Breaking The Chain: Drugs and Cycling - The True Story [Paperback]

In 1998, he was arrested as he entered France with the supply of drugs to be used by the Festina team in that year's Tour de France. At first, the French thought that they had picked up another drug dealer bringing back supplies from the Netherlands but when they realised the true significance of their find, the consequences for the tour were severe.

The 1998 tour was almost scrapped and serious damage was done to the reputation of the event, the teams and cyclists. Voet himself was briefly imprisoned and then kicked out of the sport which was quite prepared to sacrifice him as a single rotten apple. That led directly to this book in which Voet tells of his own experiences of the drug taking within the world of professional cycling.

The scope of those revelations is shocking indeed. Not just the fact that drug taking occurred but the degree to which it spread across the whole sport and the lengths to which teams went to ensure that riders had the best set of drugs for their individual needs and the measures taken to prevent the riders from testing positive for banned substances. If you want to know exactly how to give a sample of somebody else's urine when stripped and made to give that sample in the presence of a doctor, read here.

The book has it's lighter moments too. The rider caught because the mechanic, who had provided the specimen that the rider later produced, had been taking amphetamines. Another rider who was prepared to buy a dose of rocket fuel, contents unknown, from a stranger who promised that he could win a stage.

Voet's motivation in writing this book is, at least in part, to justify himself by explaining that he did nothing that was not common practice throughout the sport. As such, some will doubt his veracity but he does not mince his words. He names names and gives considerable detail and yet nobody is queuing up to sue him for defamation.

The book does not pretend to be a far reaching survey or to tell the whole story. The author simply writes about his personal involvement in and knowledge of the field. William Fotheringham's translation is very good indeed. He writes fluidly and clearly understands what he is working on. Together, the two men have produced a fascinating book which is really an essential read for anyone interested in cycling or the effects of drugs on sport in general.

He describes personally "charging" as a junior so that he would race well in front of his family, and goes on to describe many of the tricks used to outwit the doping controls. Some of these tricks were sneaky, some sound painful, and some just depended on the laissez-faire attitude of the authorities. He goes on to ask how these can be the same authorities who now claim to be trying to clean up the sport.

He does name names, although in a matter-of-fact way (as they were merely the riders he was responsible for) rather than in a shock-horror-exposé way.

Cycling journalist William Fotheringham's translation is excellent, although he has had to shy away from some names, I presume for legal reasons. If your French is good enough, buy the original version from www.amazon.fr and read it directly after the English one.

This book is written by a masseur who worked with many top teams and riders for years and was heavily involved in the drug culture in professional cycling.

It's badly written and it's hard to follow in places. I guess if you know your cycling history and names, it would be easier. But it is also full of stories and anecdotes about drug taking, told in such a casual way that makes it both shocking and fascinating for anyone interested in sport.

The writer tries hard to elicit your sympathy for the fact he got caught and had little choice but to own up. He is angry with others in the sport whom he helped cheat, for abandoning him. Yet I felt no sympathy for him whatsoever. It's clear that getting caught was the only thing that stopped him being there today doing the same thing.

The sheer scale of the cheating is what made this an interesting read. It leaves you wondering if every rider or every sportsperson for that matter is a cheat. For me it reaffirms the need to leave no stone unturned in ridding sport of drugs.

I need to know that Lance Armstrong is naturally as remarkable a sports man as he appears, so that you can continue to marvel at what is possible.