Another chink in cycling’s institutional doping armor turned up with the confession of Rudy Pevenage, former T-Mobile manager, that he organized trips for former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich to see Spanish blood-lab doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
Underlining the “everybody did it” argument we ultimately feel Lance Armstrong will legitimately adopt, Pevenage says, “Back then I wasn’t under the impression we were doing anything wrong.” That he can say it with a straight face shows how ingrained — and tolerated — the doping culture was for so many years in pro cycling.
Key line: “But the Belgian also hit out at riders who, he claims, have spoken out against doping having also been clients of Fuentes.”
Pevenage named no names in this report, but you have to wonder if he hasn’t been visited by investigators following up on the Floyd Landis allegations.