List of Doping Cases in Cycling - 1980s - 1982

1982

• Maarten Ducrot was a Dutch professional road bicycle racer. In January 2000, on the Dutch TV-show Reporter, he admitted that he had used cortisone and testosterone, as well as Synacthen, "a very bad medicine", and he still regrets using it. Ducrot said he experimented with synacthen in 1982 when he was an amateur.

• Ángel Arroyo of Spain, received a penalty for testing positive for the stimulant Methylphenidate (Ritalin) on stage 17 of the 1982 Vuelta a España. Three other riders also failed the doping test after stage 17 for the same drug: Alberto Fernández, Vicente Belda and Pedro Muñoz Machín Rodríguez. Methylphenidate was a popular performance-enhancing drug in cycling at that time. Arroyo and his team denied the allegations and asked for a second analysis of the sample. The B analysis confirmed the first positive test. Arroyo was assigned a 10 minute penalty and stripped of his Vuelta win which was given to Marino Lejarreta. With the 10 minute penalty Arroyo went down to 13th place in the overall classification. The disqualification of the winner of the Vuelta has been called the worst scandal that has ever hit the race on the official La Vuelta website.

• Marc Demeyer of Belgium died on 20 January 1982, aged 31 from a heart attack. His death was noted by Willy Voet in his book Massacre à la chaîne although he acknowledged the impossibility of proving the link between these early deaths and the drugs taken while racing.

• Michel Pollentier of Belgium tested positive on stage 17 of the 1982 Vuelta a España for the stimulant Methylphenidate (Ritalin).

• Steven Rooks was a Dutch cyclist whose professional career ran from 1982–95. On the Dutch TV-show Reporter in 2000, Rooks admitted (together with Maarten Ducrot and Peter Winnen) that they had doped in their careers. Rooks said he used testosterone and amphetamines during his whole 13 year career.

• Willy Voet wrote about Bert Oosterbosch riding the 1982 Grand Prix des Nations in his 2002 book Massacre à la Chaîne ("Breaking The Chain"). Oosterbosch was flat from the start due to the Synacten he had taken. The drugs initially blocked his ability to work hard. An hour after the injection it started working as planned and his tempo increased. Note - Voet may have been referring to the 1979 or 1984 events.