MUSEEUW CONFESSES: LION NO LONGER

Johan Museeuw, a former winner of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, publicly confessed yesterday to using EPO and Aranesp towards the end of his career.

The former World Champion, who also won the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix each on three occasions, released a book yesterday in Belgium entitled From Lion to Hunted; a play on words of his moniker, ?the Lion of Flanders?.

?I was the king and I wanted to remain on my throne,? said Museeuw in his Dutch-language book.

?I didn?t want to quit cycling. That?s how I ended up using EPO?.

Written in partnership with the Belgian journalist, Rik Vanwalleghem, Museeuw publicly reveals his drug usage in the sport (something that he had long denied), although questions still remain over the exact dates. ?At the end of my career,? is the closest Museeuw comes to elucidating on this.

Museeuw was recently found guilty of doping under Belgian law and is believed to have been part of a major doping ring, involving 15 other people.

Arriving in light disguise at a pharmacy in Cologne, Museeuw ?showed the piece of paper I needed [to get the drugs]. The pharmacist then said something to me that I did not understand and I was given a little box. I took it and paid cash. It must have been between 50 and 100 euros.

?The pharmacist didn?t ask any questions nor give any explanations. Clearly, EPO and Aranesp (red-blood cell enhancing hormones) were freely on sale in Germany," said Museeuw.