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Containment and doping: French professional cyclist raises serious concerns
Nans Peters competing at Giro d’Italia 2019
PARIS, April 20, 2020 - Nans Peters, a professional cyclist of French group “AG2R La Mondiale” won a stage of the Giro d'Italia last year. He recently posted a long message on his website to raise serious concerns. He questions the overly heavy calendar at the end of the summer, the impossibility of currently training in France and the lack of doping control at the moment. Here are some extracts from his post which sounds like a cry of alarm.
The heavy calendar
“Tour de France on August 29th, then World Championships, Vuelta, Giro in parallel with the great classics and many other races ... It is very good for the image and the economy of cycling... However, isn’t it risky to extend the season until November when we know that the next one will resume in January in Australia and in February in Europe? Will we be able to benefit from a real winter break?”
The impossibility of training in France.
“The French Cycling Federation forbids us from practicing cycling outside because of the risk of accidents. We must not clog emergencies ... As a professional cyclist I find myself locked up at home while the roads are deserted. I can bike in the rain on slippery roads ... I can bike at a speed of over sixty an hour in a group of 200 runners, 30 centimeters from each other. Sometimes I fall. But how many serious falls in training? Zero! Why can't a very careful professional cyclist riding alone, without traffic, get a waiver? I'm talking about professionals, not all cyclists...”
Inequality with other riders
“In Belgium, Germany, and some other countries, professional cyclists have the right to ride… There is no equity between all of us who practice the same profession. In the summer, will French cyclists be able to make spectators dream on the edges of the roads of the Tour de France?
No doping controls
“My last ADAMS control (Geolocation System of the World Anti-Doping Agency) was on October 7, 2019. What does that mean? ... I am very afraid that, during this period of confinement, there will be no control! ... Do cheats have free time at the moment? It is as if we were told: do what you want, take what you want. You have until May 11 (date scheduled for the end of confinement in France) to make your engine grow bigger and crush everything when you return to competition ... I'm afraid for my sport and for the end of my season ... We know that some teams can no longer pay their riders ... What will happen to these riders who will be without a contract next year if their team disappears? We will have to be very strong at the very start of the short season to sign quickly.”
Currently Nans Peters manages to train with his teammates of AG2R la Mondiale ... But virtually, on a home trainer.
The heavy calendar
“Tour de France on August 29th, then World Championships, Vuelta, Giro in parallel with the great classics and many other races ... It is very good for the image and the economy of cycling... However, isn’t it risky to extend the season until November when we know that the next one will resume in January in Australia and in February in Europe? Will we be able to benefit from a real winter break?”
The impossibility of training in France.
“The French Cycling Federation forbids us from practicing cycling outside because of the risk of accidents. We must not clog emergencies ... As a professional cyclist I find myself locked up at home while the roads are deserted. I can bike in the rain on slippery roads ... I can bike at a speed of over sixty an hour in a group of 200 runners, 30 centimeters from each other. Sometimes I fall. But how many serious falls in training? Zero! Why can't a very careful professional cyclist riding alone, without traffic, get a waiver? I'm talking about professionals, not all cyclists...”
Inequality with other riders
“In Belgium, Germany, and some other countries, professional cyclists have the right to ride… There is no equity between all of us who practice the same profession. In the summer, will French cyclists be able to make spectators dream on the edges of the roads of the Tour de France?
No doping controls
“My last ADAMS control (Geolocation System of the World Anti-Doping Agency) was on October 7, 2019. What does that mean? ... I am very afraid that, during this period of confinement, there will be no control! ... Do cheats have free time at the moment? It is as if we were told: do what you want, take what you want. You have until May 11 (date scheduled for the end of confinement in France) to make your engine grow bigger and crush everything when you return to competition ... I'm afraid for my sport and for the end of my season ... We know that some teams can no longer pay their riders ... What will happen to these riders who will be without a contract next year if their team disappears? We will have to be very strong at the very start of the short season to sign quickly.”
Currently Nans Peters manages to train with his teammates of AG2R la Mondiale ... But virtually, on a home trainer.
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