Is sailing a clean sport? Such affirmations are always difficult to make but as of today there was no doping case found in the sailing world. The sailors from the Tour de France a la voile and the skippers of the Route du Rhum are regularly controlled and all the results have been so far negative.

Which products are likely to increase performance of sailors? We immediately think about stimulating drugs such as amphetamines however, they would provoke such downside after the exciting phase that they would lead to catastrophic consequences on the boat! Products such as the EPO are not useful to sailors as this is not an endurance sport such as biking. Anabolic steroids? One cannot excludes that some would like to develop quickly their muscles but frankly this is not a huge advantage as even if you hoist your main sail one minute quicker this won’t be decisive to make you win the Vendee Globe. Hashish? Well this is more probably the most used amongst sailors. But is it really a doping product?

How about Herve? His doping is parmesan!

So far we are convinced that sailing is a clean sport until we have evidence of the contrary….

Hervé at the London Flora Marathon in april 2000