got to understand that doping is part of the sport culture, particularly in some sports more than others.
the word throughout cycling, if you've paid attention in recent years, is that more advanced doping has been rampant through the sport in the majority of the last 2 decades, beginning with EPO in the 90s. Blood transfusions have probably been common for some of the top riders off & on for years as other methods have been more scrutinized by testing... steroids like Cortisone (injectable, not just the topical creams for inflammation) and Amphetamine/Painkilling combinations have been popular since the 70s and 80s.
It's a beautiful 3 weeks every year, and the stateside TV coverage has grown from miniscule bits & pieces on weekends to daily stage coverage ever since Armstrong ran the race for 7 years straight and finally drew some more American interest to the sport, or atleast the TdF itself.
and speaking of, Armstrong may once again have a fear of his glory crashing down after years of fighting allegations, because Vinokourov is one of the select riders who has worked with the scandalous italian Dr. Michelle Ferrari, a longtime Armstrong partner, and consistently been subjected to scrutiny because of it although nothing has ever come completely into the light. Well who knows..
I feel like the top riders are still riding on enhanced blood, but I don't care.
tis all a great spectacle regardless, with massive history behind it, through the green hills & huge mountains of France, Spain, Italy,
a beautiful antithesis to thuggish american urban commercial sports.
