Richard Virenque
Richard Virenque
Richard Virenqueis a retired French professional road racing cyclist. He was one of the most popular French riders with fans for his boyish personality and his long, lone attacks. He was a climber, winning the King of the Mountains competition of the Tour de France a record seven times. He is best remembered as the central figure in a widespread doping scandal in 1998, and his being regularly displayed as a moronic rubber puppet with hypodermics in his head on...
NationalityMoroccan
ProfessionAthlete
Date of Birth19 November 1969
CountryMorocco
You can say that climbers suffer the same as the other riders, but they suffer in a different way. You feel the pain, but you're glad to be there.
I symbolized doping... My phone rarely rings. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of riders who call me.
I was a hero, and a second afterwards it was all over. Casartelli was dead so what I had achieved was worth nothing.