Dutch cycling great Steven Rooks became the latest former cyclist to confess to taking EPO in a book released this week.
The 48-year-old – second in the 1988 Tour de France when he won the classic Alpe d’Huez stage – admits in the book about the Tour de France “Het laatste geel” (The last yellow) that he resorted to taking the drug after his best years were behind him.
“Yes, I took EPO. It was necessary in order to compete at the highest level,” said Rooks, who also took the King of the Mountains jersey in the 1988 Tour.
However, Rooks, who also won the One day classics Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 1983 and the Amstel Gold Race in 1986, insisted he had only started taking it after 1989 when he finished seventh overall in the Tour and won a stage.