A former Danish international rider who has decided to quit racing aged 21 years has criticised what he says is a "pills" culture in the sport, especially among young riders.
Ludvig Anton Wacker, who previously rode for the Team Sunweb development squad, said he did not believe teams were to blame for the problem. Instead, young cyclists were taking it on themselves to use pills in races.
As he was leaving cycling behind, he told a Danish news site that when he raced he was frustrated to go into finales in events competing against riders who had just taken tablets when he had taken nothing.
He also believed the pills being consumed were not illegal, but he was still critical of what he saw as a reliance on tablets by young riders looking to maximise their performance.
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Wacker added he had struggled to regain his confidence after a major crash in 2020. He experienced severe nervousness in the bunch after coming back and found it impossible to properly tune into his racing.
Ludwig was very successful as a junior; winning Gent Wevelgem in 2017 and also gaining selection for Denmark for the World Road Championships that year. He then moved to the Netherlands the following season as he was signed by the Team Sunweb development team for two seasons.
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However, looking back now he felt that move came too soon. After he suffered his crash he decided to relocate back to Denmark and rode for CO: PLAY-Giant this year.
But he has now called time on his racing career and said a pills culture was clear to see among young riders.
"I'm tired of pills in the sport. It may be legal pills, but I'm tired of having pills in cycling, and I think it's grotesque, it should be so clear," he told feltet.dk.
"In the big races, people ride around with small containers in their pockets with pills and so on. I have never wanted to take something myself, and then you know that in all the finals, the others take something you do not take yourself.
"These include painkillers and caffeine, among other things. It's completely ridiculous the amount of people taking. Because you do not know what it can mean for the rider's body in 20 years.
"I often think it is the young riders who do it themselves. It is not necessarily the team that is responsible for it. The riders can get it themselves. It is very easy to access."
