In the aftermath of the first part of LANCE, an ESPN documentary chronicling the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong, controversy continues to surround the doping levels of his peers.

More than a generation of riders, most of whom have never tested positive, have been tested, leaving it a matter of speculation as to who ingested what and when. But while many portray Armstrong's era as almost entirely tainted by performance-enhancing - "doping was inevitable," Armstrong's manager, Johan Bruyneel, said earlier this spring - there have been protests from the peloton of the time They are. [Former player Scott Mercier, who spent the 1997 season with the US Postal Service team, tweeted that "for the record - not everyone was doping" as the first episode of the two-part documentary was shown.

Best known for this theme is Christophe Basson, the self-proclaimed "Monsieur Propriété" (Mr. Clean). He was bullied by Armstrong and others at the 1999 Tour de France after he raised concerns about doping in the peloton. Jonathan Vaughters, a former teammate of Armstrong's, said of the Frenchman that "Basson was robbed of a fairly successful career purely because of doping"

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But there were others. Former Cofidis teammate David Miller described him as "one of the best climbers in the world" and an athlete who hesitates to even complete a course of antibiotics.

On Thursday, according to the French website Cyclismactu.net, Moncoutier, now a critic for Eurosport, said: "Without doping, that era would have been difficult.

"I turned professional in 1997, but between 1997 and 1998 it was difficult to get through the big races without taking anything. After the Festina incident, especially with the French team, I felt more secure because everyone put the brakes on." [In the 2002 Tour de France, he finished 13th overall behind Armstrong, Raimonda Lumsas, Levi Leipheimer, Ivan Basso, and Michael Boogarde, all of whom later became tainted by the doping scandal.

"I was still competitive, but from 2003 I felt I was back to where I was [before Festina]. So from then on I changed my goals and decided to focus on winning stages."

"I was still competitive, but I felt like I was back to where I was before the Festina.

He won two stages in the Tour and four stages and a mountain prize in the Vuelta a España.

"It was difficult to compete at the top at the time, especially for GC in the big races, without doping," said Moncoutie. 'Armstrong did the same with the others. Fortunately, there were a few riders like myself who ran without doping, but we couldn't compete in the Grand Tours or major classic races."

Asked if he felt doping deprived him of a better overall finish at the 2002 Tour, Moncoutie replied: "Certainly when you look at the GC results ...... It was the year I really fought for GC at the Tour.

"Still, I finished a long way behind Armstrong, but I am sure that without doping it would have been a different race.

"But did you really feel like competing for the podium? I have no regrets." I managed my career in the moment."

Both parts of ESPN's 30 for 30: LANCE are available on ESPN Player (opens in new tab), available in Europe, Asia and Africa with a monthly pass. Priced at £9.99 ($12.16), it provides access to ESPN movies, college sports coverage from around the U.S., X Games, and much more. The annual pass costs £69.99 ($85.21). Both packages include a one-week free trial, which can be cancelled at any time.

The channel is also available on the popular cord-cutting TV streaming service. Sling TV (opens in new tab) offers $10 off the first month, and Hulu (opens in new tab) offers a 7-day free trial to try it out.

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