“They gave me 40 thousand euros a month if I used EPO and pressured me with women” – Cyclismo

Basson looks back on his days as a cyclist and says the psychological pressure on runners nowadays is “enormous”

Former French cyclist Christophe Basons, whose career ended in 2001 after speaking out about doping in the Tour de France, has once again tackled the use of banned substances in cycling.

Now, 48, Basson — who was in the international peloton was a contemporary of Lance Armstrong, among other riders — says “everyone’s still living a big lie.” “Medical support nowadays has become more comprehensive and almost scares me more than taking steroids,” he told sueddeutsche.de.

“Between a small therapeutic dose of EPO or 20 or 30 bars of energy per day for a run, think for a moment which one is more dangerous. Cycling would gain tremendous credibility if riders said exactly what they put in their bodies, and what once and every day,” Basson emphasized, adding The psychological pressure on cyclists these days is “enormous.”

Basson, who made his career in the 1990s, having represented Force Sud, Festina, Française des Jeux and Jean Delatour, told how doping even affected contract negotiations with teams. He remembers that they offered him two contracts: one if he kept clean and the other if he agreed to take steroids, with a salary ten times higher.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone on the team for many years, not even with my teammates. They offered me €40,000 if I dealt with EPO, 10 times more than I won, but they couldn’t convince me.”

He explains that pressure has taken many forms, even with prostitutes. “Women would take me to the hotel so I could cheat on my wife. They tried to force me to do forbidden things, but I never gave up. They wanted to accuse me, but they couldn’t,” explains the former cyclist, saying that little has changed in the sport.

Basson was a Festina cyclist when scandal broke out in the 1998 Tour de France due to the widespread use of steroids within the team. France Soir newspaper published the statements made by the police, and sprinters Armin Mayer and Christophe Moreau told the authorities that Basson was the only non-doping cyclist on the team.

That’s right, he refused to ‘load the cannon” Jean-Luc Gatelier, the physician at Festina, told ‘L’Équipe’. [usar doping] In the last years. Christophe Basson is not from the family of cheaters and spoilers.”

According to the record