Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

(Me with Johan Museeuw in Hamilton, Ontario during the Worlds 2003)

Johan Museeuw the Barry Bonds of cycling has admitted to not being 100% honest in racing late in his career.

Johan Museeuw has confessed to not being “100 per cent honest” during the final year of his cycling career, in what is generally being interpreted as an admission to doping. –cyclingnews.com

Johan Museeuw was a top performer during the free flowing 90s when EPO was at its most popular. Many cyclist have been suspected of using performance enhancing drugs but few have admitted to their use. Museeuw’s admission is also part of a closing circle on the former Quick-Step rider as he is facing trials for use of Aranesp and his association with a Veterinarian who provided many Belgian cyclist with drugs.

“At the end of my career, to prepare a number of races, I made a mistake. I wanted to end my career in beauty and did things that I couldn’t,” Museeuw told a news conference on Tuesday.
– Eurosport

This news is as much of a surprise as finding out that Johan Museeuw had plugs. If you look closely you can pretty much figure it out. The admission to “not being 100 percent honest” comes on the back of an investigation by Belgian Het Laatste Nieuws that incriminates Quick-Step director sportif Patrick Lefevre of promoting doping in his team for 30 years.

Het Laatste Nieuws is the latest in a long line of newspapers digging into cycling’s drug underworld. The Beglian front on doping has taken a back seat recently as Operation Puerto, Floyd Landis, Phonak with Tyler Hamilton and many more took most of the headlines. Oh jeesh please make it stop.

Museeuw has done everything but admit to actually doping until now. But his admission should be a sign for other cyclist to be more frank about their use of performance enhancing drugs.