‘You won’t fucking believe this,” Armstrong said. “I got popped for EPO.’
The moment when Lance Armstrong gets done for EPO during the Tour of Switzerland in 2001. The moment when Tyler Hamilton thinks the game is up, he’s done for, his professional cycling career down the drain. ‘I was done’.
The Secret Race follows the career of American professional cyclist, Tyler Hamilton. His rise to fame and his fall from grace. From humble beginnings in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to helping Armstrong claim three Tour de Frances, leading his own team in the Tour de France and winning Olympic gold to being caught out doping and being stripped of his awards. It reveals the great lengths Hamilton (and co.) went to along the way, to compete at the highest level.
Tyler Hamilton earned his place on the historic Postal (originally Montgomery Bell) cycling team in 1995 for his work ethic and his commitment to crossing the line. I remember Bradley Wiggins coming off his bike at the 2011 Tour de France with a broken collarbone. If that had been Hamilton, I have no doubt he would have continued on in the style of Tom Simpson whose (supposed) last words were “Put me back on my bike!” As a cyclist, Hamilton wasn’t afraid to fight on. It was only when he tasted the blood in his mouth that he felt as though he was truly cycling. But as well as a determination that propelled them to ride on despite injury and pain, Simpson and Hamilton had something else in common. They were both on drugs. And that’s where The Secret Race gets interesting.
Read More
