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Hmm, I think moral relativism is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down.
Anyway, Merckx tested positive three times in his career: for amphetamine in the 1969 Giro (which he still contests), for a stimulant in 1973, from a cough medicine, and for a stimulant in 1977, not four or five.
andyp-
Hmm, I think moral relativism is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down.
For sure but it's a simple fact. I wasn't saying it from a point of moral relativism.
Look at this as a non cyclist. Look at the first hundred or so tweets under an article about a cycling achievement. Those inside the sport understand how nuanced and complicated the history of doping is. Those outside do not. It can only be a good thing for a record holder to have not failed a test given how badly tarnished the sport is.
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Anyway, Merckx tested positive three times
I stand corrected. I just counted them myself and indeed there were three failed doping controls. Lots of web sites erroneously say 4 though, which is where I got my info from.
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He did. He paid off the testers for the other seven positives.
Stonehedge
hippy
I appreciate this is a can of worms because this is supposedly a different era but it can only be a good thing for the tour if the rider who has won the most stages has not been caught doping four or five times like Merckx was.
Whatever you opinions on the past and present, Cav is the rider to have won the most stages while never failing a drugs test. That's pretty special.