Thanks to riders like you Mr. Riis.

Bjarne Riis, the Danish winner of the 1996 Tour De France has confessed to doping his way to victory:

Via VeloNews: Riis said he took EPO from 1993 until 1998, including the 1996 season when he won the Tour de France.

This quote really got to me: "I am proud of my results as a rider and an owner," he said.

During the same years that Riis admitted to taking EPO, I was churning the 12 cog over the roads of Europe, clean.

I won two European amateur races in 1994 clean. The next year, the guys who got second in those two races turned pro.

After climbing mountains like I never thought possible, I wore the best climber jersey on the podium the final day of the 1994 Tour De Namur clean.

I am proud of my results as a rider Mr. Riis, as well as of my conduct. You have been part of the problem of doping in the sport, and have damaged cycling in ways you cannot imagine.

When a team manager told me I could become a Pro, I said yeah, but I don't want to dope. He said:

"You are clean? Well, I could set you up with a good Doctor".

Thanks to riders like you Mr. Riis.

Often I was approached at races by kids who wanted to talk about racing, and I took every oppourtunity to talk to them. They would ask about my bike, my team, the training. I would ask when they planned on getting a bike and racing. On more than a dozen occasions a kid would say something to the effect of:

"My parents won't let me race, they say that all of the riders take drugs".

What could I say? As for the pro ranks, it was absolutely true.

Thanks to riders like you Mr. Riis.

I had a friend that quit racing to go into rehab to kick his amphetamine addiction. He was taking them so that his heart rate would go over 220 BPM.

Thanks to riders like you Mr. Riis.

Am I supposed to believe it was just EPO, Mr. Riis? That would be atypical for the '90s. Did you ever take HGH? How about Le Pot Belge?

I believe you should pay back every penny of prize money you earned from 1993 through 1998.