So, is it possible to complete the TdF without doping and/or taking PEDs?
From what I've read there have been reports of people taking PEDs for a couple of decades... maybe even around the 20-30's?
[/SUP]wikipedia said:Allegations of doping have plagued the Tour almost since 1903. Early riders consumed alcohol and used ether, to dull the pain. Over the years they began to increase performance and the Union Cycliste Internationale and governments enacted policies to combat the practice.
In 1924, Henri Pélissier and his brother Charles told the journalist Albert Londres they used strychnine, cocaine, chloroform, aspirin, "horse ointment" and other drugs.[SUP][161][/SUP] The story was published in Le Petit Parisien under the title Les Forçats de la Route ('The Convicts of the Road')[SUP][28][/SUP][SUP][162][/SUP][SUP][163][/SUP][SUP][164]
In the 70's Merckx was positive for a few stimulants and once said
"That, I can't deny. I was positive along with around 15 others. I was wrong to trust a doctor."
In the 1990s, he became a friend of Lance Armstrong, and supported him when Armstrong was accused of drug use, stating he rather "believed what Lance told him than what appeared in newspapers". Dr. Michele Ferrari claimed that Merckx introduced him to Armstrong in 1995
A few years ago Contador tested positive for Clen. Clen is just a B-adrenergic agonist which can be used to increase the power/weight ratio but guys like me who have asthma have a heard time cycling. Without being able to use Bronkaid I'd probably only be able to cycle a good 30-40 minutes.