Rachel Dard
Encyclopedia
Rachel Dard was a French professional cyclist said to have raced across France to avoid a positive dope finding and ended up in a row which exposed organised drug-taking in cycling in the 1970s.
in 1976. Maurice de Muer was the manager, Bernard Thévenet
the star rider and François Bellocq the doctor. At the start of that year the team rode L'Étoile des Espoirs, a stage race in south-west France
. Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke
was race leader and Dard, his team-mate, had won the stage to Dax
.
Dard and a further team-mate, Bourreau, were called for a dope test. Both were caught trying to defraud the control with a condom
of untainted urine in their shorts to give the impression they were urinating.
Dard, it was reported, left the control room and then realised that his place in the race, perhaps his team, were over before the season had properly started. He found the doctor, Bruno Chaumont, and begged him not to report the positive. Chaumont agreed to burn the reports. Dard then realised that while there may be no positive report, the absence of a report meant there had been no test either. He would have to explain why Chaumont had returned to the French federation with two empty bottles identified as his.
Bourreau had accepted his guilt and didn't want to take it further. But Dard is said to have gone back to the test centre for the empty bottles. But Chaumont had left by train to Paris. Dard got a lift to the station with another Peugeot rider, Bernard Croyet. They arrived just as Chaumont's train left for Paris. The two ran back to their car and drove across France to get to Paris before him. They reached Austerlitz station in time to meet Chaumont on the platform. Dard begged until tears ran down his face, literally. And again Chaumont relented. He took out the two bottles and smashed them. Dard (see below) disputes the story.
Chaumont said:
coincidentally ran a story about dope-taking in French cycling. Chaumont told the tale. Dard now had nothing more to lose, so he too went to L'Équipe and spilled the inside story, right down to providing the prescriptions for dope that Bellocq, the team doctor, had given him. He said riders treated with cortisone and steroids were now in "a pitiful state".
To which the doctor replied:
The story, however, also appears in a book by the team doctor, Bellocq, who died aged 47 in 1993 and was a believer in cortisone
as a treatment for racing cyclists. Bernard Thévenet accused him of ruining his career.
.
The doping historian, Dr Jean-Pierre de Mondenard, named Peugeot's manager, Maurice de Muer, as the "gold medallist" in doping in cycling.
Peugeot was in no moral position to fire Dard. He raced at least once again but de Muer told him he would never ride anything better than third-rate events. Dard left the team and racing at the end of his contract. He opened a bike shop in St-Germain-du-Plain in Paris.
Dope test
Dard was riding for PeugeotPeugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
in 1976. Maurice de Muer was the manager, Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet, born 10 January 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, Saône-et-Loire, is a retired French bicycle racer. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx...
the star rider and François Bellocq the doctor. At the start of that year the team rode L'Étoile des Espoirs, a stage race in south-west France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke
Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke
Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, track cyclist and directeur sportif. He is an uncle of Frank Vandenbroucke. He was a prologue specialist, winning 19 prologues throughout his career....
was race leader and Dard, his team-mate, had won the stage to Dax
Dax, Landes
Dax is a commune in Aquitaine in south-western France, sub-prefecture of the Landes department.It is particularly famous as a spa, specialising in mud treatment for rheumatism and similar ailments....
.
Dard and a further team-mate, Bourreau, were called for a dope test. Both were caught trying to defraud the control with a condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
of untainted urine in their shorts to give the impression they were urinating.
Dard, it was reported, left the control room and then realised that his place in the race, perhaps his team, were over before the season had properly started. He found the doctor, Bruno Chaumont, and begged him not to report the positive. Chaumont agreed to burn the reports. Dard then realised that while there may be no positive report, the absence of a report meant there had been no test either. He would have to explain why Chaumont had returned to the French federation with two empty bottles identified as his.
Bourreau had accepted his guilt and didn't want to take it further. But Dard is said to have gone back to the test centre for the empty bottles. But Chaumont had left by train to Paris. Dard got a lift to the station with another Peugeot rider, Bernard Croyet. They arrived just as Chaumont's train left for Paris. The two ran back to their car and drove across France to get to Paris before him. They reached Austerlitz station in time to meet Chaumont on the platform. Dard begged until tears ran down his face, literally. And again Chaumont relented. He took out the two bottles and smashed them. Dard (see below) disputes the story.
Chaumont said:
That evening, I took the train with the empty test bottles closed with seals. There was no question of taking samples from the riders because they had cheated. The next morning, at Austerlitz station in Paris, at 6.30am, who do I see? Rachel Dard, accompanied by a second person, short with brown curly hair, that I didn't recognise. He begged me not to denounce him. After hesitating, I agreed. I threw the test bottles into the gutter to show him that I understood his problems but I made him promise not to say anything. Well, pretty quickly, everything was revealed. Who talked? Certainly not me.
Revelations
Weeks passed and nothing happened. Then L'ÉquipeL'Équipe
L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
coincidentally ran a story about dope-taking in French cycling. Chaumont told the tale. Dard now had nothing more to lose, so he too went to L'Équipe and spilled the inside story, right down to providing the prescriptions for dope that Bellocq, the team doctor, had given him. He said riders treated with cortisone and steroids were now in "a pitiful state".
Row
A row then broke out between Dard and the doctor. Dard said:To which the doctor replied:
His attitude is incredible [c'est fabuleux, une pareille attitude]. But I can understand Rachel Dard; but finally, if he had never confessed, I would never have dropped him. I would have defended him. I don't want the death of a sinner. I came into cycling to try to overcome the wall that exists between the cyclist and the doctor. I'm not there to do the dirty on anyone [pour faire tomber un tel ou un autre].
The story, however, also appears in a book by the team doctor, Bellocq, who died aged 47 in 1993 and was a believer in cortisone
Cortisone
Cortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...
as a treatment for racing cyclists. Bernard Thévenet accused him of ruining his career.
Aftermath
Bellocq was banned from working for the French federation, although he continued to work for teams. Chaumont, too, was disciplined by the Fédération Française de CyclismeFédération Française de Cyclisme
The French Cycling Federation or FFC is the national governing body of cycle racing in France.The FFC is a member of the UCI and the UEC...
.
The doping historian, Dr Jean-Pierre de Mondenard, named Peugeot's manager, Maurice de Muer, as the "gold medallist" in doping in cycling.
"You'd be hard-pushed to count how many doping affairs [Maurice de Muer] has been involved with... at the head of Bic, then Peugeot. [He had] for the period 1970-1978 twenty-four positive cases concerning riders in these teams of the 70 total. That's 36 per cent!"
Peugeot was in no moral position to fire Dard. He raced at least once again but de Muer told him he would never ride anything better than third-rate events. Dard left the team and racing at the end of his contract. He opened a bike shop in St-Germain-du-Plain in Paris.