Dark age of cycling Part 1: Demonstration of power
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- This short documentary covers one of the most astonishing breakaway in professional cycling history which took place during Fleche-Wallonne race in 1994. Even though since early 90s there were many unexpected performance gains in world peloton and unproved doping cases the Fleche-Wallonne shown kind of dominance never seen earlier. Only three riders from Gewiss-Ballan team: Moreno Argentin, Evgeni Berzin, GiorgioFurlan made breakaway at about 70 km to finish. Despite very strong chasing group with Claudio Chiappucci, Lance Armstrong, Gianni Bugno, Francesco Casagrande, Franco Ballerini, Davide Cassani, Gerard Rue and many others the trio never got caught. The race course was so unbelievable that media and sports analysts started to suspect heavy EPO (performance enhancing drug) abuse. At this level it was almost impossible to perform such a long breakaway (70km) and escape from the pack of high-profile riders.
Scottish cyclists watching this rout in southern Belgium on Eurosport were thinking: “this is too good to be true.”
At that time infamous Michele Ferrari was a team doctor at Gewiss-Ballan team. Although he was fired from the team he became most wanted advisor and training consultant in professional cycling.
Additional sources and publications:
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cycling.today/...
Cipollini in the last Giro intervened as a commentator and when asked to speak about the italian movement and its difficulties to emerge against others (after Nibali we haven't other stars) he talked about Conconi and Ferrari as "inventors of math in cycling" as "we italians teached everybody how to make cycling, we opened a new world for everybody, while now we are behind". Unbelieveble.
Nowdays something similar is still present, I think about Gilbert's breakaway a few years ago
This was interesting :-)
"The more things change the more they stay the same" - Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
We want them to ride till their heart explode,it’s entertainment.
I would say Chiappucci and Bugno had already been on EPO. Their increase in performance in 1990 was unbelievable. I think that they were fading by 94 though, certainly Chiappucci was. It seems to me it was Carerra and Chateux d'Ax first, then Gewiss. Just my thoughts, I'm open to being wrong.
This is interesting. Carrera team administered EPO doping years before Gewiss as their team doctor (Conconi) was Ferrari's mentor. However I think the progress in Gewiss and their short, unexpected dominance based on juice ("from zero to hero" effect) was one of the most spectacular in racing history.
Are you not entertained!! 🤣🤣
Great vid... 👍
Thank you
When Bjarne Riis joined the Ariostea team in '92 they had two doctors working as coaches. Yes, dr Ferrari and dr Cecchini. Riis mostly worked with Cecchini. Later in his book Riis said it was a rider that proposed EPO to him later that year. I find it hard to believe. I think he's protecting Ferrari and Cecchini.
True. Riders were always protecting their epo-doctors/providers, because these specialists wers still somehow involved in "improving" other athletes who belonged to the same teams. For instance when Riis retired and became director of CSC he must have been aware riders are colaborating with dope specialist(s). I think most of the ex-professionals continued "omerta" as they didn't wanted to ruin someone's career.
@@RoadBikersPoznan there is no doubt Riis was more than just aware of doping on csc, he probably assisted the riders an if you look at Tyler Hamlton's book he essentially says as much
Possibly the best cover photo I've seen. Lmao.
The Pro Peloton is still using PED's even in this day and age. Don't let them fool you into believing otherwise. And this is coming from someone that loves cycling and racing.
According to CIRC report where anonymous pro-riders were interviewed part of them claimed 90% of peloton is using some kind of doping today. But there were also athletes stating it is about 20% of peloton. I suppose we will know it in 5-10 years from now (as usual). But the difference between today and early 90s is that there are no surprisingly high performance gains in case of "average" riders. The doping process is better managed and based on micro-dosing (in some cases without athlete knowledge). Also introduction of biological passport may help athletes to "fit" doping process. Finały there is still therapeutic use if exemptions possible...
@@RoadBikersPoznan TPog is definitely on something 💉💉
@@RoadBikersPoznan fuglsang was ridiculous about two years ago. Suddenly riding like a motorbike in his mid 30’s. Everyone saw that and came up to his speed by getting on the same thing. Most recent ridiculous change is the Australian climber in his mid 30’s forgotten his name. Suddenly he is at the very front fighting it it out with the very best, in his mid 30’s. Silly.
@@nonfictionone yes and there were rumors that Ferrari was seen at the Astana training camp to see his supposed client ...Fuglsang
@@nonfictiononeThe funniest one in recent times is certainly Mark Padun in the 2021 Dauphiné. Wins 2 mountain stages in a row, goes faster than the GC group from the breakaway in both, and while I can't remember the name of the climb that the last stage finished on, the only riders that were ever faster than him up there were Pantani and Ullrich😂
Nothing has changed. They are going faster now more than ever. Explain that.
I am gonna review today's doping options. This will be a bit scientific. The movie is coming soon...
@@RoadBikersPoznan Its very interesting and maybe can also comment on the physique of the riders today compared to then. It looks like EPO and steroids back then meant absolute power held more advantage than just weight of the rider where weight now seems to be a bigger piece of the equation, just looking at Froome body as example when compared to Indurain or Armstrong etc
@@888jucu TDF evolved and now stages seems to favor climbers more when it comes to general classification. Back then there were different tours with longer flat stages when Indurain or Ullrich (tall and respectively heavy riders) could compensate lack of advantage in mountains. Today power2weight ratio is absolutely crucial like never before. Because of this the whole team rooster doesn't need to be as strong. It is enough to have one brilliant rider like Tadej Pogacar from UAE.
In classics like Liege-Bastogne-Liege one day races the absolute power comes into play. This is why they can be won by the likes of Mathieu van der Poel who cracked in mountains during TDF.
@@RoadBikersPoznan But nowadays more and more relaitveley light / small riders also do well on mostly flat time trials?
Agree. But TT is a different type of competition. It is about maintaining consistent power and minimizing drag on relatively short route. So even Contador could be decent TT rider. However long, flat races like classic monuments (250 km) require, apart from team tactic, lot of absolute power and sprinting skills. So here rather bigger and more powerful riders have advantage like Peter Sagan or Mathew Van Der Poel. Of course there are exceptions.
And it's still happening today. Will we ever learn?
I will put it this way: if there is any method of improving performance that is safe to apply (undetectable) the temptation of using it by the teams is obvious.
Why is the ending photo flipped? Chainsets are not on the left hand-side of the bike unless its a tandem!!
Very good point. Can't explain. One of many wallpapers downloaded long time ago. Obviously flipped.
BS to suggest only the best performing were the only dopers... They were the best overall cyclist of a peleton that consisted of 100% dopers.... BTW, they are still doping today and its blead into the age group recreational cyclist.
There were exceptions without podium ambitions - domestiques. They refused to dope but stay silent (omerta). But yes most of the peloton doped.
Generation EPO . UCI 😊😊😊
🇨🇵Pensec, Amazing performance !
Now I understand what people mean when they say watching doped riders win is "ugly".
I enjoyed this please keep them coming. Anyway you could identify the song that begins at 2:56?
This is "Better get ready" instrumental theme recorded for Filmora. You can find it here on YT: ruclips.net/video/7DKzKl1aeL0/видео.html
3:33 and 3:37 seems like the Italians were pretty good in that era :kappa 😅😅
Change the closing picture, you have flipped it, chainsets are on the right side of the bike.!!! The left as you look at the bike from the front!!!!!
Good spot. However you are the 2nd one who noticed it. Let's leave it like it is :-)
Doutore Ferrari mítico . Gewiss Ballan
Maybe I am gettng nostalgic, but how beautifull were those bikes out of metal back then!!
You are absolutely right. Shiny rims of beautiful de Rosa bikes :-)
greg lemond winning the tour in 89. total epo comeback
Greg Lemond is someone I didn't explored well so far but since 90s he definitely was out of top shape or... not doped properly as Indurain and other "mutants".
@@RoadBikersPoznan think about it this way, we will never know the entire truth. Lemond of course would never admit to it. All I know is he got shot, had lead pellets in his lungs, was dropped by sprinters on climbs in the Giro in the spring, miraculously recovers from sports anemia during that tour with "iron injections" ( pretty rich for a guys who swear never used needdles), podiums the final tt, goes on to win the Giro and the world's. Tested a whopping 94 vo2max, from his 79 in 1980. How? How can a well trained athlete go up 15 points in vo2max. How? He was already one of the very top cyclists in the world in 1980. Epo came on the market in 89. He was the million dollar man. His team doctors where all doping doctors. To be honest epo was available to doctors even as early as 86 in clinical trails. The time line is wrong. Even without epo, what you have to understand is riders have been using transfusions ( the old school method) since at least the early 70s, probably before). You get almost the same performance advantage as epo but it's way more dangerous, I convenient and complicated to orchestrate during grand tours. Remember, OLD SCHOOL METHOD! Blood doping didn't start in the 90s, sorry. The reality is very few riders if any have admitted to it, but some have. Anquetil, Zootemelt, Moser, even hinault in some measure. If we could only test old blood samples from those days!
@@cypriano8763 you have made very interesting point on Lemond. I'm too old to not be sceptical about Lemond, Indurain, Hinault Fignon etc. I don't get this bumped Lemond's VO2max. I presume he might have been doing transfusions or epo injections but if so I don't understand why he was not able to compete since early 90s and later in 1995 he retired. I suppose this was due to better, more scientific approach to EPO doping used in other teams like Gewiss-Ballan, Banesto or Festina.
@@RoadBikersPoznan I could be totally wrong and all he ever got was iron shots. It's possible, not brobable. Maybe epo started in the 90s. One way to look at it is lemond may have been an early epo adopter, being wealthy, so had an advantage until the rest if the peloton started using it. Hence his turn in performance. It does fit the 91 timeliness tho doesn't it. He won in 89,90 and 6th I 91, still damn good. For me it's the severity of his injuries and how he came back to life during the Giro. Maybe they gave him epo without him knowing telling him it was b12 or something. I doubt it tho. Greg was a very scientific man whe it came to training. BTW, just using testosterone,cortisone and transfusions give a 5 to 15% performance advantage. You cannot compete in a 3 week grand tour against guys on that type of program. If you win the tour, even in the 6os,70s and 80s your using peds, that's my take on it
Absolutely , Lemond claims he was clean , just like Chris Horner . They both were juiced up . Horner couldn't get contract after his Vuelta win because his blood values were all over . And how about Eddy Mercx , he was disqalified 3 times for doping . Read Wikipedia , he also introduced Lance to Ferrari ....
I find it a bit eery everytime I hear it referred to as the Dark age of cycling. It’s basically naively implying that everything’s changed and those days are past us, when in reality maybe only the methods and the drugs used have changed but not the attitude and culture around PED’s.
This is not the point. Cycling has deep rooted Doping culture but during the 90s, with the advent of EPO many professional cyclists deaths caused by hearth strokes or blood cloths were reported. Mostly during workouts or in a sleep. Back then there was no method of detecting EPO apart from easy to cheat hematocrit level. Becuse of this teams create extreme danger environment for young adepts who wanted to become professionals. Since 2005 doping methods are definitely safer for riders and most of reported deaths are caused by car accidents. In the "dark age" you may end up badly and early.
Adesso invece con la bicicletta elettrica è melgio ? Forse per la salute dei ciclisti certo si, ma non per la verità dei risultati ...
Moreno Argentin was the "prince of Ardennes" way before EPO days, so think about it when you mock him for "dancing on pedals" on Mur de Huy treating him like a mr. nobody.
You are right. Moreno was an excellent rider.
if recent allegations that some teams are forcing riders to dope threatening them with expulsion if they don't, then cycing has not yet come out of the dark up to this very moment .. lol !!
Someones gotta pull the sprinters to the finishline
"Jumbo-juice" IT is the darkest thing.
Please, sir, don't speak in English... It apsolutely non understandable... Speak in your language and do the titl, please
It is
His English is fine.
Your english is fine.
I taught English for many years, this guy fares well, completely understandable.
Bro your English is worse than his