Franck Bouyer (born 17 March 1974, in

Beaupréau Beaupréau () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, La Poitevinière, Saint-Philbert ...

) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1995 and 2013. Bouyer competed for the , Agrigel–La Creuse–Fenioux, , and squads during his career. Bouyer suffers from

narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles. Symptoms often include periods of excessive daytime sleepiness and brief involuntary sleep episodes. About 70% of those affect ...

, resulting in sudden sleep attacks and

cataplexy Cataplexy is a sudden and transient episode of muscle weakness accompanied by full conscious awareness, typically triggered by emotions such as laughing, crying, or terror. Cataplexy affects approximately 70% of people who have narcolepsy, and is ...

, and was unable to compete or train without Modafinil. However, the UCI ruled in June 2004 that Bouyer could not be given a

therapeutic use exemption A therapeutic use exemption (TUE), also known as a temporary use exemption, is a term created in 1991 and refers to an official medical document. The document gives an athlete permission to take a medication listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency ...

to allow him to compete having taken the drug, so Bouyer was unable to race. The

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...

(CAS) upheld the decision of the UCI citing that it could not be determined that Modafinil did not provide an extra increase in performance and that the dosage was hard to measure. Despite the rulings by both the UCI and CAS, the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

(WADA) gave Bouyer permission to return to racing in August 2005. Yet, following an appeal to CAS by the UCI, Bouyer was once again banned. In January 2007, Bouyer's contract with Bouygues Télécom expired and the team released him. Bouyer filed a civil lawsuit against the UCI and WADA in July 2007, arguing they were preventing him from working. After confirmation from the UCI that a new drug for treating narcolepsy (

Xyrem Sodium oxybate, sold under the brand name Xyrem among others, is a medication used to treat two symptoms of narcolepsy: sudden muscle weakness and excessive daytime sleepiness. It is used sometimes in France and Italy as an anesthetic given i ...

) was not on the banned list, he signed again for the team for the 2009 season. Bouyer retired at the end of the 2013 season.

Career achievements

Major results

;1999 :4th

A Travers le Morbihan Grand Prix du Morbihan is a single-day men's road bicycle race held annually in May around Plumelec, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2020, the race is organised as a 1.Pro event on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tie ...

:8th

Giro della Provincia di Siracusa The was a single-day road cycling held annually in the Province of Syracuse in Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demog ...

;2000 :4th

Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers is a road bicycle race held annually near Lillers, a commune in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. The editions 1964-1995 were reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, it is rated 1.2 on the UCI Europe Tour Th ...

;2001 :1st Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

::1st Stage 1 :3rd Overall

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Ho ...

:4th

GP de la Ville de Rennes Grand Prix Cycliste de la Ville de Rennes was a professional cycle road race held in Rennes, France until 2008 when it was last organised, with the organisers citing financial difficulties as the reason. Since 2005 the race was organized as a 1. ...

:8th

Boucles de l'Aulne Boucles de l'Aulne is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May or June around Châteaulin, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2006, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a s ...

:9th Grand Prix de Cholet-Pays de Loire ;2002 :1st

Tour de Vendée Tour of Vendée is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in October (Previously May) in the region of Vendée, France, finishing in a circuit inside La Roche-sur-Yon town. From 2005 until 2009, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the ...

:2nd Grand Prix de Cholet-Pays de Loire :3rd

Trophée des Grimpeurs The Trophée des Grimpeurs, called Polymultipliée until 1970, was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Val-d'Oise, France, between Argenteuil and Sannois. Between 1980 and 2002 it was a criterium. Since 2005, t ...

:5th

:10th Overall

:10th

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

;2003 :2nd Grand Prix de Cholet-Pays de Loire :3rd Overall

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

:7th

Tour du Finistère Tour du Finistère is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April around the city of Quimper, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, also being part of the Coupe de France de cyclisme sur route ...

;2004 :1st

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...

:2nd Overall

::1st Stage 1 :4th

;2010 :1st Overall Tour de Bretagne ;2011 :9th Overall

Boucles de la Mayenne The Boucles de la Mayenne is a road bicycle race held annually in the Mayenne department and Pays de la Loire region in France. It was first held in 1975 and from 2006 until 2019, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race ...

;2013 :7th Overall

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Europcar Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouyer, Franck French male cyclists 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Maine-et-Loire People with narcolepsy Cyclists from Pays de la Loire