Jonathan Vaughter's op ed piece reported elsewhere may have been a template for Lance. It certainly leaves him enough wiggle room to say that he was in essence a 'bionic man', He was rebuilt by Bristol Myers Squibb, he placed himself in their hands, he had no choice, and they had a test-bed in him for innovative medicine. I like a bit of spin more than I like scab-picking.
I probably like Anquetil the best.
Doping
Anquetil took a forthright and controversial stand on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. He never hid that he took drugs and in a debate with a government minister on French television said only a fool would imagine it was possible to ride Bordeaux–Paris on just water.
He and other cyclists had to ride through "the cold, through heatwaves, in the rain and in the mountains", and they had the right to treat themselves as they wished, he said in a television interview, before adding:
“
"Leave me in peace; everybody takes dope."[29]
”
There was implied acceptance of doping right to the top of the state: the president, Charles de Gaulle, said of Anquetil:
“
"Doping? What doping? Did he or did he not make them play the Marseillaise [the national anthem] abroad?"[30]
”
He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1966. An official named Collard told him once he had got changed that there would be a drugs test. "Too late", Anquetil said. "If you can collect it from the soapy water there, go ahead. I'm a human being, not a fountain." Collard said he would return half an hour later; Anquetil said he would already have left for a dinner appointment 140 km away. Two days later the Belgian cycling federation disqualified Anquetil and fined him. Anquetil responded by calling urine tests "a threat to individual liberty" and engaged a lawyer. The case was never heard, the Belgians backed down and Anquetil became the winner.
Pierre Chany said:
"Jacques had the strength - for which he was always criticised - to say out loud what others would only whisper. So, when I asked him 'What have you taken?' he didn't drop his eyes before replying. He had the strength of conviction."[31]
Anquetil argued that professional riders were workers and had the same right to treat their pains as, say, a geography teacher. But the argument found less support as more riders were reported to have died or suffered health problems through drug-related incidents, including the death of the English rider, Tom Simpson, in the Tour de France of 1967.[8]
However, there was great support in the cyclist community for Anquetil's argument that, if there were to be rules and tests, the tests should be carried out consistently and with dignity. He said it was professional dignity, the right of a champion not to be ridiculed in front of his public, that led to his refusal to take a test in the centre of the Vigorelli track after breaking the world hour record.
The unrecognised time that Anquetil set that day was in any case quickly broken by the Belgian rider, Ferdi Bracke. Anquetil was hurt that the French government had never sent him a telegram of congratulations but sent one to Bracke, who wasn't French. It was a measure of the unacceptability of Anquetil's arguments, as was the way he was quietly dropped from future French teams.
[edit] Anecdote
Anquetil recounted an incident in a hotel at La Rochelle where he and others were relaxing after a criterium:
I think it was [Roger] Hassenforder's idea.. We started looking at the fish in a lovely little tank at the entrance to the restaurant. Hassen suddenly said: 'Let's give them something to liven them up a bit!' He got out of his pocket a few Maxitons and gave them to me... I threw them to the fish. And oh yes, amphetamines work just as well on fish, I can tell you. After 10 minutes they were thrashing from one end of the tank to the other."[32]
[edit] Anquetil and Britain
Anquetil holds a particular place in the estimation of British fans, who voted him the BBC's international personality of the year in 1964. He appeared with Tom Simpson from a studio in Paris. The Franco-American journalist René de Latour wrote:
In the studio we watched the proceedings in London, and while I cannot say Anquetil was keenly interested in the cricketing part, he was impressed with the general presentation which, however (like the stages of the 1964 Tour) he found a bit long. He was interested, though, to see Beryl Burton, and his old acquaintance Reg Harris pulling at his pipe in the invited audience.[33]
A few days later, Anquetil was named French sportsman of the year.
Anquetil was fascinated by Britain because of the country's enthusiasm for time-trialling and because in 1961 he presented prizes at the Road Time Trials Council evening at the Royal Albert Hall to honour Beryl Burton and Brian Kirby.[8] The pair had won the women's and men's British Best All-Rounder competitions (BBAR) for, respectively, the highest average speed in a season over 25, 50 and 100 miles (women) and 50 and 100 miles (160 km) and 12 hours (men).
Alan Gayfer, the editor of Cycling at the time of Anquetil's death, wrote in appreciation:
It is strange to look back and see how this frail-looking young man burst on the scene in 1953. We had sent Ken Joy, the former BBAR, to challenge for the Grand Prix des Nations, then 140 kilometres long, and dragging through the hills of the Chevreuse valley. All over Paris they talked about this burly Englishman who had ridden 160km in 4 hours and 6 minutes: and when it came to it, he was hammered by a 19-year-old, but a teenager with a will of iron that was to prove inflexible for the next 19 years.[8]
Anquetil was fascinated by the British love of time-trialling and in 1964 discussed riding a British 25 mile (40 km) race. Gayfer and the British professional Tom Simpson explained that the course would be on flat roads and asked Anquetil how long the distance would take him. Anquetil, who had the talent to predict his time-trial times accurately, said 46 minutes. That was eight minutes faster than the distance had ever been ridden, the record standing to Bas Breedon at 54:23. It took until 1993 for the record to fall below Anquetil's estimation.
Anquetil asked £1,000 to compete and a London timber merchant called Vic Jenner said he would put up the money. Jenner was an enthusiast who had often put money into the sport. He died shortly afterwards, however, and the ride never happened.[
I ilked Vaughters' piece, and it would be nice to draw a line under the era of doping, but I do like a bit of moral ambiguity. Part of the appeal of that ambiguity is being part of the inner circle,and I can't ever see the appeal of that dying.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/9bVGTVrQd6M&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/9bVGTVrQd6M&rel=1</a>]]>The fastest time trial performance in open competition I ever witnessed was the 2007 25 mile championship, when I pushed off. Over 30 mph for the first time on a D course. Jason Mac Intyre, the winner, is no longer with us, following a collision with a lorry while out training.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/SnF3OWiZZhw&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/SnF3OWiZZhw&rel=1</a>]]>The fastest TT I ever saw was Bradley Wiggins on our local club 10 doing a 19.01, also in 2007. He straddles the two traditions.
