French cyclist admits taking drugs
PARIS, France (Reuters) -- Cofidis rider Philippe Gaumont has admitted to police that he has used the performance-enhancing drug erythropoietin (EPO).
"I have admitted taking illegal substances," the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist, told the French television channel France 2 on Tuesday.
His admission came as Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke was charged with possession of drugs and performance-enhancing substances and ordered to stand trial in March.
Gaumont said: "There are a lot of riders who turn to illegal substances...they are under lot of pressure from the sponsors who want good results and points in the International Cycling Federation (UCI) standings."
Gaumont and team-mate Philippe Vasseur were arrested for questioning last Tuesday as part of a major doping inquiry that also led French police to raid Cofidis headquarters and the office of one of team's doctors on January 12.
Vasseur was freed on Thursday without charge. Gaumont has also been released but placed under judicial investigation.
Gaumont has been accused of drug taking twice in the past. He tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in 1997 and for amphetamines in 1999.
"It may be that 90 percent of the cyclists are not clean," he told a local French radio France Bleu Picardie on Monday. "I can't blame them because we are the victims of a rotten system."
Threat of prison
Vandenbroucke faces up to five years in prison and a fine if found guilty, Public Prosecutor Christian Dufour said in Belgium.
He has two weeks to appeal the ruling before going to trial in the town of Termonde added Dufour, who will prosecute the case.
The ruling comes nearly two years after police found morphine, blood-boosting drug EPO and the steroid clenbuterol in the 29-year-old's home.
That discovery led to Vandenbroucke being fired by his Domo Farm-Frites team and banned from competing in races in Belgium's Flanders region for six months in 2002.
His ban was lifted last March, with Vandenbroucke eventually finishing 12th on the World Cup circuit while riding for Quick Step.
