BELGIUM: CYCLE RACING - Press Conference by retired Belgian cycling champion Johan Museeuw admits to taking drugs to enhance his performance towards the end of his career

Retired Belgian cycling champion Johan Museeuw has admitted to taking drugs to enhance his performance towards the end of his career. "At the end of my career, to prepare for a number of races, I made a mistake. I wanted to end my career in beauty and did things that could not be done," Museeuw told a news conference on Tuesday (January 23). Museeuw, a former world champion and three-times winner of the famous Paris-Roubaix race, said he would quit his managerial role with the Quick Step team. However, a spokesman for the Belgium-based team said he was unaware of the announcement. Along with six other riders, the 41-year-old will stand trial later this year charged with possessing the endurance-boosting drugs EPO and Aranesp in 2003. A veterinarian is also accused of providing Museeuw and the other riders with drugs. Considered the best one-day cyclist of recent times, Museeuw has been banned for two years by the Belgian cycling federation for his alleged involvement.

ITN Source | January 25, 2007

Tags:. .performance. .beauty. .number. .source. .former