Tour de France: "As long as we do not attack the leaders of this sport ..."

He repeated it throughout the interview, he "took a lot of distance from cycling".

Former teammate of Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond, who in 1988 ranked 5th in the Tour, and ex-manager (2005-2012) of the Cofidis team, Eric Boyer still has things to say about this Tour de France, ended Sunday with a victory for Tadej Pogacar.

From the troubled entourage of the Slovenian to the practices of the peloton, the former rider took time to engage in cycling, his "sport in danger" in his eyes.

Mauro Gianetti, involved in the doping scandal of Saunier Duval, leads Tadej Pogacar's team.

Does this not discredit its result?

ERIC BOYER.

When I was elected at the head of the International Association of Professional Cycling Groups (AIGCP) in 2008, I alerted the presidents of the Spanish, French, Italian and International Cycling Union (UCI) federations about certain managers who were not there to support their runner, but to do business without worrying about ethics and health.

Result, I was told to clear.

Those who elected me turned their jackets over and told me to leave.

In this environment, no one has the courage to tackle problems head-on.

We close our eyes to practices known for more than 20 years.

Everyone has significant financial income to collect, it is important not to put that at risk.

After that, we should not be surprised if young runners of 20 or 21 years old, who must be made to flourish, find themselves manipulated by certain people.

For me, they are victims.

The problem with cycling today is its supervision?

As long as we do not attack the leaders of this sport ... We always beat the runners in this sport.

We ask kids, sometimes barely out of adolescence, to be exemplary.

While their leaders are not!

We will put pressure on the kids to win races and sometimes some will get caught for doping.

And there, bastards and hypocrites tell them: "It's you who gets out, we continue our business by going to find other sponsors."

As long as we condone this, we won't get out of this mess.

You talk about practices that have been around for 20 years.

Which ones?

But those of Armstrong, Landis or Ullrich.

We have heard the same refrain for years: “Yes, but there is no positive control, we cannot say anything, etc.”.

Even Lance Armstrong, he has not tested officially positive during his career.

If you reason like that, you are not moving forward.

Can't we say it's weird if some people drive at such speed in the Izoard pass because they have never tested positive?

How did you feel when you saw Mauro Gianetti win this Tour with Pogacar?

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I want to tell him: “Bravo champion, you won.

As long as we don't piss you off, keep it up, the red carpet is rolled out in front of you ”.

But afterwards, you shouldn't come and cry if you're talking about suspicion.

Look at your pedigree, and prove that you can do otherwise.

But hey, as long as companies entrust their team to certain CVs, we will continue like this.

Johan Bruyneel was banned for life (

) but it was necessary at the base that the American anti-doping agency seized on the subject.

They did in six months what the UCI never wanted to do.

Today, Mauro Gianetti is there because no jurisdiction prevents him from doing so.

Does that mean you have to be skeptical about Tadej Pogacar?

I still hope to see a winner of the Tour de France without there being the slightest suspicion around him, but there always is.

Lance Armstrong himself says he was impressed with his performance.

You can't do better than him without performance support.

I especially tell the leaders of other teams, who have a moral and an ethic, not to come and complain if they want to continue playing this game.

Do you promise your sponsors that you will win the Tour one day?

You know very well that you will not do better than this.

Under these conditions, it will be necessary to wait at least 10 years for a French rider to win the Tour.

And maybe ten more years, if nothing changes.

That was one of the single best performances we've ever seen in cycling.

Absolutely unbelievable win by @tamaupogi Stage 20 on #THEMOVE - coming soon.

@gettysport pic.twitter.com/p0rGXYteU5

- Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) September 19, 2020

Did this Tour de France disgust you, as was the case with former rider Stéphane Heulot?

I understand Stéphane.

Me, I watched this race with interest, sometimes without.

Some performances have ... amused me.

The sport has become what it is, and it seems to suit a large majority of executives, spectators or business leaders.

Some talk about the safety of their runners when there is a roundabout or a badly placed turn, but the health of their runners, they don't give a damn.

But if it suits everyone, that's fine.

They will tell me that I am bitter, because people no longer want me in this environment.

In fact, we are marginalized and they try to oust us.

Those who are there, they're not going to saw the branch they're setting on.

But is the health of the peloton the same as 20 years ago?

He has improved a lot.

In 1998, during the Festina affair, 90% were doped.

Today it is a pocket.

But as long as a minority has different practices than others, you will always have the same guys in front and the others riding behind.

What can we do ?

Extend some rules to all.

The members of the movement for a credible cycling (MPCC) have imposed themselves, for example, not to give corticosteroids to their runners.

Problem, it applies to the teams that are in it.

As long as we don't enact laws, it won't change anything.

If the UCI does not engage, we will not be able to move forward.