Dead Star said:
thanks a lot for that link mate. It really is enlightening stuff, and I'd recommend everyone to have a look at the posts of the said members on there.
i thought this just about says it all about a lot of cycling veterans. we only ever heard about hinault/merckx/indurain. guys who won the tour. then of course, there's people who were nearly there, but never did quite make it (From that link):
I have a number of contacts in the pro scene - both in the media and actual cyclists.
You're well aware that EPO was PED of choice in the early 1990's in the pro scene.
EPO was very prominently used in Italy.
Pantani's case is well known.
Less well known is the case of Gianni Bugno.
You may have heard of him - twice world champion,
TDF runnerup to Indurain - podium placed TDF cyclist
and Giro winner.
Bugno used EPO extensively during his career.
So much so that since retiring, Gianni has had a few scares.
Too much EPO usage can turn your blood to treacle
which - as you well know - can be fatal.
My media colleague is a good friend of Gianni's and he tells me that Bugno has been rushed to hospital several times with suspected heartattacks/strokes.
Gianni has been forced to wear a contraption which measures his blood pressure and other vital signs, when he goes to bed at night.
If the vital signs start to stray in to dangerous territory, Gianni is automatically awoken by a loud clarion call, and has to take orally an antidote to make sure that his BP and other vital signs return to normal.
Bugno has told my friend that this will be the case for the rest of his days - and that he is required to go for a full ECT scan every three months to monitor his circulation and his general well being.
All because of repeated EPO usage.
Gianni admitted to my friend that he would now trade all those fleeting moments of glory to have his health back.
He also suffers from crippling depression and said that
once the fanfare died away - that he alone is left to pick up the pieces.
Gianni has never settled down with a woman (even though he's a good looking fellow with plenty of female admirers) because he is not prepared to have children given what he has ingested over the years
Yes, I have heard more or the same thing that you have posted here, Dead.
Before discussing this - I want to say I always that Bugno was a very classy looking rider on the bike. His style was immaculate. I well recall him competing
in the TDF and some of the Northern Classics and his style never waivered in either.
Comparing his style to Indurain (and he was close to toppling BigMig in several
T'DF), there was only ever going to be one winner in the style stakes (and I am an Indurain fan).
But getting on to your posts, there was a prospect quite recently where Gianni was going to tell all.
Not because he was trying to score points but to provide a warning to others
who may be contemplating the taking of PED's.
For whatever reason, Gianni decided not to "go public" - which is understandable but it is a pity.
I think Gianni's story would be another cautionary tale for anyone contemplating the doping route.
I always like Bugno. He seemed like a pretty decent bloke and one hell of a rider.
The other point about having kids - you do see a lot of pro's deciding not to have kids. Understandable given the level of abuse that some of their bodies must have sustained through doping.
