this uh Century um Riders were guinea pigs and I don’t I I think some writers

Have no problem with I think people that normally wouldn’t have done it cheated I it impacted their career they’re not happy with it so and it’s just the nature of of of the sport but I do believe drug tests are getting better I do believe the biological passports

Really limiting the ability to rampantly cheat and I go back to why I believe in this generation right now is um tibo Peno suffered a lot in his career but he is released in all of his data um since he’s training all his wats he almost won

The Tour in 2019 and that means if he was I’m just telling you a good sign is how the French are performing because they have they just have a higher level of scrutiny their risk of really blowing up the sport by massively doping is is

Lowered but tboo has always been a a a a benchmark for me um the secret to kind of really knowing who’s cheating and not is if we could start doing standardized V2 Max test that are public or that are at the UCI because you’ll never know really if somebody’s cheating if you

Don’t know their V you can measure the wattage you can measure all that it correlates um but if you’re measuring your V2 Max enough if you’re taking inh hand BL if you do it young enough you hope they’re not doping at that time I haven’t had that planned and you could

Track that and you could see when there’s a jump in your your oxygen take very e we start losing a little bit of the essence of competition then it’s like vinzo NE wanted to see the removal of power meters if we know a competitor’s V2 Max and we know our own

V2 Max that starts to influence tactical decisions from directors no that’s that’s at the UCI level that’s like part of your biological passport okay private medical confidential yeah private I didn’t say release it private medical it’s part of the it’s prior your biological passport uh but I don’t believe that either um I

I think that it doesn’t matter I mean it’ be more psychological for the rider who doesn’t have the talent to be going um I don’t have as good enough Talent if you’re really talented you don’t care what it is it’s like hiding your wat just like tibo Pino it’s you know

Doesn’t have to be right at the time I you wouldn’t want to have a live TR a data transfer of of your your friend but but just your wat doesn’t matter because even you’re most most talented your body goes through changes you could you could have the best values but one day you

Could be off and a guy with less Valu is going to drop you so it’s not always just the physical uh superiority so if you like this video you should definitely check out this video cuz I know you’re going to love it and don’t forget to subscribe to the Channel