feenster - by reference to the book I take it you mean the Life and Death of Marco Pantani? The point the book makes is - you will never know how good a cyclist he would have been without the EPO since the effect of treatment varied from cyclist to cyclist. And due to this, a level playing field is never a possibility. Pantani was also not on drugs (EPO or Cocaine) at the start of his career. I think there is a point in the book where the author subjectively points out when this - in all probability began.
he never failed a drug test either FWIW
The test he failed was the haemocrit test. Which basically measures the levels of red blood cells. An elevated red blood cell count being an indicator of EPO.
There was no direct drug test for EPO at the time.
Incidently, Bjarne Riis winner of the 1996 TdF when questioned over evidence of his blood doping - famously replied - "I have never tested positive".
He was also nicknamed "Mr.60%" ~ apparently the level of his haemocrit.
(Panatani was tested at 52% in his failed test).
Fignon's book - makes insight into the changes in the peloton in the 80s to the 90s. It's fair to say, when on-form he was an exceptional rider. But he discovered in the 90s - he simply could no longer keep up.
