le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.

net/blog/archives/13

July 10th, 2010

le grimpeur
A cycling blog for everything climbing

Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2

Guy WR posted in Climbers, Doping on April 2nd, 2007

…continued from part 1

Although it was never proven, observers often speculated that the first race to be won by EPO was the 1994
edition of the Ardennes classic Fleche Wallonne. Both Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon have dated the
appearance of EPO to the early 1990s, with Lemond pointing to 1991 as the year where the peloton’s speed
started to noticeably increase, but 1994 was something else.

At Fleche Wallonne, the Gewiss-Ballan team totally controlled the race, chasing down a breakaway, until
three of its riders, Moreno Argentin, Evgeny Berzin, and Giorgio Furlan, leapt off the front with the rest of
the field powerless to chase them down as they took the first three places. It was a dominating performance,
which raised many questions and suspicions from observers.

Berzin then went on to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege four days later, and in the Giro shortly afterwards he won
three stages on his way to overall victory. Accusations continued to levelled at Berzin, and he was forced to
defend himself against accusations by French rider Erwann Mentheour who published a doping tell-all book,
Secret défonce: ma vérité sur le dopage, in 1999. After struggling to reclaim his 1994 form for the remainder
of the decade, Berzin sought a comeback in 1999. Following exclusion from the 2000 Giro due to a
haematocrit level over 50%, he retired shortly after.

Following 1994’s Fleche Wallonne, journalist’s spoke to team doctor, one Michele Ferrari, and mentioned
EPO. Ferrari’s reply has passed into cycling lore. “If a rider uses it, that’s not a scandal to me,” he said. “EPO
is not dangerous, only its abuse. It’s as dangerous as drinking ten litres of orange juice.”

Ferrari’s comments seemed to encapsulate two trends in professional cycling in the 90s. The first trend was a
continuation of the widespread use of drugs in cycling as a means of recovering from the hardships that
cycling involved, of keeping up with everyone else, or ensuring a winning career. As Alex Zulle said,
following his confession during the Festina Affair: “It’s like when you’re driving. The law says there’s a speed
limit of 100 km/h, but everyone is driving at 120 km/h. Why should I be the one who obeys the speed limit?
So I had two options: either fit in and go along with the others or go back to being a house painter.”

The second trend was a transition of drug taking from the hands of soigneurs on teams to medical
professionals – doctors. This can broadly be seen as a professionalization of doping and part of a wider trend
in sports towards seeking higher levels of performance from athletes by any means, and not just in cycling.

In Testosterone Dreams, John Hoberman sums up both these trends on the issue of professional performance
enhancement for the benefit of athletes. Hoberman quotes Manfred Hoppner, former director of the East
German Sports Medical Service (SMD) who said in 1990 that, “If we hold back, the athletes will treat
themselves, or we will simply leave the field to medical charlatans.” Hoppner went on to say that doctors

1 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

should be able to promote “quick recover and improved tolerance” with pharmacologically approved doses”
of drugs. (Hoppner was later convicted of causing bodily harm to athletes, including minors.)

Former Canadian track coach, who coached disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson, was also in favour of
empowering athletes. In the 1991 book Speed Trap he downplayed health hazards with doping and said: “If
mature and informed elite athletes conclude that they must take steroids to survive in their sport, and can do
so without jeopardizing their health, they should be able to make that choice freely.”

And there was sympathy for the plight of professional cyclists, too. Hoberman quotes German journalist and
physician as saying: “No one can serious expect that these extreme athletes, tortured by tropical heat and
freezing cold, by rain and storm, should renounce all the palliatives that are available to them.”

Ferrari, however, received little sympathy from Gewiss and was sacked. He continued to work with Argentin
and Berzin in a private capacity, as well as a number of other high-profile new clients later, including – most
famously – Lance Armstrong.

Winning against Armstrong in 2000

But back to our story. As we have seen, 1994 was a breakout year for Pantani and his path headed, literally,
skyward until 1999 when he was excluded from the Giro for failing a haematocrit test when he was on the
verge of another stunning victory. There were comebacks, with glimpses of form in 2000, but little
afterwards. It was still a stellar career, however. But what if Pantani, throughout these fabulous years, was
really one the sport’s most hardened dopers?

Journalist Matt Rendell’s biography, or exposé, The Death of Marco Pantani is an eye-opening read. Rendell
sifts through the evidence in meticulous detail of Pantani’s hospitalization in 1996, his ejection from the Giro
in 1999, and the trials of Professor Conconi that revealed a network of EPO use during the 1990s (mentioned
here). The evidence included computer files from Conconi’s sports institute, charting the haematocrit levels
of riders including Pantani.

Rendell’s conclusion is chilling: “There is incontrovertible evidence that Marco’s entire career was based on
[EPO] abuse.”

From a number of sources, Rendell shows Pantani’s haematocrit levels fluctuating between 40.7 to 60.1
between 1994 and 1996. In July 1997 it was 47.2. Before the Tour in 1998 it was 49.3 before dropping to
45.7 in July of that year. There are gaps in the numbers, in 1996 and early 1997, but Rendell also shows high
values outside Pantani’s ‘normal’ range for the remainder of his racing and concludes: “It is reasonable to
conclude that the most successful period of his career, from 1998 until 5 June 1999, depended on anything

2 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

else?”

It appears difficult to contest, therefore, that Pantani’s climbing exploits and his record times for Alpe d’Huez
were boosted by performance-enhancing drugs. But his 37′35″ record for Alpe d’Huez is likely to endure for
some years. Lance Armstrong was 1″ shy in 2004. One would expect that if Armstrong could not best
Pantani’s time in an ITT, with his superb time-trialling ability and being well-rested and perfectly warmed up
for the attempt (rather than at the end of a long stage), then the record might be near impossible to best.

Although debate continues on the exact times, and where they are recorded from, a reasonable consensus has
developed in most sources around the top numbers. Pantani holds the first, third, and fifth fastest times, with
Armstrong’s 2004 time second (37′36″) and his 2001 time at fourth (38′01″ – just 3 seconds ahead of
Pantani’s 38′04″ from 1995).

Indeed, Frank Schleck was the first winner since probably the late 80s to post a time over 40 minutes. Even
the fastest ascents last year, by Floyd Landis and Andreas Kloden were still over 1 minute slower than
Pantani’s record. This record, now a decade old, may have to wait for another ITT, in a toughly-contested
Tour, before being broken.

For fans who love cycling, it is hard not to be inspired, even moved, by Pantani’s climbing exploits: the
reckless attacks, the total domination of the toughest climbs. He personified the excitement of the mountains.

His performances were seductive. Following Pantani’s win in 1998, despite the Festina Affair revealing
systematic, pervasive doping in the peloton, there were few questions asked about Pantani’s own
performance. In a notable lapse of journalistic objectivity, then VeloNews editor John Wilcockson wrote in
Conquests and Crisis: The 1998 Tour de France, “Bravo, Marco! Your courage saved the Tour.”

Defiant as always

But can we doubt Rendell’s conclusions? Pantani may well have been pharmacologically dependent on drugs
for his stunning performances, and perhaps psychologically dependent as well for his winner’s mindset. With
such a long history of doping, how can we know otherwise?

Pantani’s dalliances with performance-enhancing drugs is likely not a unique case, as past and future
revelations of doping in cycling in the 1990s will attest. His story, though, his tragedy seems unique: soaring
to the highest levels of the sport, before crashing into despair, abandonment, and ultimately suicide. Did he
make a Faustian pact, with Mephistopheles played by EPO, crooked doctors, and the pressure of professional

3 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

competition? (Is Pantani the Dorian Gray of cycling?) Was the reward for his bargain the tremendous
climbing power he attained, but at a heavy price?

But Pantani was seemingly conscious of his bargain and one of his reported quotes nicely sums up his own
approach, as well as the issues raised earlier about performance enhancement. “In cycling,” he said, “there is
not a culture of doping, but rather a culture of champions, meaning: self improvement. That means doing
things that are forbidden, but that are only forbidden if they catch you.”

His legacy remains, preserved in pictures and film. We are left with the incredible spectacle of Pantani in full
flight in the mountains of France and Italy. The 37′35″ record for Alpe d’Huez still stands, and may not be
beaten for years. But that legacy is a tainted one: an inspiring pinnacle of an epic tragedy.

3 Responses to 'Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2'

1. 1Fredrik Tåg
April 28th, 2007 at 10:43 am

Lance Armstrong was not 1″ shy of Pantanis record in 2004! He was 56 seconds behind the fastest time
set by Pantani. The “record time” of 37.35 was clocked from a point 700m from the start of the climb,
14.5km from the finish(the road junction). Armstrongs 37min 36s was taken from the start of the climb,
from the corner which marks the start of the climb, 13.8km from the finish. From that point Pantanis
time was 37.15 in 1994, 36.40 in 1995 and 36.45 in 1997. For accurate statistics:

grimpee.alpe.9online.fr/references.html

The question is why the record is 37.35 when he actually did it in 36min 40sec? Unacceptable!

2. 2Fredrik
April 28th, 2007 at 11:11 am

for those who have doubts about the times… It´s always poissible to clock the times yourself from
recordings of the events.

3. 3bbattle
November 28th, 2009 at 5:04 am

Explanation for Fredrik Tag: Jusqu’en 1997, sur Tour de France, les temps de montée étaient pris près
du carrefour de la route de l’Alpe d’huez et de la route du Lautaret (commune de Bourg d’Oisans), soit
sur un parcours de 14,4 km. Depuis 1998, les temps sont pris au pied de la côte, au lieu-dit La Ferrière
(commune de la Garde).

Afin d’avoir des temps comparables, les chronométrages pris avant 1998, ont été convertis sur la
nouvelle distance de référence. C’est ainsi que le record absolu détenu par Marco Pantani qui était de
37′ 35″ sur 14,4 km est converti en 36′ 40″ sur le parcours référence de 13,8 km.

De même pour le contre-la-montre de 2004, qui se dérouile sur un parcours de 15,5 km avec un départ
au centre du village de Bourg-d’Oisans, le temps de Lance Armstrong de 39′ 41″ est compensé pour
avoir le temps sur le parcours de référence, soit un temps de 37′ 36.

4 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

Il en va de même pour le temps de 40′ 42″ de Jan Ullrich qui est compensé en 38′ 40″.

Leave a Response

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Pages:

About le grimpeur
Mont Ventoux

Categories:

Classic Climbs
Classic Stages
Climbers
Climbing Skills
Doping
Local Climbs
Posts

Archives:

June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010

5 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007

Links

Tour de France…0
Bobke Strut…0
Giro d'Italia…0
Cycles Marinoni…0
BKW…0
Le Dauphine…0
Slow Your Roll…0
Pez Cycling News…0
La Vuelta…0
The Virtual Musette…0

6 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

Cycling Art…0
The Sporting Life…0
Tin Donkey…0
Velo Retro…0
VeloVentoux…0
Galstudio…0
West Suffolk Wheeler…0
Cyclocosm…0
Cycling Inquisition…0
Red Kite Prayer…0

Recommended

Read more

7 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

Come and Go…

Joe Parkin (Pa…
$14.93

New from Parkin: review

coming soon!
Tomorrow, …
Jean Bobet (P…
$19.52

Beautiful autobiography
from c…

We Were Yo…
Laurent Fignon…
$15.96

The translation we've all

been waiting for.
Olympic Gan…
Matt Rendell (…
$17.90

Another great read from

Rendell, a fasci…
The Tour Is …
Jean-Paul Ves…
$17.12

A great reference source

for the Alpe.
Fallen Angel
William Fotheri…
$36.26

Fotheringham is a great
writer and this e…

1 2 3 >

Privacy

Recent Posts

8 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42
le grimpeur – Doping and climbing: Marco Pantani – part 2 http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/13

Omni Daily News

10:18 AM PDT 7-9-2010

Graphic Novel Friday:

Blackest Night:
Interview with Geoff
Johns
1:04 AM PDT 7-9-2010

Super Sensational
Satirical Selling Piece
3:41 PM PDT 7-8-2010

Omni Daily News

12:58 PM PDT 7-8-2010

L. Timmel Duchamp
and Her Excellent
Aqueduct Press
Celebrate Reaching
the 50-Book Mark
11:35 AM PDT 7-8-2010

Behind the Scenes:

Mike Allen's Hot New
Anthology Series
Clockwork Phoenix
10:02 AM PDT 7-7-2010

Old Media Monday:

Reviewing the
Reviewers
10:44 AM PDT 7-5-2010

Guest Blogger Mark

Get Widget | Privacy

Imhotep theme designed by Chris Lin. Proudly powered by Wordpress.

XHTML | CSS | RSS | Comments RSS

9 of 9 10/07/2010 23:42