2023-07-26 12:02:32
Professional cyclist Marion Sicot will be content to follow the women’s Tour de France on Wednesday July 26 through her television screen. Suspended from competitions until March 2024, due to a positive test for EPO in 2019 (1), the cyclist states it bluntly: “Yes, there is doping in women’s cycling. We talk about it less than for men, but it is a fact. »
While the women’s Tour de France is attracting more and more spectators, the specter of suspicion seems to be gradually creeping into people’s minds. The positive control of the Belgian rider Shari Bossuyt, during the women’s Tour of Normandy, last June, and the increasingly high performances of the riders since the start of the Grande Boucle raise questions.
« We tend to believe that this problem is almost non-existent in women.
“We think of men because this world is more professional; suddenly we tend to estimate that this problem is almost non-existent in women », remarks Véronique Lebar, sports doctor and test manager for nine years, during competitions. But Antoine Vayer, former coach of the Festina team, affirms it without embellishment: “As many girls admitted to me having doped as boys. Which seemed pretty creepy to me because they had almost no money to earn, unlike the men. »
“The latest cases that have made noise in the media concern women cyclists”reports for his part Tristan Milot, anti-doping coordinator within the French Agency for the fight against doping (AFLD). “Besides, we don’t make any differences between the sexes, we follow athletes whether they are men or women. », explains the manager.
Despite the controls, some runners slip through the cracks. “We cannot test the 160 runners in a pelotonwarns Tristan Milot. Inevitably, some pass between the drops. »
Less income, more DIY
The gap that exists in the cycling economy between men and women plays out in the way of obtaining illegal products. In other words, “Where a man who earns more money can surround himself with a semi-accompanied medical team, the female cyclist, whose income is lower, does more DIY”, says a former cyclist on condition of anonymity. Marion Sicot found her substances herself on the Internet and bought them with just a few clicks.
Do women have specific reasons for doping? For Antoine Vayer, there are three fundamental reasons that can lead athletes to resort to doping: “Recognition, money of course, but also this mechanism of saying: ‘I’m doing it because other people are doing it, and because it’s undetectable.’ »
“Women have the same goal as men: to win”analyzes Véronique Lebar. “Doping is a magic boost that makes you feel stronger and gives you confidenceshe explains. Everyone is susceptible to being tempted one day. » Today, with the extensive schedules for women, the risk of seeing doping increase is “necessarily important”believes Antoine Vayer.
A subject that remains taboo
Marion Sicot makes no secret of it, her priority objective was performance. “I wanted to make those around me proud, through victoriesshe explains. I had locked myself in a dream of professional cyclist but that I lived with difficulty because of the harassment which I underwent” (Marion Sicot will accuse her Belgian manager, Marc Bracke, of sexual harassment in 2020, Ed).
At the time, the lack of support marked the young sportswoman. “They told me that I had tested positive and they let me go, alone, to drive seven hours to get home. “In justice, when you make a mistake, you are taken into custody, you are taken off your shoelaces, you are made to take precautions for your life. In cycling, this is not the case”, compares the repentant cyclist. “One day, there may be a tragedy. OK, we made a mistake, OK we have to accept it, but the pillorying is violent and the subject remains very taboo. »
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