Top Newport cyclist Simon Holt has walked out on his career in Italy after several of his team-mates tried to get him hooked on performance enhancing drugs.
Holt signed for Italian elite amateur side Progretto Ciclismo late last year in a bid to test himself against the continent’s best riders.
But he is now back in the UK after he found out almost all his team-mates were taking banned drugs.
Speaking exclusively to the Advertiser he said he was left with no option but to return home.
He said: “I am a clean rider and have always raced clean.
“But over there I was exposed to it so much. Almost immediately it was clear that it was going on. It put me in a difficult position because I wasn’t sure what to do. I was the only Englishman in the side and almost all of my team-mates were doping.
“There was one guy who was caught with four banned substances in his blood. Some of them were caught and so the racing licence was suspended. That was when I decided I had to leave.
“”There was just peer pressure from my team mates to use drugs. They would say things like ‘if you take this it will make you ride faster.’
“I was never once tempted. I don’t want to go down that path but it left me trying to race against these guys and prove myself knowing they were taking drugs. It meant I immediately lost all respect for my team mates.
“In Italy there is a lot more pressure on riders at amateur level because it’s such a big sport there. I never once saw anything like it in this country.
“I believe it is a rare example of such drug use and I was a bit unlucky to land myself in such an environment.
“It hasn’t put me off going back out to Italy next season but with a different team. It was just a case of choosing the wrong team.
“All of the riders want to become professional and they are just kidding themselves. They will get found out at the higher level.
“Cycling has a bad reputation when it comes to drugs because of what has been happening at the Tour de France but no other sport is doing as much to try and clean itself up. These guys would immediately be found out with the rigorous testing at professional level so I had to leave.”
Holt added he had been fortunate to land a ride from one of the top UK professional sides for the remainder of the 2009 season.
He said: “I approached the team I used to ride for but then I got an offer from CandiTV and I was lucky that they want to take me on.
“I’m delighted to be back in the country and being part of a top British squad.”
By Alex James
