From AFP
Race speed and Frigo arrest prompt questions
The arrest of Fassa Bortolo rider Dario Frigo on the Tour de France has
added to an air of suspicion from some riders who feel the race is not being
contended on an even playing field.The controversy over possible doping on
the Tour is not new, and on Wednesday the problem hit the organisers square
in the face when Frigo was charged along with his wife Susanna on suspicion
on the possession, use and importation of banned substances.Frigo's wife was
stopped on Tuesday with what was understood to be about 10 doses of
endurance-boosting hormone EPO (erythropoietin).
They were eventually released on bail with Frigo, 31, banned from taking
part in the sport while the inquiry is carried out.It was the second drugs
controversy on the Tour following the exclusion of Russian Yevgeny Petrov
after a test on the Lampre rider's blood sample showed his red blood cell
count to be over the permitted level.Although not proof, it suggests that
blood manipulation through EPO use or other means has been used and he was
thrown off the race.
In comparison to the 1998 drugs scandal which almost brought the Tour to its
knees and led to the exclusion of the whole Festina team, the controversy
has done little damage.However some French riders - who are among those to
have been left behind on the tough Alpine mountain passes - have suggested
it is not all fair play.
French veteran Didier Rous has in the past admitted to using banned
substances when he was with Festina.
Years later, he said he is saddened by the mediocre displays of his team -
after last year when teammate Thomas Voeckler stole the limelight by wearing
the yellow jersey for half of the race.Rous admitted that he is becoming a
part-time counsellor to help the "discouraged" young riders in his
all-French team who are being blown away daily."There has to come a time
when you say, 'right that's enough'," said Rous, a former national champion
who raced with the Festina team when they were thrown off the Tour in
1998."One minute we're able to keep up with the best, then all of a sudden
we're not."I finished 11th overall on the Tour in 2001 after I finished
fourth in the time trial. In 2003 I ended up finishing 20th overall, and
that year I was winning quite a few races."Then all of a sudden, I'm being
left behind. Yet, I'm training as hard as I ever have and I take my job
seriously.
"I can't hold my hands up and say what's going on at other teams. I've got
no proof," added Rous, who has recognised in the past that he has erred when
it came to banned substances.
"All I'm saying is that in 1995 I went through all the things our young
riders are going through now. People used to tell me that I didn't have the
right character, I didn't train enough or whatever.
"But I'm no more stupid than the next guy. I love this job, and I've always
given everything I can to succeed in it."
On Thursday's stage, the last day in the Alps and on France's national
holiday of Bastille Day, it seemed pertinent that it was Frenchman David
Moncoutie who won the stage.
After Rous's comments it was even more so - as Moncoutie is considered the
epitomy of the clean, professional cyclist in France.He is too scared to
take an everday medicine like aspirin, but Moncoutie, like the rest of the
peloton, admits he is finding it hard to keep up with the level of riding on
the race.
"I don't have any proof, and it's a subject that is quite delicate to talk
about. I don't really want to start a debate," said Moncoutie when asked how
he felt to be racing alongside the likes of Frigo.
"All I can say is that we're racing really fast, and that all the French
riders are finding it hard to keep up. Take that whatever way you want.
"But in general we're feeling pretty discouraged," added Moncoutie who made
a comparison to his performance here and on June's Dauphine Libere stage
race.
"At the Dauphine Libere I had no problems in following the best climbers. At
the Tour, I just can't.
"It's like that every year, but all I can say is 'too bad'."