Breaking the Chain Scott Sylvester May 27, 2020 Contributors, Cycling, From the Scoob 1061 Currently on my nightstand – “Breaking the Chain – Drugs and Cycling: The True Story” by Willy Voet. I have only just opened this book, but reportedly it is “A moving and spirited account of lying and cheating on behalf of some of the biggest names in cycling”. So, if you are a cyclist, or involved in any other sport that is endurance based, and you haven’t heard of The Festina Affair, then you have likely been living under a rock for 20+ years. This was the beginning of the end of the drug laden years in a lot of sports but most particularly cycle racing. Certainly, prior to this, there were harbingers. Certainly, before this there were numerous deaths that were likely a result of medical and physiological complications from sustained and large EPO use. Not to mention the cornucopia of other drugs mixed in to this from old school days and new school days. And, for the public, these were all explained away so that the scrutiny was cast elsewhere. Well, we all know how that worked out. Two decades later there have been multiple deaths, multiple careers made and destroyed, and multiple real talents that never got the chance to compete due to the choices they were faced with. I am not biased, but I am interested in this first person account. Anyway, all the best. Scoob.
