The FIRST DOPED Cyclist with EPO || A Story of CRAZY OVERDOSE

Steven Rooks as he is known to his fans the teammate of Gert Jan Theunisse in PDM is one of the most controversial cyclists in history. He used epic doping methods to win 1983 Liege Bastogne Liege against Giuseppe Saronni and been the crush of the people with a legendary performance in the 1988 Tour de France against Pedro Delgado and Fabio Parra. This is the story of the super climber Steven Rooks last days. Want to know what happened? We'll know more cycling tops, from road cycling news, cycling stories, British cycling, road cycling and More road cycling transfer news today on Cycling in 1 Minute. #Cycling, #Sports, #Doping

[@cyclingstories]

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[@fromcarlawithlove]

At 2.26 you show not Theunisse but Lubberding, the first rider with long hair. Someone that never doped . Berthius Fok never was a doc he was a soigneur .

[@dangurtler7177]

“Never doped” seems doubtful.

[@Diksjim]

i can throw out a guinne accent pretty well not bad for a kerryman hi

[@jakobh.4422]

dang that extremely unsympathic voice, it sound like you had a stroke? if so from drugs?

[@AvB.83]

"He was so doped, he tested positive in the 80s." 😅

[@marcopaganotto9125]

He still tests positive to this day 🤪

[@patthewoodboy]

@@marcopaganotto9125 funny

[@bradford_shaun_murray]

4:16 woah

[@Akkodha-]

@@bradford_shaun_murrayhe could have ran and still go just as fast

[@joshuasasfire2759]

😂

[@tobiasmessias1]

more drugs than a Cypress Hill concert. Best line ever

[@Raydar1234]

Instant classic 😂😂😂!

[@DrtyALGreen]

Dude Tour de Pharmacy is so funny. Hilarious you threw the clip in.😂

[@djevelkjokken204]

Teammate of Andy Bishop here. He was the only non-doped on PDM for the Tour. Raced against all these guys in the early nineties and holy cow they were unreal. Came back from racing pre-Worlds races in Italy and I was flying. Years later an ex-Soviet doctor told me that was "passive doping", where you're not on anything but everyone else is. You get crushed, but once recovered and in a non-doped competition, you are the crusher.

[@fernandovega5722]

I know him personally from Tucson, AZ and I know you are right. He was always straightforward and clean. Thanks for letting us all know the story.

[@barretmc]

lol passive doping i thats funny

[@lostalone9320]

Kinda true though... If you're training to compete with doped guys, then you'll be pushing so much harder and when the dopers are gone...

[@davidkennedy4845]

Like training on a heavy bike and racing on a light bike.

[@billpugh58]

They didn’t catch you😂

[@ChrisBKurimu]

Well done story. Really great watching and seeing all the riders I loved in my teens.

[@cenobitek]

Its just nice to hear someone using their real voice to narrate instead of that AI crap.

[@DiegoDneo]

"more drugs then in a Cypress Hill Concert..." GOLD!

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

... more drugs than* ...

[@DiegoDneo]

@@einundsiebenziger5488 thanks

[@vancespearman8777]

Love the stories. Please keep them coming

[@MrAudioBill]

From 80 to 83 I was stationed in Panama with the US Army. There was a circuit and a road race every weekend. I had the opportunity to compete with Parra, Herra, Cochise, AND the US road team in those years. My experience leads me to disbelieve that lumbering hulks could be the mosquito-like Columbians in climbs. I was painfully aware of their prowess in climbs. As always, a great Cycling Story!

[@uselessDM]

That bycicle pump on the Greg Le Mond cover is certainly a vibe.

[@gedrooney9305]

Well it’s the last day of this years Tour De France and here I am, trawling. Good video, subscribed ;)

[@pichihimunoz2891]

This vid is amazing great footage from the 80s and good work in the story. You deserve millions of suscribers

[@janscanulfsson9295]

Great episode, great script & delivery, plus bonus for points for John Cena - did he think we couldn't see him ? I remember Rooks riding well in the Kellogg's Tour of Britain ( 87-ish) and his transformation from classics rider to crack stage racer was truly remarkable - how little we knew back then.

[@donaldduck4888]

I think we had a pretty good idea. But hadn't realised the technical breakthrough that EPO represented until a bit later. It took a reasonable amount of amphetamines along with appalling cycling medical ideas - have a nip of brandy at the bottom of the Ventoux, don't drink too much on a 7 hour stage through the South of France etc to kill off Tommy Simpson.

[@afischer8327]

Your story of tragedy and comedy is appreciated. The earliest admitted use of EPO, and the PDM Team's cynicism. All played out with a nice orchestral waltz. Heavy sprinters and rouleurs were dancing up the mountains, and us poor souls were looking at these fine folk, entranced.

[@TheRongy]

Zombie apocalypse!😂 You guys should write an encyclopedia on doping in cycling! Great video, thanks for posting!💪🏻🚴‍♂️

[@philallan6685]

Love these - the scripting and voiceover is bang on and very funny. "I'm sorry for those of you who don't believe in miracles..."

[@Stufferburg]

Just found this channel. Unreal should be at a milli subs

[@neologian1783]

Great video. My only objection is that way too many people seem to think "doping" sorta "took off" with EPO in the 80's-90's. EPO was just a technological leap forward.....but the use of banned substances and other performance enhancers (whether real or imagined) have been in widespread, almost ubiquitous, in pro cycling since the 60's.....and before that is was preceded by chicanery and outright cheating.

[@littleloner1159]

That's so interesting! I think it is because very little is known about the pre 80s area of doping (by the larger public) because no one ever talks about it and it's very difficult to find actual information about it. Tho technically is was definitely possible, body builders also started doping back then. Would only make sense cyclists did too.

[@TheLemon333]

These stories remind me of the tabloid papers in the check-out line at the grocery store. I don't want to look, but I can't help myself.

[@sergiobarros2697]

At 5:04 i hear prestigious « turd »….dunno if on purpose or my lacking of english skills..-.but for sure made me laugh…thx so much….your videos are so entertaining and informative

[@brianmessemer2973]

“More drugs in the PDM training camp than at a Cypress Hill concert” “Our trotting protagonist worked like a Roman charioteer’s horse for the pigeon pie-eating doped man” “That scene was absolutely grotesque” “Today’s kids would say…cringe” “The climbers almost 2 meters tall”

[@MightyJabroni]

PDM ... Perfect Doping Machine

[@mrbaileybass]

Great vid 👏

[@deathkampdrone]

How about Francesco Moser finally winning Giro d'Italia at age 33, after having been a disappointment in the Giro in the four seasons running up to his win. Notably under the guidance of his doctor Francesco Conconi. That one in hindsight makes me think of Bjarne Riis winning the tour at age 32.

[@user-bm6cm4ii3m]

Bald bjarne riis... JESTER Bjarne

[@francescocarzoli4945]

Conconi at time was a God in blood transfusions

[@stevesidebottom2124]

At age 33, when pro riders are in their prime? Sometimes better to keep your mouth closed

[@rollinrat4850]

That was the Giro with the helicopter behind Moser in the final TT right? Or was that just a myth made up by Fignon? That Giro was tailor made for Moser with few climbing stages. Even Argentin miraculously placed 3rd! The only big tour Moser ever won. Blood doping wasn't made illegal until '85. Years later Moser fessed up.

[@rollinrat4850]

@@francescocarzoli4945 His understudy was Ferrari, yes?

[@user-xq6fj2sd7z]

brilliant as usual

[@jerrychicken967]

Just a note, alpe d'huez is known as the Dutch mountain. Quite a few Dutch winners there. Also, I only recently found out that blood bags were against the rules only until 1986. This means previous winners would use blood bags including Hinault and, Merckx. I think Rooks won Leige which shows he could climb. Off their trolleys of course but that's cycling 😊👍

[@glywnniswells9480]

And probably Anquetil too his lady was a nurse and went to all his races

[@AdeboFunkyVoodoo]

I remember watching that Tour. It was a good one. The following off season didn't Rooks and Theunisse demolish the time for climbing Alpe d'huez but then fail on the stage in Le Tour? It was a long time ago so I may be misremembering some of the details.

[@pichihimunoz2891]

Love that style of long vids, learn a lot

[@nickvledder]

As Dutchman I have always been curious about the Dutch PDM-team. Thanks for aswering many questions. To this day Gert Jan Theunisse denies being doped and claims he has a special medical condition.

[@gladtobeangry]

A number of years ago he was a guest in de Avondetappe. I've only been following cycling for about 15 years now, so I had no idea who Gert-Jan Theunisse was, but he looked like a survivor of a nuclear disaster, or someone on the verge of dying from a terminal disease. If that guy was clean, I'm a coat rack. One of the most visibly doped riders I've ever seen in my life.

[@Planetarchitect]

@@gladtobeangry "Your cannot ride the Tour De France on mineral water!" Jacques Anquetil. Keep in mind that quote is from the late 50's early 60's which gives an indication as to how long doping has been going on in cycling.

[@valter_vava74]

@@Planetarchitect Anquetil publicly admitted that he took amphetamines part of his normal racing regime. It was normal at that time, so doping in cycling is old news.

[@fraidnotsfortunatefew282]

@@valter_vava74 Yeah, and they used cocaine in the 1920s.

[@user-ui6kv2np8i]

@@Planetarchitect Even the 1st participants tried doping themselves upon whatever they thought would work, but, ofc, it really took off after WW2 when Europe was awash with US amphetamines (which is what they handed out to their soldiers like confetti to keep them going).

[@andrewince8824]

"More drugs than a Cyprus Hill concert". I'm howling. 😂

[@robbienl8176]

My uncle beated Rooks in the amateurs in the 80's before Rooks went pro. My father spoke to him a few years ago he stlll remembered that race, Rooks is a nice guy.

[@IslandPink]

This was interesting and informative watch, until 6 seconds from the end.

[@Sills71]

PDM stood for "perfectly doped men"

[@TwoWheelWarrior]

Way to go buddy!

[@adamkwalczyk]

I gotta give you credit for such a dope thumbnail.

[@gazza0209]

I have a friend who was a very competitive amateur racer in the 80's, he told me most of the top amateurs were doping in one way or another.

[@lipsterman1]

That's where it got really dangerous. Doping under a doctor's care is one thing. Doping oneself is another. I heard stories of a lot of amateur European cyclists dying of aneurysms in their 30's.

[@m.k.s.p.7746]

@Gary Daly: True -- many did, and that's all I'll say except that there were some very good riders that didn't dope (including the then-legal blood doping). First-hand experience. I retired at the end of the 1984 season.

[@chokehanson1830]

Raced in the late 80's to mid 90's in the UK & for a while I reached 1st cat level (albeit a pretty average one) - there were whispers of riders at our level who were kitting up. They'd be getting their arses kicked all over the winter months, be absolutely nowhere for the first few months of the season, then they'd pretty much disappear before coming back in the heads down & elbows out end of the season & clean up. It was regular gossip & banter that these riders (only a small number, not a lot) were taking something & I know the two of them have now sadly died due to health complications & I also know one guy (a regular speed & cokehead even during the season) who later took his own life. So even at amateur level it was still happening - and for what exactly? Maybe £30.00 in an envelope for winning a local crit. I had neither the talent nor the ambition to ever take it really seriously so i slid back down ghe categories & just raced for fun. The sport was fucked even then & I've no faith in it ever cleaning itself up now.

[@ryanb974]

Love you opened with clips of Roberto G

[@dickieblench5001]

Love the 88 tour!

[@KevinKimmich44024]

Vinokourov would be an interesting one to cover; some of his performances were so obviously aided that it only took a pair of eyes to see what was going on. I don't remember which Tour it was but he went from struggling at the edge of collapse in one stage to fresh as a daisy with afterburner power in the following day's TT--maybe 2007? I had no clue what was going on during the LA years, but by 2007 a lot of the story was out and lots of the people watching were just "oh come on" during that whole tour.

[@nighttrain1236]

Yeah, it was something like that. Didn't he fall off a few days earlier and suffer terrible road-rash? That mid to late 00s era was probably peak denial. Cancer-jesus Lance was too big to fail.

[@KevinKimmich44024]

@@nighttrain1236 yeah, exactly, I am remembering the crash now. He was really struggling, then was reborn like he had motors for legs. It was extremely suspicious... It's like they all went over the top in that edition and it was too obvious... I can't remember exactly when all the dirt started coming out. They were providing the demonstration of the advantages conferred by juicing

[@holmbjerg]

Well Vinokourov did test positive and was kicked out of the 2007 tour.

[@colintainter4856]

@@KevinKimmich44024 but if they all were doing it, how was it so noticeable that they were doing it?

[@martinhensbergen569]

When you turn off the light, Vinokourov gives light in the dark. So much dope he used!!

[@Thetoad738]

I felt bad for Parra. He should have won the 1988 Tour.

[@englishteacherdon]

Great point! I wonder if Mottet really won in 1991, and Hampsten in 1992. It would make sense.

[@NikauCottage]

@@englishteacherdonAndy Hampsten was one of the most honest & nicest guys in the peloton of his era. I’m quite confident he was one of the cleanest, & even though he did have a lot of success, I think he would have had more if pharmaceuticals were not a factor.

[@grachtschrap]

Interesting times in the world of professional cycling.

[@vinzzzze]

My father was a promising talent. He had the chance to become a professional cycler in 1976. But then allready doping was dominating cycling. He told me insane stories. Pills, needles, hormones,… A real sick world. He put his bike away, completely disillusioned . He always told me: ‘ Son, play football or wathever you want, but don’t start cycling. It’s pure madness behind the screens’

[@Mist7676]

Roche the godfather of doping. Collapsing and almost died only to recover and win. Its a miracle as Lance would say

[@MitchVanVit]

It was an inspiration as Floyd Landis would say !o!

[@tommykarate5126]

What about Kelly did he do the same as the rest ?

[@TheCrushah]

I very much doubt EPO was used pre 89. It wasn’t approved for use until 89 and was very hard to manufacture. Testosterone, cortisone and transfusions can easily mimic EPO behavior though.

[@rafaelwillems3244]

Basically you say this video is a con job, just like old school cycling often was. Agree.

[@Alex-pr6zv]

EPo didnt become a gamechanger in distance running until about 1993 when another dutchman Jos Hermanns came along with Haile Guebresselassie et al.

[@TesterAnimal1]

Not approved? Yeah I’m sure that’d stop them.

[@rg807]

Agree. As Lemond said, all of a sudden around 1991(?), guys who couldn't even hold my wheel started dropping me, and did so without being out of breath.

[@rg807]

@jlm6448 Lemond was the hands down the best rider in the US by age 17, won the World Championships in 1982 and should have won the Tour in 85, all well before blood doping. You don't really think Guimard came all the way to Reno to sign an American because he thought he needed blood doping I hope.

[@spidyspidy1340]

Could you make a video about Stefan Schumacher and Bernhard Kohl pls

[@marcusaurelius49]

This guy doped EPO so much, even his jersey was growing red blood cells in the thumbnail.

[@gilean6179]

I had posters of these guys (PDM team et al) in my bedroom when I was a did in the early 90s. Jeeez.

[@robbienl8176]

Awesome team

[@foobarbazquux]

Rooks looked great in the polka dot jersey

[@TweedSuit]

Rooks and Gert weren't 80Kg. Miguel Induráin was.

[@DrtyALGreen]

Haha I love Tour de Pharmacy...I quote it quite often about motocross. "There are hundreds dollars to play for....stakes are minimal." Lol

[@EwenNicolson]

It's AI.

[@GSXK4]

My own experience with TRT is it makes you about 25% stronger after 6 mnths to one year. At a much older age, too.

[@eriktempelman2097]

Pronunciation tips: it's Rooks with the oo sounding like the o in coke. Easy to remember. And the eu in Theunisse sounds like the eu in the French word jeu.

[@paulsummerfield6357]

Delgado was on EPO too a few years before

[@pierovittori1076]

You sound very Irish Love the vid 💯

[@thecasualfront7432]

Great thumbnail

[@reddiver7293]

80s bicycles, 80s hair. What a trip.

[@KevinKimmich44024]

I would love to believe lemond was clean since he suffered so bad during the epo era and since he was a hero when I was a young man. USA cycling had that blood doping scandal back in 1984, though... So if that method was already out there and was used by the Olympic team, it's not hard to imagine it was pervasive.

[@213tpg]

It's very hard to believe a clean guy can beat everyone at the highest level when almost everyone else is doping. Possible he was clean but for me it seems unlikely anyone winning was clean in cycling for a very, very long time.

[@gerardvdelshout]

He beat people “clean” in an age where they were already doing blood transfusions, testosterone etc. And a BS vo2 max story. Blood doping literally increases your vo2 max.

[@Shopsmith10er]

LeMond was a loaner racing in Europe and wasn't exactly as an accepted team member. Furthermore was closely watched over and scrutinized. Do you see why his teammates weren't as tight with him? It's because he 'wasn't like them cheats. Ps Put Hinault on the cheat list. He's admitted to it.

[@leenverkade]

I have doubts about that too. Though on the other hand the clean guys do Paris-Roubaix 1 hour faster now than the doped guys in the 80s. So its possible, and Lemond definitely was inventive. But dont think he was that far ahead of his time.

[@charles9215]

Please do one on Roberto Heras. I think he was the most doped climber ever

[@leeh3023]

More drugs than a Cypress Hill concert

[@henrik5284]

Could you do a video on today's magnificent ride by Mr. van Aert? Breakaway from km 0 and yet full of energy on the final climb to leave Pogachar behind....! And all this after having spent day after day in the race attacking. Oh yes, history will remember this fantastic rider and his incredible Tour-performances 😆

[@irl-cyclist01]

Jumbo juice

[@miguelpereira9859]

Dude casually dropped specialist climbers and looked like he wasn't even hurting until last km's of the Hautacam lol

[@Raor1820]

Agree something suspicious. I am more likely believing motordoping.

[@user-ui6kv2np8i]

WVA is on more 'weetabix' than the rest of the fucking peloton combined. He was that fast at the start (50km) that the other couple of riders couldn't even slipstream and hold his wheel, and he rode the 1st 20 km SOLO ! That effort would have fucked anyone up, but no, he didn't even need to wipe his brow and instead proceeded to power his way into every break during the stage too. And he's done this DAY IN DAY OUT, and the ONLY thing the commentators can do is fawn the fuck all over him, pathetic. The ONLY reason he stopped after Pog had been dropped is because if he'd carried on, which ofc he was more than capable of doing, it would have had people talking. I'm pretty sure that if he had wanted to, he'd have blown Ving away as well to the finish. The rest of the peloton know he's as daf, but, ofc, they can't speak out. He makes Armstrong and God mode Basso in his giro year and Riis in his TDF year, look like innocent choirboys. Rest of his JV team on his 'weetabix'? ofc, but not as much. Take Ving in the TT, as an example, the guy's only 60 fucking kilos but was in the lead for most of the way until he dropped off slightly due to him almost having a bad accident, probably got a call through his radio 'slow the fuck down'.

[@user-ui6kv2np8i]

@@miguelpereira9859 He wasn't even hurting after Pog was dropped, but if he didn't slow to a crawl once JV was safely in the lead it would just have been too fucking obvious.

[@kingdc72]

Great video and recap. I would suggest that Andy Bishop was not doping and that his performance over the rest of his career confirms that.

[@fernandovega5722]

Thank you. You are absolutely correct. I know him personally and he won't do that. Good call.

[@robbo3132]

Why did they get rid of the heamoglobin shirt?

[@jnavonoD]

Good thing today's massive gains in average speed are all thanks to aerodynamics. Enjoyed the vid, thanks mate.

[@TesterAnimal1]

Us plebs have yet to find out what they’re on now. It’ll come out eventually.

[@jnavonoD]

@@TesterAnimal1 Nah they are full natty bro 🤡🤡 haha...

[@finefriendzz]

@Cyclingstories: What makes you think Kneteman was clean that year?

[@DreamteamCarlo]

Probably the same files from the PDM Team medics that made him conclude that all the other riders were not clean.

[@rolffuchs2737]

So, it will never happen again, that a tall rider riding in the wind will win a sprint and a mountain stage and a time trial?

[@jnavonoD]

LOL van Aert wants a word.

[@torreylincoln2658]

You’ve got your facts wrong on this video. While Rooks and team were doping and he has admitted to it, they weren’t using epo in 88. Read the admissions of the soigneur who administered the drugs they were using. Also you can read Rooks admission about when he took epo, and it’s after 88.

[@cyclingstories]

89

[@simonloo1588]

Now I know what I try to emulate Delgado or rooks performance on 89tdf I never come near lol…..I was Inspired that year Tdf as a naive teenager then

[@terencej72]

It's good that Cycling Stories acknowledges that Serie A was awash with dope in the 80's and 90's We all should know what Dr Ferrari said about the Spain National football team in the early to mid 2000's. Cyclists are an easy target when talking about doping but loads of other sports must do it. I know a famous former SPL (Scotland) footballer who said in his 15 year SPL carear he was tested no more than 2-3 times a year. I'm not accusing him of taking PED's but a couple of tests a year is a joke

[@RaulVeldhuizen]

I watched only a couple of minutes and there I already noticed a hugh mistake. Adri van der Poel is called Matthieu! (as I hear it, English isn't my mother language). Imo this puts the whole video on another quality level...... I reason: if such a simple thing isn't accurate than what about the more complicated aspects?

[@pcdispatch]

Adrie was a cyclist and is the father of Matthieu.

[@RaulVeldhuizen]

@@pcdispatch everybody knows that. But why is (or was?) he called Mathieu?

[@pcdispatch]

@@RaulVeldhuizen , you are right, I l played it back a few times and it seems it is a mistake.

[@flachi32]

Gert-Jan still the last Dutch KOM winner in Tdf but now hardly able to climb an escalator at age 59.

[@rafaelwillems3244]

So?

[@flachi32]

@@rafaelwillems3244 it is sad how his health deteriorated so quickly partly due to his substance abuse

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

@@flachi32 He was also hit by a car at one point (I think on foot, not riding), causing partial paralysis.

[@gmoerkerk8342]

He is still amazingly fit and riding extreme offroads

[@jeez0r]

gartian toonissay maddeleen vanderpole , that accent lol

[@EMC2Scotia]

In the reference to Rooks confessing in 2009, was this to undertaking blood transfusions during the '88 TDF, as was reported on Cyclingnews when the team soigneur at the time Bertus Folk discussed what they were doing? No mention from Folk or anyone else at PDM states EPO as being used this early, to my understanding. Perhaps you know something we don't, or it fits the narrative to pin point EPO's beginning here, rather than say spring 1990 and the Italian renaissance? A couple of other relatively minor points. Theunisse weighing 80kgs? I don't think so! When Parra won into Morzine in '88, he went away on the descent of the Corbier, linking up with a team mate who launched him onto the Pas de Morgins. Rooks, Simon and Claveroylat were behind and not overtaken as said, however they did clip off the front in the final km once the group reformed to contest 2nd. Fignon had a tapeworm during this TDF and knew he'd not be in contention, Bernard I recall developed a urine infection whilst Herrera over raced in the lead up (Vuelta, Dauphine, Vuelta a Colombia) and peaked too early to do anything against Delago and the PDM's. Finally, there were 3 who spoke out at the time against what was happening, being Bauer, Boyer and Hampsten.

[@cyclingstories]

Great comment. Rooks didn't use epo in this tdf but yes in 89. As we said the key in this tour were blood transfusions of both pdm riders.

[@drunkensailor112]

@@cyclingstories rooks has never said he used epo in 89. The first epo guys where bugno and chiapucchi in 1990.

[@cyclingstories]

He confessed in a book with Jakobs and Hermans

[@drunkensailor112]

@@cyclingstories no. In that book it is stated he started using epo after 89 without being specific on the year he started on it

[@jaspermeinema4830]

Wasn't it Conconi prepping Moser for his world record hour race? And way earlier, the runner Paavo Nurmi?

[@StevenBornfeld]

"...being more fired up than Kanye West when he saw Kim Kardashian with Pete Davidson."

[@eriktempelman2097]

Oh, and the oe in Van der Poel should sound like the oo in fool. Also easy to remember.

[@needfoolthings]

What monsters they were at the time! Today, only a drop of fish oil under the tongue.

[@independentmind1977]

Love it.. "More drugs at PCM than at a Cypress Hill concert"

[@silverarrowslk]

Theunisse @80 kg’s? 😂. Where did you get that weight from as it’s way inaccurate

[@cyclingstories]

In 89 he was so much thinner but in panasonic his weight was 77 kg as we watched

[@drunkensailor112]

@@cyclingstories what is your source for him being 77 kg?

[@cyclingstories]

Biography (didn't autorised so doesn't know it's 100% true) of Wielaert

[@robbienl8176]

With all that hair he must be atleast 80kg 😅

[@pietkonijn5522]

Hij die zonder zonde is werpe de eerste steen ! Laen we wel wezen, vanaf 60 gebruikten alle (?) toprenners middelen.

[@skylineXpert]

In Denmark we have a song called EPO sangen. Made by red warszawa by rewriting a christmas song

[@allcapitols1554]

1:29 ~ check out that front end shimmy

[@AvgDude]

These are all performances of Floyd Landis quality.

[@hendrikheemels8615]

Delgado even was caught being doped in the Tour of '88, but wasn't punished for it. Unbelievable.

[@rollinrat4850]

The masking agent that was discovered was not made illegal until the year after. So they never actually found the dope in his test. Tour de Farce, it's nothing new. This years race was touted as the cleanest TDF ever. It was also the fastest in history. Golly, gee whiz, Just miraculous!

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

Problem was, he didn't actually break the rules. That doesn't mean he was clean though.

[@swissbiggy]

@@PhilAndersonOutside Nobody was and is clean. Sadly it is always the cycling sport we point at, because it ain't much better in Athletics, Biathlon, Triathlon, Tennis, Weightlifting, Nordic combination, Swimming and a ton of other sports.

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

@@swissbiggy Disagree with "nobody". But I'll admit every sport is dirty, and goes through waves where up to 99% of all competitors are doped or cheating in some way. There are no "waves" where 99% of competitors are clean.

[@rollinrat4850]

All elite sport is corrupt in some manner. Theres too much money for it not to be so. That doesnt PROVE all the athletes are cheating though. Cool thing about 'free speech' is that you can spew all sorts of BS with no evidence.

[@hughjazzzzzzz6220]

Can you make a video of volta Portugal Raul alarcon

[@Baltimoreborn]

I was teammates on team monex with Roberto gagioli the long-haired Italian guy in the beginning of the video

[@rollinrat4850]

Roberto is the guy the Lancehole paid off to 'win' his 1st big race! Core States I seem to recall. Lancehole paid him $100k, Roberto said it in an interview. I saw Roberto win the Presidio circuit race in the '88 Coors Classic. Great hair! I remember him eating a banana while flying around a downhill corner at around 50mph, holding his bars in one hand! Quite impressive!

[@djoooop]

He admitted to using epo after 1989. Used cortisones, steroids and blood bags for this result, that much is sure after his soigneur showed his notes from that tour. But first epo exploit? Think that title belongs to Chiapucci and the old italian clients of mr Conconi & co.

[@gnubbolo]

no epo. autotransfusion.

[@IzdSammy]

The key evidence of this video is likely BS. IIRC, journalist Mart Smeet interviewed Dutch cyclists of the 1989 Tour for his 2009 book "Het Laatste Geel", and some of them admitted EPO use during some point in their career, not necessarily in the 1980s. Yes, it was a book about a 1980s Tour and Dutch cyclists and EPO use, but rarely nobody bothers to quote from it directly. Also the revelations about doping use at the 1988 PDM team made by the soigneur and by the team doctor Peter Janssen make no mention of EPO, but they instead used transfusions.

[@cyclingstories]

So they doped in 88 and used epo. Thats what we said

[@IzdSammy]

@@cyclingstories One Dutch cycling forum way back in 2009 quoted from an article in which Steven Rooks clearly emphasizes that his EPO use took place far later than in 1989, even when Mart Smeets's book was about the 1989 TDF.

[@Mosely2007]

Love your videos. Quite entertaining. Do riders use Cbd to aide recovery now? Elec. Muscle Stimulators?. LeMond was a cut Above

[@onerider808]

4:25 The clip of the roided-out bodybuilder on a bike was epic.

[@FreeMTrider]

EPO? Where did you get this info? If you speak to LeMond he will tell you the first real signs of the rocket fuel EPO didn't occur until 1991. He said riders who were not even in the top 20 were now competing for podiums. Although it was stated to be around in the late '80s, it seems it didn't make a full impact until the '90s. That's when the peloton changed and went faster with no slower days or recover days during the TDF or grand tours. Everything else pales in comparison to EPO.

[@alankillian]

Good vid, read like an Irish fairytale, but good.

[@rollinrat4850]

Gee whiz, I never realized just how tall Rooks and Theunisse are. In that podium picture he's at least a head taller than Delgado. I'm pretty surprised you didn't mention the death of PDM rider Johannes Draaijer in 1990. But maybe you can cover this in another story?!? He died in his sleep from what Wikipedia described as 'heart block' not long after a race. He and his wife were good friends and neighbors of the Lemonds in Belgium. They comforted his wife afterwards his death. They knew what was going on at PDM and I'm not sure if Greg was ever at a big race representing PDM. It sounded like PDM dumped him when he didn't recover quickly enough or perhaps for some other more nefarious reasons. Who will ever know? There's so many unexplainable mysteries in elite cycling. These mysteries seem to be uncovered years after they happen. Thanks for all your efforts at illumination.

[@silverarrowslk]

Just got to say that being tall doesn’t automatically negate a rider from being a good climber. It’s all about power to weight ration or w/kg as it’s known now. The start of the video mentions these two guys were giants. You can be short and your power to weight ratio isn’t good. So again being short in height doesn’t mean that a rider will be a great climber either.

[@rollinrat4850]

@@silverarrowslk Just an observation. Yet he was doping! So were other big guys like Indurain in '91 when the use of EPO became very common. I have a really tall yet very skinny riding friend who raced on the Coors Light team with Greg Lemond at around that same time. He was a very powerful rider and set a world HPV speed record in Colorado. He won lots of flatter races in the US. He was a fast power rider and a pursuit track rider in his day as well as a good time trialist. He never won much in the mountains. I'm sure there's lots of different body/rider types. I get that. My friend is pretty skeptical about lots of these big climbers as well. In the early '90s my friend's performance 'dropped way off' too. He knew the writing was on the wall, retired and opened a bike shop. With all the history of corrupt sports, doping, the money and how cool it seems to see how far one can bend the rules in sport, I believe elite athletes should be treated guilty until proven innocent. I don't need any athletes for heroes either. Sorry, if I'm skeptical. I've been so for a long time. I've been in and around this sport a long time. Pro sports are mere entertainment. A spectacle.

[@kasimirdenhertog3516]

@@rollinrat4850 I can completely understand you skepticism. I used to watch complete stages of the Tour, but I stopped doing that after it seemed everyone I had been cheering on had doped. I can never again watch cycling without being skeptical.

[@scottfahdt177]

The moral of the story is that Lance's 7 tour victories should never have been vacated.

[@213tpg]

The reality is in sports like cycling we see the best of the cheats trying too out do each other through hard work and cheating. You don't see the best of the best, just the best of the cheats. It can still be entertaining but they shouldn't be viewed as heroes.

[@festungkurland9804]

That is what i don't get, why did it suddenly matter so much if it was 20 plus history of doping? Was it because he was doing so well?

[@silverarrowslk]

Just got to say that being tall doesn’t automatically negate a rider from being a good climber. It’s all about power to weight ration or w/kg as it’s known now. The start of the video mentions these two guys were giants. You can be short and your power to weight ratio isn’t good. So again being short in height doesn’t mean that a rider will be a great climber either.

[@cyclingstories]

Of course. The thing here is this 2, like Froome or Riis didn't had any climbing hability until this year (Rooks were pretty good at short climbs but not in 20 km passes)

[@caseysmith544]

Yes, but in this case the guy was not known to be a good long climber. Yes, there are short guys who suck in Mountains due to how they handle the altitude, but they often are good at hot days not in Mountains, the really long days, or are built more like a small time trialist/sprinter.

[@tman5634]

@@cyclingstories Your frank thoughts on Hinault, Froome & Indurain would be great to hear in a video?

[@baswalpot]

The disdain with which you pronounce Dutch and Dutch rider and Doped Dutch Mountain (or Dooootch & Dooootch rhaidor & Dhhooped Dooootch Mount'n in yer irish little babble) really tells the whole tale to me.

[@fc7424]

Short riders are more often than no, nott suited to climbing. They are generally a more stocky heavier build for their height. 100 -150mm shorter than the tall riders, they are just as lean as the tall riders but weigh the same as the tall riders.

[@dutchdelights]

Hmmm, looked up Wout van Aert, 1.90 m. 78 kg.

[@ronc7743]

Everyone tries to make Lemond out as so innocent. I don't believe it.

[@michaelsteven1090]

Love these doped riders much more than today's "radio racers" ..at least they were thinking about how to win and not waiting for instructions..

[@cedrichennert4869]

L

[@brianmcg321]

Christian Vande Velde said it best in "A Road to Paris". When the radios don't work the rider will just sit on the back waiting for instruction. Just blank. Like NPCs, or when a game controller goes out.

[@robertdinterman758]

I totally agree. Racing was so much more exciting. I haven't watched the Tour in years. Just boring now.

[@tman5634]

You love doped riders. That says more about you than the doped riders themselves.

[@Raor1820]

@@brianmcg321 Pogacar removed his radio the other day towards the end of the stage :D

[@kevinduran7698]

You are missing Michael Rasmussen AKA "The Chicken".

[@MrGoranPa]

4:17 What is this??? :D Doped to explosion?

[@frugalferg]

I'm not sure I like your comment about Sean Kelly, 'always failing in the mountains'. Clearly you have a fantastic knowledge of cycling therefore as you well know, Sean was a sprint and classics specialist, incredibly successful in both. WVA is a modern day Sean and pound for pound, the best cyclist in the world but he's not good in the mountains. WVA and Sean, imho are/were never considered as Grand tour potential winners because of their specialisms. Horses for courses. Of course, I stand corrected. Keep up the fantastic work you do, well done.

[@Greg.Sutton]

Sean Kelly was for a short period for sure a Grand Tour GC contender... taking a few top 10 placings at the TDF in the early 1980's and also a 4th & 9th overall in La Vuelta before finally winning the Vuelta in 1988.

[@frugalferg]

@@Greg.Sutton you're 100% right. I forgot about his Vuelta win. So, I'm wrong. I'm glad because I am even more in awe of the man's achievements. Incredible.

[@bobjackson3735]

And Wout not good in the mountains? Did you not see him win Mt Ventoux last year? He may not be a serious gc contender, but he can certainly climb...

[@robbylong2748]

I thought I was the only one that made the comparison WVA to Sean Kelly and he being the modern day Kelly, I agree 100%

[@stevozrepto5558]

Kelly won tour of Spain 2 Times buddy