It's been a staple of Grand Tour leaders' press conference since the Festina Affair of 1998: at some point during their tenure, they are called upon to profess their commitment to the fight against doping.
Leader of the Giro d'Italia since the weekend and now three minutes clear in the general classification, Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) was asked if he felt the need to make a statement about doping after finishing safely in the peloton at Cassano d'Adda on stage 17.
"No, I don't feel to make a statement about this," Kruijswijk said. "Of course I'm against it. I've got nothing to say about it. I feel happy to be at this level. It proves that it's possible without doping because I know it from myself. I know that the past years haven't been the best for cycling but I think it's improving a lot and I have confidence in this cycling.”
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Kruijswijk's LottoNL-Jumbo squad is descended from the old Rabobank set-up, which was thrown into turmoil in the winter of 2012 when the Dutch bank withdrew its sponsorship in response to revelations of the systematic doping programme that existed on the team up to 2007.
Through its iterations since as Blanco, Belkin and LottoNL-Jumbo, the team has played great store on highlighting its transparency. Most notably, Laurens ten Dam, now of Giant-Alpecin, was shadowed by a journalist during the 2013 season and allowed his blood data to be published as part of the book they collaborated on.
For his part, Kruijswijk, who has been with the same set-up since he joined the Rabobank under-23 team in 2007, publishes the details of each of his training rides and races – including his performances at this Giro – on Strava.
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