The EPO Era threw up some surprise World Champions from the early ’90s to the mid ’00s. Riders juiced to the gills meant that the rainbow jumper could go to anyone who not only had the form on the bike, but their program sorted and the luck on the day. You could throw a dart at the start list and wherever it stuck, you’d be a pretty good chance of picking the winner. Confessed juicer Bo Hamburger came close in 1997, finishing 2nd to perennial mullet-sporter Laurent Brochard, who along with the likes of Camenzind in ’98, Vainsteins in ’00, and Astarloa in ’03 wouldn’t have been on many of our radars if the VSP existed back then.
The Burger King was in the decisive break and finished 6th in Hamilton, Ontario in ’03 and did it in style. Check him out; his Gios looks damn sharp in the traditional azzura, its alloy frame with carbon fork and seatstays the pinnacle of the day’s technology. Deep dish carbon hoops and skinwall sew-ups… check. Campa. Obscure Italian Team-issue shorts and helmet with national jersey. Arm warmers neatly pushed down to the wrists. He even manages to pull off the long red socks. Tanned, shiny, sinewy legs and arms straining, head bowed and burying himself under the effort of Rule #5; Badass.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@Oli
+1!
(I love you man...)
@brett Hey, no fair! You can't use my own self-deprecating admissions of failure against me!
Anyway, I know you only did that to avoid dealing with your own contradictions and hypocrisy.
(love you too, bro)
@frank Spot on with the referenced article... and when I read this quote,
"We must break with the hypocrisy. The only way to come out of that murderous spiral is to break the silence, the silence that continues to haunt us."
I can't help but consider the fragile-minded introvert (when off the bike of course), Pantani. The sport that he dedicated his soul to tossed him under the fucking bus. The dude couldn't cope with the hypocrisy of it all and nobody had the sack to step in and get his back... pathetic!
Museeuw has the stones to step up and point the finger... doubt he was speaking with any parallel to Pantani (that's just where my mind went when I read it), but his point is rock solid.
As far as the photo... it's an ass kicker! Love it!
@frank
A++++++1
I love the North Wave shoes and socks.
@JFT
It's too bad Museeuw only alluded to doping (EPO) in his last season and has not been open about a professional career of it. If he admitted that I would be impressed. Maybe he did and I missed it? Obviously not just him, a lot of riders used through a portion of their careers.
I'm reading David Millar's book right now, Hamilton's next. Book review eventually. The bottom line is many riders were doping with the help and pressure of their team management.
@brett
Great post, it captured an era. Mullets, Romans, all that.
@Gianni
Problem I had with both of those stories when I read them was that both of them got caught before they confessed to doping....... going clean and confessing without getting caught now that would be something........
@Adrian Like Zabel did?
@Gianni When a rider professes his willingness to partake in the systematic doping process, gets caught - or otherwise, then finally admits to it, I'm taking that as a confession that he had been that way for many years... not just one. Again, this is just my assumption.
I'm hopeful that the push for immunity will open the flood gates... lead to a great purge. What I REALLY want to see is an attack on the Directors and "Sponsors" of doping. J.V.'s confession was a start, but come on already... spit out the name of the "coach" that convinced him that doping was THE ONLY way to take the next step.
Want to get rid of doping... punish the entire team when one rider gets caught. Kick the whole f'ing team out for a year, including the director, doctors, everyone.
@Adrian That would be something... confessing before getting caught. Perhaps the immunity push will open the door for some riders to step forward. I'm not holding my breath though.