Philippe Gaumont (22 February 1973 – 17 May 2013) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He earned a bronze medal in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, 100 km team time trial. In 1997 he won the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

classic

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late March on the last Sunday before the To ...

and he was twice individual pursuit French national champion, in 2000 and 2002. In 2004, Gaumont quit professional cycling and later ran a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non ...

in Amiens. Gaumont was well known for having confessed to extensive doping and explaining many tricks of the trade. Gaumont gave a series of interviews, and wrote a book, ''Prisonnier du dopage'' ("Prisoner of doping") in which he explained doping methods, masking methods, the use of drug cocktails such as the pot belge for training and for recreation, and how the need to make money makes racers dope themselves. In April 2013 he suffered a major heart attack and was reported to be in a coma. On 13 May 2013, several news sources reported his death, but according to '' La Voix du Nord'' he remained in an artificial coma, though had suffered brain death. He died on 17 May 2013.

Doping usage

Gaumont began his professional career in 1994 in the

Castorama Castorama () is a French retailer of DIY and home improvement tools and supplies, headquartered in Templemars, France, and is part of the British group Kingfisher plc, which has 101 stores in France and 90 in Poland. The company became a subsidia ...

team. In 1996 he joined the GAN team, and tested positive for

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (brand name Durabolin). Nandrolon ...

in two races. He joined

Cofidis Cofidis is a French company, now majority owned by Crédit Mutuel, based in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses International in cooperation with Cetelem, Cofidis specialized in the consumer credit business of the 3 Suisses Group. I ...

in 1997 and stayed there until the end of his career. In 1998 he tested positive twice for the nandrolone drug, but obtained that the case was dismissed. A year later a blood test conducted in the "Docteur Mabuse" justice case showed he was positive for amphetamines. In 2004, he was interrogated by French police and justice in the enquiry for the Cofidis doping case. He declared that he had repeatedly and consistently used doping products, including EPO, since the beginning of his professional career. He then said that he thought that 95% of professional racers doped themselves and expressed very strong doubts that a racer could win a major tour, such as the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, without doping. As a result of this case, he quit professional racing. Gaumont gave details in his book such as how to avoid being tested positive for

corticoid Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are invol ...

s: how, for instance, to irritate one's testicle sac using salt in order to provoke a rash and obtain a prescription for some corticoid cream. Since urine tests do not distinguish between (legal) corticoid applied as creams, with a prescription, and (illegal) injections, such prescriptions are used to mask doping.

Major results

;1992 : 1st Overall

Tour de la Somme The Grand Prix de la Somme (formerly the Tour de la Somme) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May in Somme, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It al ...

: Bronze medal Olympics Men's team time trial ;1994 : 1st Overall

Tour du Poitou-Charentes Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a road bicycle race held annually in the former region of Poitou-Charentes (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine) France. It was first held in 1987 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

::1st Stage 5 ;1996 : 1st Overall Four Days of Dunkirk : 1st Overall

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a s ...

::1st Stage 1 : 1st

La Côte Picarde La Côte Picarde was a professional cycling race held between 1986 and 2015 in Picardy, France. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 20 ...

: 2nd

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 ...

;1997 : 1st

: 1st Stage 3a Four Days of Dunkirk ;1998 : 1st Stage 1 Grand Prix du Midi Libre : 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 ...

;2000 : French Pursuit Champion : French Team Pursuit Champion : Bronze medal World Championships - Pursuit ;2002 : French Pursuit Champion

References

External links

*
Portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaumont, Philippe 1973 births 2013 deaths Sportspeople from Amiens French male cyclists Cyclists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of France Doping cases in cycling Olympic medalists in cycling Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for France Cyclists from Hauts-de-France

Doping usage

Major results

See also

References

External links