Doping

I raced professionally for one season in France. 95-96 season. Just as Lance was kicking off in Europe. Out of the 30 other British riders who were in the region (amateur and Pro) almost every single one of us was doping to some extent. I'm not proud of it, but it was so widespread that it just became normalised. Like having a massage after a race.

I cant condemn Lance on that basis. At the end of the day, the sheer mental and physical effort required to win any stage race is tremendous. The drugs were not a differentiating factor. Almost everybody was doping. The calibre of the man and rider was.

For me he's still the greatest Tour Rider ever. They used cocaine paste for their eyes in the 30's and amphetamine all through the 50's and 60's and even the 70's. It aint a new bag.

WADA has a lot of questions to answer themselves. I doubt very much whether we will ever get to the bottom of their own complicity in doping (which is in no doubt).
It's wrong to condemn a man unless you've ridden in his slipstream. I've had that pleasure, and to be sure - he was one of the fiercest, hardest competitors I've ever encoutered.

You're having a laugh, right?