The Moment MIGUEL INDURAIN Became a DOPED Cyclist for France...

Miguel Indurain as he is known to his fans Big Mig is one of the most controversial cyclists in history. He used epic methods to win in 1991 to 1995 Tour de France and been the crush of the people with a legendary performance in 1995 Cycling World Championships Road. This is the story of the super climber Miguel Indurain Early 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 StorieS #Cycling, #Sports, #Doping

[@cyclingstories]

For some people, Big Mig was a cheater, and for you? Leave it in the comments!

[@johnandrews3568]

Of course he doped. They all did and all still do. A hundred years of doping doesn't stop overnight. And anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

[@andredeketeleastutecomplex]

76 kg and not dropped on a climb = doping. It's just that simple.

[@mv11000]

Question is, did he really purposely lose the Giro? As much as I like your vids, and as much as I hate doping (by anyone in any sport), but this is just an assumption one cannot prove.

[@simonthomsen8578]

He wasnt clean, but he is my hero

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

He may have been doped. Either that or from another planet, but speculations don’t get you anywhere without proof. He never got caught redhanded and more important, he was a nice quiet guy. If he was a pure blooded asshole as Armstrong he may have been pursecutet more but he didn’t and wasn’t. And he was my hero.

[@sparx550]

I’ll never forget the 91 TDF, watching Greg Lemond, who was at his peak being humbled by journey men like Chiapucci and heavy domestiques such as Indurain, climbing mountain passes like a 60 kg Colombian even though he was nearly 80kg. It herald the darkest two decades of our sport, EPO, 98 TDF, Armstrong and the death of pantani. Lemond is the last Great tour winner in my memory.

[@gilean6179]

Amen to that brother. Lemond the Last Great tour winner.

[@creativity.studio4967]

LeMond is the GOAT!

[@malibustacy3606]

Nicely articulated

[@Gary-le7dz]

Lemond cycled at a time of mass doping , he is not totally pure himself …. His failure in 91 was. Down to the fact he had a blood disorder brought about by lead poisoning from when he had his hunting accident , he won 3 tours …. Froome , indurain hinault merckx all won more and only Merckx was banned for doping in his career …. If you really think lemond was riding clean at a time of mass doping fignon delgardo Roche then ask yourself why he managed to beat them

[@malibustacy3606]

@@Gary-le7dz I wouldn't be expecting anybody, including Lemond, to be competing clean if nobody else was clean, that would just be ignorant.

[@henryberendt955]

I always remember an interview of Indurain early in his career where that interviewer asked "How have you be able to improve your climbing so much?" Indurain replied " I have been work closely with Michele Ferrari and improved my climbing." (it may have been Francesco Conconi ) I have never been able to find that interview.

[@nishiki7047]

Such a big guy riding up mountains with such ease , those energy bars must’ve been amazing….

[@YlL-ji2sl]

His lungs have a capacity of 8 litres. The average human has 6. His heart rate is 28. Most people would be clinically dead. So he had some physical advantages over others but i'm sure he was on juice anyways.

[@aceventuraaceventura2003]

@@YlL-ji2sl Miguel Indurain was the last greatest cyclist of the era. Why is this coming out now? I have no clue.

[@gilean6179]

@@YlL-ji2sl and they say his femur was far bigger than everyone, but he was just as juiced probably as everyone from that era.

[@backalleycqc4790]

It's the raisins...

[@bimfred]

@@backalleycqc4790😂

[@savagepro9060]

A true gentleman who doped with manners. The opposite of Lance Armstrong, a dope and a brutal mafia!

[@strongcloud28]

personality differences aside, both doped....

[@savagepro9060]

@@strongcloud28 common knowledge

[@larrydaniels6532]

And Lance was a truly gifted bicycle racer! Seven tour wins,it will never happen again! Just remember the riders that were given the various tour wins ( after stealing them from Armstrong) were dopers, too!

[@savagepro9060]

@@larrydaniels6532 If he was truly 'gifted' why did he take the drugs? 🤣😂😅🤣😂

[@larrydaniels6532]

@@savagepro9060 Why questions can usually never be fully answered, even by the individual to whom you refer.

[@errcoche]

It's such a complex issue because you get the feeling that Indurain really was the best cyclist of his generation and all of the top guys were on something. With Lance, the sin was greed and also being a horse's arse of a guy and maybe taking it to a new level of egregiousness in terms of elevating himself to a place he would never have had in the perfect world of no doping. I have to say that I could totally believe Greg Lemond was clean. Either that or an incredible hypocrite.

[@peterwest5525]

Armstrong was a gangster who threatened, intimidated and blackmailed. That is what set him apart from the other dopers.

[@errcoche]

@@peterwest5525 He also carried on for so much longer. He went to Tour after Tour with the same impossible form, never a bad day. A smarter guy would have lost one every now and then.

[@peterstricker158]

Well said!

[@larrydaniels6532]

@@peterwest5525 And also what set him apart was that he won 7 tours in a row, against a field that WAS also doping!

[@larrydaniels6532]

​@@errcoche Moron, doping alone doesn't guarantee a tour victory. Lance was the best by far in a field of dopers, he didn't create the system, he didn't benefit any more than anyone else doing ILLEGAL blood doping, he felt far more wrath than any public figure for doing the same as MOST other pro cyclists.

[@newsbuster292]

Indurain was my childhood hero in cycling. Still the most impressive, but as a kid impressions are experienced differently, more vivid, then when you grow older and have seen it all. Anyways, he had something majestic and untouchable, sitting on the front rows of the peleton, usually in the yellow jersey (I watched TdF mainly in those days). I will never forget a TT in Luxemburg when he obliterated the competition with 3 minutes on the number 2 or something. I had a yellow t-shirt with his portrait and name on it, and wore it proudly in those days.

[@gilean6179]

we had posters of him in my bedroom in my childhood days...nostalgia.

[@peteo3436]

100% I really identified with big mig.

[@machanrahan1074]

He had and still has Class. I was in France throughout his career, cycling myself. The French media didn't like him because he kept winning the Tour and didn't speak French well enough to give interviews. Plus the French didn't think he showed enough panache. For myself, I think on the TTs, in particular, he was the image of poetry on a bike. Doped or not he would have won. He still is a God ! Indurain was definitely a Gentleman, throughout his career. When Delgado won in '87/'88 he was miles up the road and stopped and waited for Delgado to pull him over the climbs. OK he was employed as a Domestique, but when you see the in-fighting today in teams ... If he hadn't waited the French commentators thought that he could have won his first Tour 1 year earlier. I remember also him working with a Frenchman (Luc Leblanc?) up a col then letting him take the stage at the top. Another thought: "Pro" cycling has the word "pro" which means money! which means it's a "job" which means it's no longer real "sport" -BUT that doesn't take away the spectacle and beauty of the Tour!

[@renatab8293]

Have you ever wondered why performance-enhancing drugs are illegal? It is not just because they give you an unfair advantage - if that were the entire story then, what is the problem if everyone is taking them? It is because PEDs do enormous and even still-undocumented harm to your health and these athletes are role models - young amateurs and children copy them. The are literally stars of children's television. My friend's daughter is a promising cyclist and is doing PEDs at 15! It is the health of our most talented children (including the young Indurain). The cyclists doping are not the villains, they are the victims, the guinea pigs. The villains are the team sponsors and directors.

[@julesvanels6116]

Pretty common after the Era of Hinault and a bit Fignon, the French have no winner. Pinot is good climber , but has a lot of bad luck. Same here in Holland, Dumoulin doesn't deliver anymore, Gesink is to old. Also Mollema is to old. Vd Poel is great cycler and a winner. It is no climber. I'am lookin forward to this years tour de France. See of Bernal has recovered. Haven't not much about Froome this year. Is he still cycling

[@danielhertercasagrande1686]

Completely agree on road world championships he was also loyal to Abraham Olano imagine Hinault in the same situation or Armstrong- Indurain is a gentleman not only by pedaling

[@williamshultz4620]

I can believe a 27 year old to be clean that came to prominence and win 5 in a row after showing some potential in previous years better than I can a guy that was also 27 and was basically out for 3 years because of life threatening cancer and wasn't thought of as a contentender when they last raced, and then go on to win 7 in a row.

[@stevenwebb9861]

I saw each of his 5 tour wins and to me he was by far the best of his generation.

[@peterk9243]

I love these stories. But, you need to do Laurent Jalabert at some point in time. The man has been winner of green, and polka dot in the Tour - and was contender for yellow at some point. And, none of that on bread and water of course. Look up what Pot Belge is - I am sure you can have some fun with that :)

[@noobimax]

And he tested positive for EPO… and kept his job as a commentator for French TV. Unbelievable

[@roma1579]

You love those stories !! So you really have nothing to do in your life.. Those who critisize usually have done nothing in there life.. Who the fuck are you ??! 😁

[@nickvledder]

Tom Boonen makes me curious too 😇.

[@deathkampdrone]

@@noobimax What does that have to do with anything? The guy has completed 15 grand tours in his career, he probably knows a lot about cycling. Stop crying.

[@tobiasdencker853]

Many ex riders who doped are commentating like rolf sørensen ​@@noobimax

[@pichihimunoz2891]

That interviewer has guts to calling Indurain doped in his face

[@stevegandalf4739]

Indurain never hot and angry, unlike Armstrong. He always kept calm and never took revenge on his critics. The interviewer, like everyone else in the cycling media at the time knew thus.

[@espada9]

Unlike some of the other cheats, Miguel didn't just come out of nowhere, he was a prodigy at a young age showing promise even as an amateur and his rise wasn't some fluke, he was posting impressive results in his early 20s. But knowing how compromised his opponents were I'm sure he did at some time used PEDs.

[@al4ever349]

Another thing, Big Mig was racing all three big until the end of his career.

[@luatala8008]

Yep Lance was just a useful sprinter at best. No one thought he was a future tdf winner. That’s how I knew he must be cheating when he won his first tdf.

[@xosece]

one of my childhood heroes. I didn't know back then but it was my favourite cyclist and doping back then didn't seem to be a thing. It actually was, and he was probably doped, but he was still an amazing athlete

[@Kanonka28]

Big Mig never doped, was clean till the end of his career

[@DG-EditsYT]

😂

[@mrajal8490]

You mean never got caught

[@kasperrieberg3495]

Great joke 😂🤡

[@Gabriel-zy7it]

This channel is gold

[@blindauditionguy6532]

The question is.. doped only for french people? Footage with Lance tells everything

[@ratadebiblio]

A true gentleman and a true doped

[@ian.piepenbrock]

I remember this story about the Banesto team having get out of bed during the hours of the night in which the human heartbeat is typically at its lowest. They had to sit on hometrainers to keep the circulation going.

[@gilean6179]

yep i knew that story too...they freak out in the middle of the night afraid of suffering a stroke. LOL

[@DG-EditsYT]

This happened with other pro teams i heard these stories

[@englishteacherdon]

There was something suspicious going on when he averaged 6.4 watts per a kilogram on La Plagne in 1995. All the riders from that era tell us it was impossible to win without doping. I believe them. We need to remember that the pros did monkey around with less effective performance enhancers that had minimal impact on performance before 1991. However, in 1991 EPO and the blood doping products entered the sport and we have not had any legitimate records since. The performances historically were on par with each other before 1991. After 1991 the blood doping products were so effective that the riders basically became extraterrestrial.

[@gerardvdelshout]

Steven Rooks on Dutch tv said he used EPO in the 80’s. It was medically around since the early 80’s, besides blood transfusions were even earlier, this type of doping is a game changer to an extend noone for the last 40 possibly 50 years won without blood doping and other crap.

[@englishteacherdon]

@@gerardvdelshout Yes, but by 1991 they got really proficient at it. There was still a lot of trial and error in the 1980's.

[@djevelkjokken204]

Amgen invented EPO, got FDA approval in 1989, so no, it wasn't around in the early 90s.​@@gerardvdelshout

[@Gary-le7dz]

Epo came in in 83 …. Lemond hinault fignon delgardo era all , fignon delgardo got caught , hinault missed 3 drug tests abs was banned lemond like indurain was never caught

[@englishteacherdon]

What are your sources? Have you looked at the math? @@Gary-le7dz

[@carstenweiland7896]

They almost all were and they almost all still do it in a limited and controlled way and I am not talking about Ketones. Wattage output sank immediately after doping checks got better and more defined. Do not cheat yourself.

[@facediaper09]

Ayyyyyeee love this channel.

[@tonycrabtree3416]

LOVE IT! "and coincidentally 40% of high level athletes"

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

So fun to watch this decades after and how totally ridiculous MI's time trial set-up was: 24-inch front wheel but the stem and aero bar raised so high that they were almost level with the saddle, completely negating the effect of the smaller front wheel.

[@pedrolahoz]

Elegant, respectful, prudent, opposite Armstrong…

[@falcon697]

Let's say it this way: he was the best cyclist under the doped cycling pack. Who are we to blame him for this.

[@lwizzard8742]

Btw, athletes often get exercise induced asthma. It's the the high level sport and the stress on their respiratory system that causes the asthma. So it's not a coincidence

[@edwardairesii5729]

Always love your videos.

[@JuanDiegoPinillos]

Induraín, Armstrong, Froome, Pantani, Contador, Pogaçar... all of them are running with special gasoline, Pogaçar being the latest example

[@paddydunne774]

I wasn’t really into road cycling at that time I was curious to see Kelly at the Nissan Classic around 85/86 time, and love that hometown winner vibe that you get to experience in any sport. I just happened to get weekended in Irun one time and used to ride mtbs with the office crew from the customs clearance agences we used at thé TIR Terminal and we rode over to watch a big road race. Donastia-Donastia Klasikoa. Now bear in mind there still car bombs going off at that time on a regular basis and the friction at the border between the French and Spanish was real. So to see the rise of Indurain and the adulation he received locally and then a few years later when he won the Prologue in San Sebastián was huge. It fuelled that rivalry between the two countries not just on a sporting level but politically to. I saw it more through the eyes of what the guys from the area we’re seeing it. They would refute any allegations of dopage with a Basque shrug and say the French had it in for Big Mig. All I noted was in the two years from him winning SS he’d changed completely as a rider. But I always viewed road racing as an outsider. I still do. I couldn’t give a Fck if he did or he didn’t dope. I just find it interesting how some are perceived as one thing and others are seen as just plain arses. I’ll give Kelly a pass every time for any indiscretions just for the fact he let us out into the traffic stream in the Pyrenees one time. I’m pretty sure if Indurain was my local guy, we’d all do the same. It’s in the past, let sleeping dogs lie. Unless it’s Klaus Barby, what good will it do now?

[@greghall7887]

Or Klaus Schwab!

[@FreeMTrider]

I do give a Fck that EPO came into cycling. It changed everything and not everyone was doing it when Indurain hooked up with the docs. LeMond won the two previous tours in '89 & '90. His most recent in depth interview tells how things changed that very next season in '91. Riders who were finishing 20-40 places back were now going faster than him. Their TTs were faster. Climbing with the best climbers. Indurain was a fantastic cyclist and his physiology is great, but he was not going to win the tour against LeMond if he was clean. He could finish in the top ten, but would be several minutes off of the podium, not seconds. That's the difference.

[@spanishlefty]

Actual cycling fans in Spain also think he doped. Because all cyclists doped (and dope). The thing is to what extent... There is a lost interview of Indurain with Jose María García (late night sport radio interviewer here in Spain) where he asked him... "how can you win a Tour de France without an extra?" And he replied... "well, I don't only eat spaghetti...".

[@2wheelsrbest327]

Great story. And there's me thinking it was because he had great lung capacity. What annoys me is that LA was rightly vilified for his misdemeanours but so many others have got away with it. Have we ever been told what was in the Jiffy bag! . Read the Paul Kimmage book Ride to get a real understanding of who was doping in that era but go away with it.

[@oommcc]

You are easily convinced by this cheap video that probes nothing at all. In fact, it probes that he didnt cheat

[@nishiki7047]

You believe everything Kimmage says ? Who cares about the Jiffy bag..

[@2wheelsrbest327]

@@nishiki7047 Believe Kimmage yes I do and si ce then others involved jn the sport have written books o the same theme as he's. And yes the Jiffy bag does matter because knowing what was in it would either confirm or refute what many of us think.

[@outspokenwitness8744]

@@oommcc Another fan boi in denial You guys were hilarious defending LA when everyone else knew he was doping.

[@oommcc]

@@outspokenwitness8744 Another boy with no intelect who cannnot understand the difference between LA and Indurain. I will school you, its simple: LA doping is proven, Indurain is not. We are all innocent until proven guilty. Its extremely simple. Good luck! :)

[@marcomaggi-o5i]

I can't imagine that he didn't dope. The Banesto team was a high speed train, setting paces, at the time, that were crazy. But it was an era where many doped. That said, Indurain was a hell of a champion. The best time trialist I ever saw. He won 2 Giro d'italia, and only 4 stages, all 4 being the time trials.

[@AM1780]

It’s more probable than not that there has never been a truly clean Tour winner

[@mariamedeira5729]

INEOS DOPING TEAM👏👏👏👏👏

[@arsenalrocka16]

as someone with asthma who uses an inhaler while running, i do wonder how much benefit athletes and cyclists can get from salbutamol. in addition what kind of dosage they take in comparison to the lay person (even jurgen klopp's liverpool team have a very high percentage of asthma sufferers)..

[@gilean6179]

read the books. it is EPO that truly changed everything when it came. Every rider since the beginning boasted of some concoction of leaves and what not from his hometown; they probably thought it made them superman but that was just placebo effect. ALL changed when Poe came.

[@arsenalrocka16]

@@gilean6179 fair enough, i was wondering specifically about salbutamol/asthma inhalers, but would like to read more on the subject in general.. my dad has a copy of 'from lance to landis' by david walsh - so may start there.

[@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe]

The Classiest of the doping legions.

[@Crooked_Clown]

The 1990's was infected with EPO. Seriously doubt he was clean. Like Greg LeMond once said, it doesn't matter in how good of a shape a rider is, he'll never beat other riders that are on EPO

[@TheHaining]

You have yet to post something on Sean Kelly or Stephen Roche - wonder why.

[@skillzlotus6030]

Leave Lance alone... all the riders in the top 10 of each of the Tours that he won were caught doping. Lance beat them all in the most spectacular ways I've ever seen. I still rewatch Lance's Tours to this day. I agree with one of the other commenters, Big Mig's Tours were as boring as heck!

[@drunkensailor112]

So much horse shit. Zulle finished 2nd in the tour of 99 being clean. They showed all the tests from that year. Only us postal and Castelblanco where on epo. Also in 2000 Christophe moreau finished 4th while being clean as can be. It's the reason vaughters left us epostal once he found out you could be a good cyclist clean post 96

[@skillzlotus6030]

@@drunkensailor112 I appreciate your opinion. I really do. Hopefully the spectacular displays we are seeing during this Tour are clean because boy! Theyve been great! This is the kind of racing I like. The yellow jersey fighting his rival on every stage. I felt like thats what I got during the Lace years. Exciting racing. Ive never seen anything like this year. GC Yellow Jersey contesting sprint stage wins! That's awesome... or is it?

[@drunkensailor112]

@@skillzlotus6030 yes I agree. Recent cycling has been amazing!! Also vingegaards time yesterday was 2 minutes slower than 75 kg riis on aluminium bike in 1996. As a general rule. If the altitude riders from colombia and Ecuador riders disappear like they did in the epo 90s and early 2000s. Something is wrong again

[@skillzlotus6030]

@@drunkensailor112 LoL good point. You got me on that one. I hope it's on the up and up. Yesterday's stage was another one for the books. Top 2 riders dueling it out to the very end! Awesome! Nevermind the support the Green Jersey gave the Yellow Jersey up the mountain. The White Jersey is second in the Green Jersey and Yellow Jersey competition. What a great race it's been. Just the kind of Tour I love.

[@yogibarista2818]

The facts are that Salbutamol is perfectly legal with a TUE, and it's not been shown to improve lung function for non asthmatic patients. Basically, if you are asthmatic you can get a TUE to use it, and if you are not asthmatic you are wasting your time using it.

[@Tommy31416]

Ya, and 40% of the pro peloton are asthmatic then? Have you ever seen someone having an asthma attack? Not exactly ideal genes for climbing high mountains. Every pro cyclist since the beginning of the sport and still now has and are doped to the eyeballs. The only difference is that some are scapegoated(Armstrong, Pantani) while others are venerated (Simpson, Merckx). Cycling should be enjoyed for what it is, without the pathetic puritanical facade regarding doping.

[@asnark7115]

Not really. It still has thermogenic properties, and he was never shown to have "needed" it. At most, he probably got the standard bronchitis that all riders show due to the stress of riding at altitude in stage races. I seriously doubt he ever needed an inhaler to achieve full tidal capacity before his Tours or after his retirement.

[@pavlos..]

The Froome defence

[@benbryson6598]

Those are, "steroids don't improve performance" "facts" I heard idiot fans and even doctors say for 30 years

[@whenvioletsturngrey9597]

These top level athletes are going to take any advantage they can. It’s up to the doctors & the governing cycling bodies catch them. Look at the time trials of today. They are riding faster than ever. Yet, the cycling public are pushing for the idea of a “clean sport”. It’ll never be clean. It never was clean.

[@THE_HMRC]

Indurain tested positive for a drug ALLOWED at that time with doctor's orders. He was tested over and over during the height of his career 1991-95, and this one incident is found?? I may be biased because back then I was a HUGE Indurain fan (time trials was my specialty and I thought he was the best in the world during his height...and one of the best ever to ride 'the race of truth'), but one time cannot be compared to the multiple times the other great cyclists who've tested positive. In my humble opinion, Indurain and LaMond were the cleanest riders during that era...BTW, I tend to not believe that Big Mig was a doper the same reason I do not believe that Usain Bolt in track and field was not a doper: Their physical bodies were just....larger and stronger and faster than the others....anomalies of nature. They were just blessed with bodies that gave them advantage over the competition.

[@cobbiepalm6790]

I do not wonder anymore “if” riders doped in 90’s. To win the stage races back then there was no other way.

[@peterenevoldsen7199]

And it’s exactly the same today.

[@latte6878]

@@peterenevoldsen7199 Not really. The average speed during the big races and famous climbs has significantly slowed down since around 2009.

[@simonworsley8631]

@@latte6878 I don’t think it has, where is your evidence of that. It may have cleaned up a bit since then though, I think the technology is also a reason for higher speeds

[@cyclingstories]

That's not true. Last París Roubaix and another races in the last years were fastest ever

[@paddyotoole2058]

@@cyclingstories This year’s Giro currently underway is looking pretty speedy also.

[@julesvanels6116]

1988 when Delgado won the tour that was also not clean. It was almost that the runner up, Steven Rooks became winner.

[@chrrev1]

It's a non issue since they're all doped. Indurain was still the vest of the lot, and by a wide margin.

[@Ed-ip2sg]

I think it’s pretty well known that Indurain had a very high V02 and what I’ve heard referred to as oversized lungs. Not sure about cheating. Don’t think he had to.

[@cyclingstories]

Also Lemond, Bernal, Gaudu Best of Indurain was his heart rate

[@antsmands]

I heard Indurain's VO2 was 88.3!

[@Ed-ip2sg]

Like all things in cycling, controversial.

[@TwentyTwenty90]

He was a Conconi client. It's effectively an open-shut case.

[@dirkusmaximus9268]

And he stopped at the moment that he realised that doping had taken over doping…

[@DicconHill]

Best cyclist of his generation. ❤

[@Servicevelo]

He was 78 kg at his lightest, he could torture 56kg climbers in the mountains. He could kill off a rider like Marco Pantani (22kg lighter) with no real stress. Climbing is physics. I refer you to Johan Bryneel, during his break with Indurain into Liege he described it as “being behind a motorcycle”.

[@gsipp00]

Dude slow down love your videos but you're gonna burn yourself out or run out of content...too a week is a good pace..

[@edwardojg]

There's loads of cycling content he could go way back to the 50s and 60s There's loads of good stories from that era gemanani would be good he ran his own team St Raphael gemanani after retiring and There's loads of good stories about him hugo koblet would be another great feature anquetil would be another great one the story with him and Rudy altig competing in a two man event where he had to push anquetil for 10 laps as well as do his own turns lol

[@PInk77W1]

Did they take Miguel’s yellow jerseys like they did Lance

The whole world is a stage, including top sport. Luckily today's cyclists are free from doping, but ride even faster than Indurain and Armstrong because of improved equipment and better food. Yeah sure.

[@Ivanovic82]

Indurain is an absolute legend

[@coreplay5251]

I didn't know he was positive Spaniards put a curtain up the case as usual like with Delgado or Nadal

[@tasty_fish]

Spanish were doing wonders in all sports, I wonder if they all had the same doctor, cough Eufemiano Fuentes, cough

[@stevesastrohowardkings2245]

Next is changing DNA

[@Caminovic]

Can anyone tell me exactly when does Miguel Indurain became considered a doped cyclist in France? He was awarded with the Légion d'Honneur, how come someone under suspect could be awarded with the highest recognition in France? Title is pure clickbait to be soft.

[@petem5050]

The look on his face at 7:32 when the interviewer even mentions doping tells it all...guilty.

[@julesvanels6116]

Gert Jan Theunissen was sanctioned that tour 10 minutes penalty. 1989 he ende up 4th an first an the jersey of the mountains

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

Loved him.

[@bertieschoice216]

I understand some people's suggestion that it was suspicious for a big guy like Indurain to be so good in the mountains, but I disagree. I remember that era well and the big change came after that. Indurain was a good climber, but it was far from his forte. His tactic was to gain as much time as possible in the time trail and try to defend it in the mountains as best he could. What came after that was unbelivable to me as a keen cycling fan. Armstrong, Froome and a couple of the current lads are superhuman compared to Indurain. They win the time trials, they dominate in the mountains, they can do it all, to a much greater extent that Indurain. I realise he also had a few epic performances in the mountains over the years, but they were the exception. Two more points: the idea that the fact he came 3rd in the Giro somehow proves or strongly suggests doping is prettty weak. Also, if salbutemol is allowed but frowned upon, a positive result is not doping.

[@DarrylHart]

Big Mig was a monster, by far the best rider in the peleton. He saw others around him doping which basically left him with little choice and honestly? I don't blame him.

[@albert593]

UCI the most shameful organization 😪📌

[@EMC2Scotia]

You get the sense the public in Spain know, but also understand and accept that it was necessary. And perhaps still is. So Indurain and others can live ''ín tranquility' on this issue. In a similar way a rider like Chaippucci can play the role of retired champion, spouting his memories, doing bike tours and so on. Who are the fools, them or us?

[@larrydaniels6532]

It is refreshing to know of adult-like reactions to doping accusations. The fervor that Lance received was to be expected in the USA, a land of truly, truly hypocritical morons.

[@simonalexandercritchley439]

If you wanted to win you doped ,the level varied however.Miguel was a gentleman on and off the bike and a real sportsman and had a legitamate reason for using an inhaler. As an asma sufferer myself I understand this. What is not known is what else he took,until proven the jury is out.

[@lesliereissner4711]

Indurain had a TUE for salbutamol, as required by the rules of the UCI, and the problem seems to stem from situations where, as in Froome's case, the level of the drug is far higher than allowed. Indurain was a very talented athlete, with one of the highest V02 maxes recorded and a ridiculously low heart rate, so it was never a case of turning a donkey into a racehorse through drugs. He was well-liked in the peloton because he was willing to work with others and share the glory. Everyone from that era is suspected but suspicion is not really enough to convict.

[@danielhertercasagrande1686]

Nothing new, the term a doped pro rider is according Dr De Mondenard (former TdF Doctor) a pleonasm. At Indurains time being pro meant also being doped

[@larrydaniels6532]

And many of the pro field before him and many of the pro field after him were also doping. Why do we want to castigate the individual, when in fact they are a product of THE SYSTEM? If one can think of being a first-time rider in the tour and you go to the team DR.and he "prescribes" whatever, do you have any power over the system as rider that just got his first big break?

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

we need a strong definition of doping here... to my mind there's legal doping and illegal doping, and sometimes the line between them is quite thin. I think that the media in the late 90s took these issues to an absurdly over the top point, mixed up everything and turned things into a moral question when sometimes didn't have to do with that. So many people started to believe that all cyclists were and still are cheaters.

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

@@larrydaniels6532 you're right, many riders took what their team directors and doctors gave them without knowing if it was legal or not... because there were, and still are, a list of allowed substances. But people think that you're just allowed, in order to ride 200km a day, to eat lots of spaguetti and that's it... the problem here is many people not knowing how tough is this sport, what are the regulations and how cyclists train and keep in shape, etc. this is probably the toughest sport in the world but there's a bad adjustment between what many people and media expects and what cycling it really is

[@gainknowledgeandinsight]

Give Lance back his 7 TDF where he whooped the arses of everyone - 7 times in a row!!

[@NightShooter87]

Think I'll be buying a few boxes of his energy bars. I think big Mig is as clean as the gentleman from Kenya/SA/UK

[@bobdrooples]

Ever seen someone with childhood asthma as an adult in the pool? They bob due to increased lung capacity

[@TwoWheelWarrior]

Way to go buddy!

[@tasty_fish]

The ‘Indurain years’ were the dullest in cycling history. Follow, limit losses in the mountains, destroy in the TT. Zzzz

[@pavlos..]

The Sky years were by far the worst

[@michaellandman8419]

Were there's big money to earn in sports there's doping. Bitter truth, but it's not sports it's entertainment...

[@DanArnets1492]

For me, the biggest telltale of proper doping is how well/poorly cyclists age and Miguel Indurain looks nowadays exactly like a man his age looks - Riis, Virenque, Ulrich, Armstrong and many more all look way older than they should be, Pantani, Xaba and others died... and then some are exactly their age, meaning either they never doped, did it briefly or were micro-dosing at most... which is clean enough in my book considering the health crimes committed by so many. Bahamontes didn't die at 98 by having been high as a fucking kite back in the day, that's for sure. Merckx looks like a 78-year-old Belgian to me. Francesco Moser, Greg Lemond, Stephen Roche, Pedro Delgado and a few others are all alright in my book as well.

[@Gary-le7dz]

Lemond looked very old even at 40 so can’t see the logic

[@DanArnets1492]

@@Gary-le7dz - WTF you mean? Lemond is 60+ now and he looks like any random 60-year-old 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Gary-le7dz]

Lemond looks very old even for 63 , he looked very old at 40 ….. like fignon hinault he was a doper as was delgardo , delgardo got caught lemond never

[@DanArnets1492]

@@Gary-le7dz - They were all on something, NOBODY was 100% clean but just by how they're aging you can see who was micro-dosing and did it for only a few years and who was out of their fucking minds

[@JmanB71]

Riis has always looked old😅

[@timw4369]

The guy was a doper he became a climber when he never was a good climber. These ridiculous improvements in performance don't come naturally.

[@larrydaniels6532]

Every rider in the world starts out as not being a very good climber, in order for ANY CYCLIST to become a better climber they must blood dope, then they become really good climbers, according to your faulty logic! Or maybe, every cyclist in the world starts out as not being a very good climber, and the champions know that they must put in the work in order to become BETTER climbers! Tim W. I would ask you to think before making comments, but I'm sure you're incapable of that activity!

[@billybobd]

It was a contest between 3 teams that had the best quacks.

[@glywnniswells9480]

I think Mig was actually the best he really had giant lungs and heart

[@gilean6179]

EPO is like the tide, it raises all boats.

[@Sills71]

Indurain rode the last steel bike to win the TdF. Made by Dario Pegoretti. At least the bike was legit.

[@jayhoughton4174]

It’s so easy to cast aspersions these days.

[@mariomarjan]

The Best ever and FOREVER!

[@dcfunhouse]

if lemond says he cheated, he cheated.

[@timmyers9825]

I think the same thing I think about Lance,everyone was doping and each one of these riders won.You can take away awards,titles, Tour De France victories, etc.but that does not change the facts,which is,they won,they won!?

[@SusanCorrigan]

The more you win the more some people hate you. I think those who feel the need to try to smash icons should ask themselves why they do it, other than to make a living, of course. Mig was the greatest cyclist of his era and a universally respected man. If this is the worst mud you can find to sling at him then it isn't very interesting.

[@anthonypeterson428]

I realized that Armstrong was doping when Ulrich was caught for doping. There is no way you can beat a world class doping cyclist unless you are doping yourself which Indurain was definitely doing. It would be interesting to note the watts per kg for Indurain. That's also a key indicator.

[@treygray2817]

They're mutant. Higher than Armstrong.

[@Gary-le7dz]

In that case lemond was doping as he beat convicted dopers fignon delgardo and hinault

[@bingbong7316]

I think he was comparatively clean; he did, it was reported, have the freak advantage of twice the average lung capacity of us normal people. Like an engine with a supercharger.

[@tommasoboccellari270]

Anybody still thinks that there is some clean cyclist? Cleaness of cyclists make sense only in relative sense.

[@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed]

I was the first Person to say cycling training books are wrong ..

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

The one that stood out like a sore thumb was Armstrong. Before his cancer, he was average to good. After, He went thru the roof. So plain to see. I really don't give a Rats ass about minor doping, but Armstrong could of slept in every day and still won those Tours. Worst cheat in sporting history and deserved what he got.👎

[@larrydaniels6532]

You're being silly, childish, and wrong! Guess what Lance Armstrong did not invent blood doping, another fact, genius, is that the MAJORITY of riders were doping, the year Lance was caught, the field that raced the "tour" were subsequently also found to test positive in the remainder of that year's race schedule to the tune of 80%. The tour is not won simply by being a blood doper, if that were the case, then according to you, all of the vastly superior riders to Armstrong (who were also doping) would have no trouble winning in any of the seven tours, but NO ONE did. Because Lance was a true champion, he was so much better than any other rider, that when you say average to good, it shows how little you know about the sport! Winning the tour seven consecutive times is an amazing feat that probably will never happen again. The riders that were given the wins when Lance was stripped of his titles were doping, too!. Winning a tour is an incredible feat, it takes a huge amount of money to put together a top team, this is a major factor, do you understand this is a TEAM sport. To get the top time trialists, the best domistiques, the best support team, all of it! But it goes much further, the winner is usually the best bike rider! The rider that knows exactly when to jump on the climb so as to demoralize the other climbers, this is something not everybody can do. Lance could climb better than any of the so-called climbing specialists of his era. But then ,Lance was also the best time trialist of his era, as well! Two rarely seen attributes in a single rider. And he was THE best bike rider as well, this is the ability to ride and do as little damage to the bike, to avoid flats and not destroy shifting and keep the chain in motion! A very over-looked component of winning, and doping does not affect any part of being the best bike RIDER in the tour. I hope you feel as stupid in making stupid remarks about a great champion as you should!

[@firstnamelastname9842]

Hampsten raced on Indurain's team and gave an account of a shouting match where they threatened him if he didn't fall in line and dope.

[@markfellows2268]

Paniagua? Probably not, but of a generation I think they were all at it, whether it was disclosed or not. I love your brutally candid videos though.

[@aceventuraaceventura2003]

At those performance levels, I don't think you can compete without some form of artificial enhancement. If you're going to nickle and dime Miguel Indurain, we can also say that coffee or caffeine is also a form of performance enhancement.

[@johnpontes812]

Indurain is the biggest engine ever he had a natural talent he was no more doped than the guys he defeated.

[@ahnnahargrove1354]

Finally....

[@duncanmacphee200]

I have no doubt he took PEDs, but I also have no doubt that every top athlete in every sport takes PEDs. The problem that cycling and athletics have is that there's a lot more money on football, tennis, basketball etc, so everyone from the athletes to the journalists don't want to upset the gravy train. No-one ever talks about the Juventus EPO scandal, or mentions the sports people involved in Operacion Puerto, other than the cyclists (at the time, Nadal was dominating the tennis world - when he wasn't having 'operations' and Spanish football ruled the world).

[@Gary-le7dz]

Agree money now though for top cyclists is huge …. Pogicar £8 million plus , golf football basketball is where the money is look at the top paid sportsman nearly all from those sports

[@BillyBob-yb5ht]

Fantastic post. The hypocrisy is amazing considering how Armstrong was pursued in subsequent years.

[@jds6206]

@1:26, Eddie Merckx.....was a doper, too. And so was Indurain....Miguel was deep into the doping, just as much as "LA", et al. "Big Mig" just wasn't exposed like the others were. There should be a "Doping Period" defined, in years, where most of this stuff took place. Their palmares should be viewed in the "doped" context.

[@fredpearson5204]

Since doping controls seem ineffective, to put athletes on an even footing, it seems the only solution is let everyone dope and let the chips fall where they may.

[@gilean6179]

yep they should just allow it full doping....then at least we dont have to think, test or debate about it.

[@royevans1882]

Salbutamol does not offer any advantage to a healthy athlete whatsoever which is why the UCI removed the need for a TUE. This video is not factual and potentially libellous.

[@renatab8293]

It is allowed without a TUE only if levels fall below 1000 ng/ml. WADA classifies it as a "threshold drug". WADA, the world's leading experts in performance-enhancing drugs, has stated that Salbutamol can be performance-enhancing, so I do not understand why it would be non-factual or potentially libelous to have an opinion in line with them. See also the paper by Dr. James Hull of Oct. 2018 (published in the Lancet).

[@djoooop]

I mostly remember how boring the TDF became 91-95. Cycling pre-epo was far more entertaining.

[@andrevieira88]

Francesco Conconi was Banesto`s and Miguel Doctor. Enough said.

[@philipbrowne7620]

Can you cover NBA, baseball and boxing at some point? LOL

[@sortehuse]

Most top cyclist from that era was probably doped. I will presume innocence until proven guilty for any individual rider, but if there is stored doing test samples from Indurain I think they should be retested using modern methods.

[@davidellis5135]

It was a pity the sport was so blighted by drug cheats, it really damaged the sports image, but it's come along way , hopefully apart from the odd misdamina , those days are long gone.

[@glywnniswells9480]

Big Mig deserves his wins thats all as it seems even pack filler ridrrs were doped.