SOME VICTORIES ARE REAL, OTHERS HOLLOW CHICAGOLAND FINAL Edition

At week's end, the field had been reduced to 14 teams compared to 21 at the start. Just 96 cyclists started the 19th leg, about half the number that began the tour. Six teams pulled out in anger at police tactics and one, Festina, was expelled July 17 after its officials admitted to systematic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChicago tribune (1963)
Main Author Peter Gorner. Peter Gorner is a Tribune science writer
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago, Ill Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 02.08.1998
Subjects
Bicycle racing
Drugs & sports
Hormones
Investigations
Scandals
France
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Summary:At week's end, the field had been reduced to 14 teams compared to 21 at the start. Just 96 cyclists started the 19th leg, about half the number that began the tour. Six teams pulled out in anger at police tactics and one, Festina, was expelled July 17 after its officials admitted to systematic drug use. Five people have been placed under formal investigation by the French police, who, in turn, have drawn the wrath of the riders, including a formal stoppage in which the pack of riders took a leisurely pace through the first 20 miles of Wednesday's stage and then dismounted their bicycles, halting the race at the point of the initial sprint. The name--erythropoietin, pronounced eh-RITH-ro-POY-e-tin, seems almost poetic but not quite and gives no hint of its importance: Without erythropoietin, human existence cannot continue. This is the hormone that controls the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
ISSN:1085-6706