Going back more than 100 years, one can find evidence of athletes being provided with drugs – including opium, strychnine, nitro-glycerine and amphetamines – to give them a winning edge. Perhaps the most talked-about arena where drugs have been rife has been the Tour de France – a three-week cycling epic that traverses much of western Europe. As far back as 1924, reporter Albert Londres described the competitors as the “Convicts of the Road” in his column as he covered the event for the Parisien newspaper. The race is, to this day, dogged by allegations of drug-taking, as can be seen by the latest scandals involving the likes of Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis, the Astana and Fiesta teams, to name just a few. The race has also seen several drug-related deaths. At this stage, the answer is strictly: Don’t take anything on the Wada banned list if you wish to compete at a high level.
