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 (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

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

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

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 serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

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 A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. 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 Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of Electroencephalography, brain function, which may include cessation of involuntary activity (e.g., Control of ventilation#Control of respiratory rhythm, breathing) necessary to su ...

. He died on 17 May 2013.

Doping usage

Gaumont began his professional career in 1994 in the Castorama team. In 1996, he joined the GAN team, and tested positive for

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

in two races. He joined Cofidis 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

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

s. 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 cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, 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 corticoids: 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 : Bronze medal Olympics Men's team time trial ;1994 : 1st Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes ::1st Stage 5 ;1996 : 1st Overall

Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...

: 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 se ...

::1st Stage 1 : 1st La Côte Picarde : 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

;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 Cyclists from Amiens French male cyclists Cyclists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for France Doping cases in cycling Olympic bronze medalists in cycling Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for France Cyclists from Hauts-de-France 20th-century French sportsmen

Doping usage

Major results

See also

References

External links