Doping and the Story of Those We Love
My opinions on the subject of doping have been expressed many times over the years and it is clear what my stance is. I’ve tried to give the facts as a way of providing unbiased information to the general public so that they may understand what doping is and how it has affected the world of professional cycling. However, I have been hesitant in sharing the more personal stories as they are private and bring back a lot of painful memories. Yet I realize that I cannot separate the two. Doping isn’t just something that affects a sport, it is something that affects friends, families and loved ones and leaves an indelible mark on our lives.
I’ve decided to share a story that is not from my perspective, but one of someone who I love and who has been with me throughout this entire journey. As my wife, my best friend and confidante, Kathy LeMond has had a unique vantage point into the cycling world. Her perspective is not one of an athlete, but as a normal person privy to the trials, challenges and triumphs of the sport. Here she shares a personal story from many years past on how doping in the sport of cycling has impacted the lives at hand, not just the reputations, media or standings.
Kathy’s Story:
It was pitch black in our bedroom as I reached for the ringing phone. I was already panicking because it is never good news that wakes you from a deep sleep. I thought it might be my parents and something had happened at home in the US. No one called us in the night, everyone knew Greg needed to sleep.
I finally found the phone and answered. All I heard was screaming and crying. I totally panicked. I yelled to wake Greg up. I didn’t even understand who was on the phone. Then I got it. Anna-Lisa Draaijer was sobbing that she had tried everything but,” he was dead.” He was cold when she touched him. She was waiting for the ambulance and what should she do?” He’s dead! He is cold, he is cold. I am so afraid! Oh my God, oh my God!”
I could not even process what Anna-Lisa was telling me. Johannes dead. She had tried CPR but he was already cold and she was alone. We stayed on the phone until the ambulance arrived. Greg and me trying to wake up enough to process what was going on in our dark and cold bedroom and Anna in the hallway of her house in her nightgown alternating between sobs and screams of pain.
We were not close friends, we were casual friends with our bond primarily being our husbands’ profession and our language. I was another American wife. I was older and had my children and she was a newlywed. Johannes and Greg had been on PDM together and we’d had dinner together as friends once, at least that’s what I remember now. They were young and very in love and a joy to be around. She was smart and working as an accountant in Holland.
Just a few years earlier, we were all in our kitchen getting ready to leave the house to go out with the Draaijer’s. While waiting for the babysitter to arrive Anna-Lisa started telling about how tired Johannes had been and that PDM had decided that he had a testosterone deficiency. Both Greg and I reacted the same, “What? Of course he does. He’s racing. Greg is depressed most Mondays after a long race ends and it is totally normal to be low on testosterone after a big race.” She informed us that Johannes was now on a hormone supplementation program. The young couple had been told by team management that he needed it.
Now, this is where it all ended up. A young man dead in his bed and his sweet young wife a widow. She got in her car after leaving his body at the hospital in Holland. She came down to stay at our house in Belgium. We all sat and cried and cried. She could not believe that he was really gone-nor could we. We’d forget at times and it felt like he was at a race. We were used to our husbands being gone. She stayed for days and we tried to help her get information and just help her stay alive.
Sometimes I imagined how I would react if I lost Greg. How would I possibly live through it? I always thought I would just die too but was now witnessing that things don’t work like that. The one left behind is still alive. The grief doesn’t kill you, as much as you wish it would.
This was a entirely different type of death. A death with a component of dishonesty and shame. As though Johannes wasn’t the amazing young man that he really was. That her grief should be hidden and his death not talked about. That was clearly what the cycling world wanted.
Anna-Lisa was told that an autopsy would be performed It was a traumatic week for her with constant badgering by all and her waiting for his cause of death. She was so grief stricken that I placed many of the calls to PDM management asking for information. They wanted to talk to her, alone. I was very protective because I knew each of these men. We had a past.We left that team for their promotion of doping and it had been bitter.
I was like a protective mother and so angry witnessing her grief. This was all so wrong.This was so stupid. This was only cycling.
Anna-Lisa finally agreed to go back to Holland by herself to meet with PDM management. She left the house shaking and nervous and a bit disconnected.
She said she’d call me when she knew what was going on.
She called that night. She told me that Johannes had died with the heart of a 70 year old man, it was “shredded.” She had made an agreement with PDM but did not share the details with me.
I have not heard from her since then, but Greg and I have never forgotten her or Johannes. This young and vulnerable couple persuaded by team management to do unethical and illegal activities that they would never dream up on their own.
Our first experience with the gravest possible outcome of a life of doping. It didn’t end there and Greg lost other teammates to doping and depression. It is not an activity without consequences. If there is an outraged energy that we both carry to the fight against doping it is because we have this experience. How shallow is any victory when compared to the love of your spouse and the joy of a family. They missed out on it all
heart felt and an example that needed (needs) never to occur.
clean it up!
Thank YOU! I support you! Lauren is running for UNC now! I most certainly appreciate your efforts… want my children to have the opportunity to compete clean!! say Hi to Mike Klasen from us!
Caroline
A very sad story that must have been very difficult for Kathy Lemond to recall. It highlights that Greg’s campaign against doping is not about jealousy but actually about honesty and the lives of young people.
Keep up the good work.
While I’m sorry for the loss of your friend, I’m also disappointed. I’m disappointed in the way that this whole doping issue is being mishandled.
If you accuse someone of doping, you have to have evidence. Yes, there are various reputations, money and power involved in this. But also, there’s a huge missed opportunity.
All I’m hearing/seeing online is the Greg/Lance Hype. Who’s mad at who? What did Greg say today? Will Lance lose any sleep over it? Instead of dealing directly with doping.
Two days ago I heard a sportswriter basically say, fans could care less if pro athletes dope or not. All they care about is winning.
Think about this for a second. Something that can potentially kill you or scar you for life (in more ways than one) is perfectly ok. As long as you win and make money.
What does that say about society? I’d like to think (and I know) that I’m not the only one who cares about this. Yet, when I hear this, it makes me think, will any pro team or governing body take this seriously? Or, will they spin this to their advantage to keep making huge profits and get big TV ratings?
I don’t know what to think.
So are you claiming that Greg is the only clean rider to win the Tour?? Gotta tell ya I dont believe it for a moment. Sorry to those that lost their lives due to doping.
oeffffff,
I like the LeMond’s
I remember this story. They had a spot of this on TV, during the 1990 Tour I think. Mrs. Draaijer was interviewed, basically asking why all the Dutch cyclists were dying of heart attacks. It seems this was the beginning of real organized doping, at least what we, the public could see. I always thought it was early use of EPO, and PDM probably just overdid it, and the blood got too thick. I’m sure I don’t know the real story.
I remember also, that PDM lost Breukink, Kelly, and Alcala during the ‘90 Tour literally overnight from a ‘virus’. I always thought it was from the overnight IV’s or whatever they use, and a tainted solution was probably shared or something. Again, total conjecture on my part, but the Dutch were pushing the envelope in those days.
I wonder what Greg thinks of Indurain. Many points of view share the opinion he was a walking chemistry lab—obviously using EPO and blood-boosting potions prior to any effective countermeasures were in place. Greg certainly got shelled in ’91, along with most others. I recall Indurain was spoken of as “…from another planet…”. Well, who knows. But it was interesting reading this story from Kathy about the Draaijers, as I recall that story from back then.
Kathy, I am shocked and deeply saddend by this tragic event. I hope we can find the solution to stop this madness from happening again. How can we let this go on? Bike racers are suposed to be at the pinical of their health. Young lives taken with greed in the name of cycling! Thank you for sharing this story with us Kathy, We can only hope our industry can learn from this and create a safe and fair sport. Shane
For sure the PDM riders where using EPO. I know this because their doctor (Erik Rijckaert) told me that they would go to the pyrenees to “prepare” the riders for the big races. He also had a “racers” suitcase full of products if you wanted him to “prepare” you for a race. You can google his name and find out which teams he worked for.
Steve,
Your were my childhood hero, and one of the greats. I have no issue with your position on doping but you got to move above and beyond.You are losing credibility focusing bringing down Armstrong. He is a legend in so many ways, for better or worse. Focus your efforts in a direction that will build on your foundation. Remember perception matters, and its my perception that you are to focused on Armstrong.
Best Wishes,
STEVE
Regards,
Lance
Sorry to read about your friend’s loss, but seriously, testosterone replacement therapy does not cause a heart to be “shredded”, nor does it cause MI’s, stroke, angina or any other form of heart disease. More than likely, Johannes (assuming he had low testosterone) suffered from early hypertension which, combined with extreme exercise (i.e., training and racing) caused a cardiomyopathy to lead to sudden cardiac death. Most people do not realize that for close to 60% of those who suffer MI’s, the first symptom and outcome is sudden cardiac death. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy combined with arrythmia, low testosterone induced hypertension. If anything, testosterone replacement in men with low testosterone doesn’t cause heart disease, it helps prevent it. Just go to PubMed.gov and do a search for “testosterone and heart disease” and you will quickly learn that there is very little likelihood that this form of testosterone replacement or boosting could have caused the outcome.
Thanks for having the concern and courage to share a difficult story with a readership – and a public – not always willing to hear the truth.
ohoJerry –
“Testosterone replacement” is what the rider told his wife. Do you really think that’s the extent of what he was playing with? If you have any knowledge of PDM in the 90′s, you’d realize it’s not a wild guess to assume there was probably alot of illegal substances going into his body than just testosterone…
Previous poster mentioned that he heard a sportscaster say “the fans don’t care about doping”. Hello. There is a audio interview on youtube of Phil Liggett a few years ago, in which he says the EXACT same thing.
Use some critical thinking. Think who is giving you this “expert opinion” on the state of cycling. Is it Phil Liggett, Pat McQuaid, Bruyneel or Riis? All people who PROFIT GREATLY from the charade of pro cycling??
The truth is out there, folks. Educate yourselves and don’t feel bad if you’ve been duped into thinking the last decade of the Tour was clean cycling.
Keep telling the story. There will be doubters and cynics; so what. Who cares if Testoterone may have not caused whatever? Does anyone think that’s all he was told to take? Denial is the right hand of this disease.
Greg is my cycling hero. I admire your character in a time in which character is in low supply. Chapeau!
Keep telling the truth Greg! There are plenty out here who want to hear it!
Greg. I see that Dr Ferrari is trying to muddy your name and implicate
a former colleague of yours (a doctor) and you with doping in an open letter published on Cyclingnews.com. This, I believe is desperate stuff on behalf of Dr Ferrari whose comments about EPO means that he has zero credibility on doping. The next few weeks will be very interesting. May the truth be told and then we must all move on/
ohoJerry, like other anabolics, test is likely to contribute to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Thank you courageous Kathy for telling your story. May this be the first of many that we hear! Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the stories from the former Mrs. Armstrong? Or how about his rock star ex-fiance? Please keep shining your light of truth, Kathy and Greg. Respectfully,
Chris P. Madden
It takes alot of guts to write out your story for the world to see. How can cynics think that a story like this could be made up? Personal gain? What would Greg gain from it? To become the greatest American in ever in cycling again? He already did it. He was the first to wear the Jersey and the first to win it. Lance however good he was could never take it away. Deep down everyone knows something is wrong. I still remember when in 1987 when Stephen Roache went into oxygen debt trying to beat Pedro Delgado on a mountain stage and they took him away in an ambulance, the next day he pops back in the race like it didn’t happen. That was the first time I thought something was unusual.
Greg. Keep it up
Well done to both of you for maintaining your dignity and humanity over such a long, and awful, period of time. Greg has suffered far too much for such an honest champion and decent man. I, for one, have always believed him. Everything he has said is now becoming vindicated, including his view that power outputs are adequate indicators of doping. No wonder Ferrari is berating him again but this time we have ‘real’ scientists upholding Greg’s view.
Best wishes to both of you.
This is exactly where you and many like you take it too far. Stop hating Armstrong and focus on facts. Mr. Lemond says there will be overwhelming evidence against Armstrong. Not sure he knows what evidence is. His recent article in Cycling News provides no facts, quotes or validated names. That is heresay not evidence. Stop throwing people under the bus without facts.
Why should we believe that you are the only clean rider to win the tour? I believe you are simply jealous that he stole your thunder and is and always will be the greatest American Cyclist. Let it be. He’s just that much better than you as a cyclist, as a man and as someone who has helped untold millions suffering with cancer. You are none of these.
As a 15 year old bike rider, I became a fan of Greg when I first discovered the Tour de France on television in 1985, until he retired in 1992. For me, professional cycling wasn’t the same when he left. Allegations of drug use became common and I eventually stopped following it. Since recently hearing about his ongoing efforts to clean up the sport, I am now a fan of Greg again.
Kathy, Greg,
Is it possible to renew our contact from before?
Your friend from Belgium (Zwevegem),
Bart
I have a question that I hope you can answer…. I can’t understand how LA and the rest of the team cheated for all those years and not a single rider on any of his winning teams were ever caught? Does that mean that the entire sport and the UCI turned the a blind eye to the cheating? How on earth could this be possible? I am shocked!
I have a friend that works in a sports lab in Europe, and I am shocked at what professional cyclist will endure for their sport (even the legally). But why is cycling different? This is what I don’t understand. Surely soccer, football, baseball, and golf have the same problem, but it’s hardly mentioned. And most casual sports reporters don’t understand cycling, and seem to focus only on the doping gossip. I wish that we could come up with a comprehensive strategy of tests and punishments so that doping would be the exception and not the rule. And thus when we see someone fly up the mountain we can thank God for giving us a champion instead of dope.
Nothing was ever made of about the whole PDM team leaving the Tour. It was just ‘accepted’ that they all just got sick with whatever they ate (bad chicken) or some type of ‘virus.’ It still is never brought up or spoken about in any of the cycling media. Why????? Where was the UCI and the AFLD then? It was just swept under the rug and Le Tour just hope people will forget about it.
Response to PN: Facts are everywhere, they just haven’t been validated and published in a way that people like you will accept. I submitted a ‘factual’ statement to USADA. Maybe you just don’t know anything or your comment should be turned around: how much do you need to read/know before you accept that the LA and his team mates doped from 1999 onwards?
Response to Andrew: Stop talking BS and look beyond your low, biased horizon. You are obviously uninformed and your comments should be ignored.
Comment to Greg: I support you – and I am informed.
great experience, dude! thanks for this great
Articles wow… it’s very wonderful report.
How much tax money will be spent bringing down armstrong?
to what end?
Greg, aren’t you glad you never received the same degree of scrutiny about your doping? Just because the stuff you took wasn’t banned does not mean it was right or honorable.
What is the end game? Or is war itself the reward with its own thunder?
Well it finally looks like your crusade is going to be realized. The biggest doper in recent years is going down. Its just ashame it toke so long. Why couldn’t we of stopped this from ruining such a great sport back when it really ramped up. Back when Indurain came out of nowhere. From a good domestic one year to an unstoppable freak the next. This is when the bleeding really started.
Thank you for sharing this story. Please forge ahead with your efforts to bring honesty and clarity to this ugly side of our beautiful sport.
I too have witnessed the terrible toll doping has had on all disciplines of cycling, riders who’s names few would recognize who have accepted doping as the status quo – changing their lives, and the lives of those they love with irreversible result (cancer, birth defects, mental health….).
Doping is cheating, plain and simple – it must be fought with everything we have at our disposal.
I like Greg Lemond
Greg:
Keep your focus and the message simple, get the dopers out of cycling. Its guys like you and Hampsten that have to tell the truth and force the change.
Thanks Kathy. I’m floored..
Greg, You married one in a million! You have been and always will be, without a doubt, a man of unswerving integrity. Never, ever let them bring you down to their level, for truth will weed out and conquer all. Thanks you two for all you have sacrificed and all you have done.
How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened.
Thomas Jefferson