The development of doping use in high-level cycling: from team organised doping to advances in the fight against doping.

Abstract

In 1998, the Festina scandal at the Tour de Franceprovided the first proof of widespread doping in pro-fessional cycling. This doping scandal marked the endof team-organized doping in professional cycling andushered in a new period marked by the increasingimplementation of anti-doping measures. This articleevaluates the impact of the anti-doping rules and testsinstituted since the Festina scandal. We adopt a psycho-social approach to analyze the organization of dopingand the development of doping attitudes and practicesin high-level cycling. Sixteen cyclists were interviewed,of which eight were young, current cyclists and eightwere former cyclists who became professionals beforethe Festina scandal. Our results show that although thefight against doping in the last decade has reduceddoping use in high-level cycling, anti-doping measureshave also had unexpected effects. The fight againstdoping in cycling is not over.