I can count off on one hand the number of times I've used testosterone gel - because it doesn't really do much.

I wouldn't call it an addiction. But the truth is, when you join a team as a new professional you encounter a system. As a young rider, older riders let you know how the business works.

I assumed the amount wouldn't be detectable. I also didn't feel that I had done anything wrong.

Ampoules containing cortisone, testosterone gel residues, syringes and needles, a centrifuge for measuring my blood values.But, contrary to the erroneous reports in the press, they didn't find any EPO or growth hormone.

Riders called me up afterwards to say that they had had no other choice. I couldn't understand the way they changed their tune.

The message I understood was this: Just don't get caught!

Of course they were saying: No doping! But as a rider, it's difficult to believe that things can really change from one day to the next.