Recent revelations could send mountain biking racing back to the dark ages of road racing. Jerome Chiotti, a 1996 World Champion and two-time Tour of the Rockies winner, recently admitted that he used EPO in order to win his?96 cross country mountain bike World Championship. EPO, a drug that artificially increases a person’s red-blood-cell count, can increase a racers endurance significantly. However, the EPO user’s blood can thicken and cause strokes or heart attacks. This is most common in young athletes who are in peak physical condition. This story appears in the current issue French magazine, ‘Velo Vert. Today’s French news is full of the story. French Cycling Federation said that they would take disciplinary action against Chiotti who won the title riding for the French Peugeot team. He was previously a road-racer for the doomed Festina team. They were later expelled from the Tour de France 1998 due to EPO violations. Chiotti rode with GT Bicycles between 1997 and 1999, and is now riding with Giant.
Giant Bicycles can only confirm the truth of this story. They are currently working on an official statement that will be published tomorrow. Keep checking back for more information.
