History Of Drug Use And Abuse In Professional Cycling
Drug Use and Abuse in Professional Cycling: What’s the History?
Over the years, cycling has become more prominent and professional cyclists started to receive higher and higher pay. Professional cycling mixed with competition and high pay led to the use of drugs and steroids to increase winning chances and performance on the track. Because of this, professional cycling began its history of drug use and abuse which essentially amounts to cheating to win a title or money.
It all started out when the 1890’s famous world champion cycling coach Choppy Warburton had his team members take a variety of drugs handed out in small bottles in liquefied form. As a result, world champion Arthur Linton won the Bordeaux-to-Paris, but at the cost of his life. …show more content…
For example, Cocaine was widely used for stamina and endurance on the race while Strychnine was taken to relieve pain. Either way, both were abusive uses of these drugs that were very dangerous to both the athletes and their reputations.
Twenty years later in the 1940’s, Amphetamines were then created and used in military situations to reduce the level of fatigue while helping those who took it to remain engaged and alert in whatever they were doing. When the 1950’s rolled around, there was still no ban of drugs used to increase performance. In fact, many professional cyclists found that it was crucial to use Amphetamines to keep their competitiveness high during a race!
The public soon became concerned about the use of performance enhancing drugs due to strange, nearly fatal, incidents on the Tour. One of these incidents occurred in 1956, when the whole Belgium team wiped out during the Tour. Many were sure what the cause was and there was little doubt that they had been on drugs. Soon, many people began to believe that each of the Tours won by athletes in the 1950s was won due to the use of these kinds of drugs. These beliefs were almost surely ratified when Jacques Anquetil won the Tour five times and indulged to the public that he had been using Amphetamines to enhance his …show more content…
On June 1, 1965, the using drugs of all types to improve performance were made illegal which caused several racers to be kicked out of various races in that year. The following year, in 1966, all racers were drug tested before each race. Many protested, which made for lighter restrictions on the athletes. The International Olympic Committee of 1967 tried to improve ways of detection prior to races but even these failed much of the time.
While Lance Armstrong’s story is well known, it is still worth mentioning. Over the years, he had repeatedly rebuffed charges of using various kinds of doping drugs during races. Eventually, it came to him revoking accusations of him using them to the point of turning down the titles he had won in August of 1998. This goes to show that the costs of doping in any sport can often be greater than the
Over the years, cycling has become more prominent and professional cyclists started to receive higher and higher pay. Professional cycling mixed with competition and high pay led to the use of drugs and steroids to increase winning chances and performance on the track. Because of this, professional cycling began its history of drug use and abuse which essentially amounts to cheating to win a title or money.
It all started out when the 1890’s famous world champion cycling coach Choppy Warburton had his team members take a variety of drugs handed out in small bottles in liquefied form. As a result, world champion Arthur Linton won the Bordeaux-to-Paris, but at the cost of his life. …show more content…
For example, Cocaine was widely used for stamina and endurance on the race while Strychnine was taken to relieve pain. Either way, both were abusive uses of these drugs that were very dangerous to both the athletes and their reputations.
Twenty years later in the 1940’s, Amphetamines were then created and used in military situations to reduce the level of fatigue while helping those who took it to remain engaged and alert in whatever they were doing. When the 1950’s rolled around, there was still no ban of drugs used to increase performance. In fact, many professional cyclists found that it was crucial to use Amphetamines to keep their competitiveness high during a race!
The public soon became concerned about the use of performance enhancing drugs due to strange, nearly fatal, incidents on the Tour. One of these incidents occurred in 1956, when the whole Belgium team wiped out during the Tour. Many were sure what the cause was and there was little doubt that they had been on drugs. Soon, many people began to believe that each of the Tours won by athletes in the 1950s was won due to the use of these kinds of drugs. These beliefs were almost surely ratified when Jacques Anquetil won the Tour five times and indulged to the public that he had been using Amphetamines to enhance his …show more content…
On June 1, 1965, the using drugs of all types to improve performance were made illegal which caused several racers to be kicked out of various races in that year. The following year, in 1966, all racers were drug tested before each race. Many protested, which made for lighter restrictions on the athletes. The International Olympic Committee of 1967 tried to improve ways of detection prior to races but even these failed much of the time.
While Lance Armstrong’s story is well known, it is still worth mentioning. Over the years, he had repeatedly rebuffed charges of using various kinds of doping drugs during races. Eventually, it came to him revoking accusations of him using them to the point of turning down the titles he had won in August of 1998. This goes to show that the costs of doping in any sport can often be greater than the