Le Haye- The epo circulated among the most cunning of the peleton already in the late 80’s. The evidence of this is the confession of the ex dutch rider Steven Rooks, winner of the polka dot jersey as best climber in the Tour de France 1988. In a book with the title “The last yellow” written by dutch journalist Mart Smeets and published this week, Rooks admits “Yes I took the epo. It was necessary to arrive among the top riders.” He admits to using it in 1988 in which he won the stage of the Alpe d’Huez at the tour, and he placed second in the general classification behind Pedro Delgado. In the same book, two other Dutch riders of that time, Gert Jakobs and Matthieu Hermans, also admitted to the use of epo.
It is hard to imagine cycling competion where there is a level playing field even today. And could it be that Greg Lemonde was clean and won against riders with epo edge?
It is hard to imagine cycling competion where there is a level playing field even today. And could it be that Greg Lemonde was clean and won against riders with epo edge?