When did he decide to talk?
"When Virenque started to lie. He said I was guilty and responsible for everything and that I was a drugs dealer. My son Mathieu, who was 13 years of age then, watched Virenque on the TV. He also is riding a bike and Virenque was his hero. And then he heard his hero tell the world that his father was a drugs dealer. That broke me. Cycling is a beautiful sport but when I thought about my son being given injections with forbidden stuff I realised I could not go along with it anymore."
You didn't care about the children of somebody else!
"Voila. That's the reason iI wrote this book with all the secrets. Since I was in cell I realised that I had been playing with the lives of somebody elses children."
But what will you think if you read about the death of one of your riders in ten years?
"No, no, I don't want to think about that. Nobody knows what this stuff does over a longer time period. But if that was to happen I would be really broken."
All the named riders deny the facts but no one is taking legal action against you?
"I'm not expecting any legal action arising out of the book. I only put names and situations when I was there. For all those cases I have the witnesses and the proof. Sometimes I heard about a case from someone else. In those situations I did not list any names because I can't prove it."
Voet talked about the Tour history of Pedro Delgado and his doping affair in 1988. In the opinion of the experts the results were negative! How was that possible?
"A politician explained it to me. Spain was in negotiations with French about buying the TGV train. So a lot of things were possible to arrange. The stuff was on the IOC banned list, but not on the UCI list. I heard rumours about what went on but nothing more. Therefore it isn't in the book."
Riders say you published these rumours in your book just to make money?
"Okay, sure, I am making money from it. Per book I get 3.50 guilders (1.60 Euro). But I don't have a job anymore and I have to pay an expensive lawyer. And I still have to get 30,000 guilders (13,600 Euro) from Festina."
Festina reacts
The director of Festina Gines Goriz reacted to the interview that Algemeen Dagblad (a Dutch newspaper) published (summarised above). He said that Willy Voet tried to blackmail Festina. Any hint that the team offered to pay Voet to maintain his silence was dismissed as being absurd. Goriz said in an official statement: "This is the first time that I have heard about this. Voet wanted money from us and said that he would otherwise expose us over the doping. But we had nothing to hide. Everything was already known."
Festina stopped paying Voet his salary after he was stopped by customs officials at the beginning of last year's Tour.
And meanwhile at the Giro...
Testing by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Friday morning revealed that two Italian riders had excessively high levels of creatine. However they were allowed to start because the substance isn't on the doping list. No names were mentioned. CONI tested 3 teams - Mobilvetta, Vini Caldirola and Ballan.
Festina and the Dutch
Dutch rider Jans Koerts, who was named in Willy Voet's book, reacted to the allegations about him. Koerts rode for PDM in 1992, and for Festina in 1993 and 1994. On doping at Festina: "I never knew what was going on there. I have a lot of sympathy for what Willy Voet has done in his book. They simply sacked him. Now he takes his revenge. He does that very harshly, but he's right. At Festina, I was kept out from everything. They always spoke in French. I was always the helper. I had to keep Mister Virenque out of the wind. He thanked me for my efforts only by saying that I was too fat. When dining, they were always laughing at us Dutchmen."
Two years ago, Koerts heard former Belgian professional Edwig van Hooydonck talking about EPO: "I didn't know at all what it was." However, now he knows: "Guys who have a low hematocrite level by nature (35 or 40), are now able to raise it up to 50. How? Eh, by the needle, of course. And that's very frustrating. They have much less talent but they still can come very far."
Sydney Morning Herald Editorial, Saturday, May 22, 1999
The editorial reproduced below was entitled "Just foxing"
THE venue for the 2000 Olympics event takes in magnificent views of Sydney's eastern suburbs and its famous beaches. Some locals, though, complain that their interests will be damaged by the siting of the event. They suggest another location in the western suburbs which is less costly but less dramatic. What do the Olympic organisers decide? If the venue is Bondi Beach and the sport is beach volleyball, the organisers - correctly - negotiate with Waverley Council so that the disruptions caused by closing off part of the beach are reduced by several months. But if the venue includes the course for the road cycling races and objections are raised by Mr Rupert Murdoch's Fox Studios, the organisers tamely give way and opt for a cycling course at Bankstown.
This decision cannot be allowed to stand. To begin with, it diminishes the impact of the Sydney Olympics for television viewers around the world who will be denied the chance of seeing another part of Sydney at its best, as cyclists race on a course that loops through Centennial Park before heading to Bronte Beach. And there is the damaging precedent the Olympic organisers will set by modifying their plans to take into account the claimed commercial interests of Fox Studios.
Until this decision in favour of the Fox Studios was made, Olympic organisers have refused to modify their plans or offer compensation to any businesses adversely affected by the staging of the Games. That policy makes sense. Sydney, and with it all the businesses affected by the Games, will benefit significantly from the Olympics. As well, the budget for the Games could not sustain the costs of the loss of business suffered, to take one example only, by the shops in the CBD during the street-widening developments.
Why is Fox Studios protected where other businesses have to live with the impact to their profits of the Olympics? The Olympic organisers have not provided any compelling reason. In the absence of a good case, it must be presumed that they have succumbed to pressure from Fox Studios and its parent company, News Ltd. When Fox Studios won the lease to develop the old Showground site into a film complex, however, the Premier, Mr Carr, promised that the use of the nearby parks would not be alienated from the public. Mr Carr should tell the Olympic Minister, Mr Knight, to restore the eastern suburbs road cycling race course.
The next morning the visible, outside swelling was improved. A later scan revealed a damaged intestine and Frank underwent immediate and successful surgery. Frank wont be able to get out of the bed for a while (2-4 weeks).
The Japanese people, promoters and hospital have been extremely understanding and helpful! The MD taking care of Frankie, Dr. Hanazawa even encouraged the organizers of Tour of Japan to make sure Frankie had company at all time in the first couple of days because as he said - "it will not be good for healing if Mr. McCormack is alone"! That promted the organizers of Tour of Japan to immediately employ a person to be with Frankie at all hours in the first couple of difficult days!
His contact address for cards:
Frank McCormack
Juntendo Hospital
Izu Nagaoka
Shizouka - ken
Japan
410-2295
Room no.: 3B05
Another US rider is also ill at present. Mercury Cycling team member Kirk Willett has been hospitalised with a blood clot in his right leg.
One of the major arteries in his right leg has been gradually getting blocked over the past few years. Blood was flowing more and more over time around the blockage in what are called "collateral vessels." At some point in the last few days, the obstructed artery clotted off completely and the collateral vessels were unable to handle the full load.
Kirk was transferred to Univ. of OR Health Sciences Center where they began to inject drugs to dissolve the clot. The procedure was a success and the drugs dissolved the clot completely.
The narrowing in the artery is now more visible by angiography (special XR to look at arteries) and isn't as bad as they expected it might be.
Kirk will have to be on blood thinners to prevent the clot from reforming. He will be out of action for quite a while. He will have to go back to the Hospital in early July to determine if surgery is needed to repair the artery. It is not known what caused the clot to form.
You can send cards to Kirk at 61414 SW Rock Bluff Ln. Bend, OR 97702