MY UNTOLD STORY OF EPO | GREG LEMOND

Greg LeMond opens up about the hunting accident that nearly killed him in 1987, his grueling comeback despite losing 30 pounds of muscle and 70% of his blood volume, and how EPO fundamentally changed cycling during the final years of his career. He also shares his analysis of modern doping methods, including his beliefs about motor-assisted bikes and how to spot unnatural performances through cadence and power data.

Key Takeaways

• Extreme genetic talent (VO2 max of 92) can mask the severity of traumatic injury — LeMond's naivety about his collapsed lung and massive muscle loss may have actually helped him mentally persevere through a comeback most athletes would have abandoned
• The biological passport and stricter controls have genuinely cleaned up the sport in recent years; modern young riders showing talent early (like Pogaçar and Bernal) is a positive sign compared to the suspicious late-bloomers of the EPO era
• Cadence analysis (RPMs) is a reliable tell for doping — natural power output clusters around 85-95 RPMs on climbs, while suspicious performances show 100+ RPMs, and motor-assisted bikes can be identified through unnatural acceleration patterns where watts drop while speed increases
• Modern riders are achieving similar watts-per-kilo figures as the 90s generation, but they're doing it 3-4kg lighter through extreme caloric restriction, not superior fitness — this doesn't necessarily indicate doping, just different training philosophy
• Riders are often treated as lab rats and given drugs without full understanding of consequences; tramadol use in the peloton is insane because it's an opioid that impairs judgment and pain sensing, yet it's widely used because athletes blindly chase any perceived edge

Expert Quotes

"I really believe that I lost that tour because of EPO at the same time I had a friend that was on PDM at the time and Johanna Ster married to American woman and we got a call and my wife got a call middle of the night I think it was 1990 going to 1991 um he died of a heart attack next to her and we can't say it was EPO I think but she indicated it was probably related to some kind of drugs and then at the end of my career I'm Philip cido um he died of a heart attack — Greg LeMond"

"The problem when you're a commentator, he's not a journalist. That's his livelihood. You know he's looking at David Walsh all the others are going to take that on. He would not have a job probably if he did it. And so that's the difficult thing. — Greg LeMond"

"It's the nature of an athlete isn't it where they're always looking for an edge whether it's you know true legal or illegal and it it shows it's very insightful to the mindset of an athlete and why they're maybe not the best person for Cho public to mimic their patterns behaviors or habits because the lens they view the world through is performance to the exclusion of Health longevity and happiness — Anthony"