Johannes Draaijer (8 March 1963 – 27 February 1990) was a Dutch cyclist. He won two stages of the

Peace Race The Peace Race (, , , (), , , , ) is a cycling race that was established as the largest event in Eastern Europe after the Second World War. Since 2013, it has been run as one of the most prestigious stage races for national U23 teams. Histo ...

in 1987 and one stage of the

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia () is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's fina ...

in 1989. The same year he finished 130th in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

and was part of the team that won the race. On 27 February 1990, Draaijer died in his sleep of

heart block Heart block (HB) is a disorder in the heart's rhythm due to a fault in the natural pacemaker. This is caused by an obstruction – a block – in the electrical conduction system of the heart. Sometimes a disorder can be inherited. Despite the ...

, just a few days after a race. It is widely presumed, though not proven, that his death was caused by the use of the

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve at ...

erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

(EPO). The autopsy did not specify the cause of death, but Draaijer's wife later told the German news magazine, ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', that her husband became sick after using EPO. This was the second death of a Dutch cyclist that was attributed to EPO, after demise of

Bert Oosterbosch Bert Oosterbosch (30 July 1957 – 18 August 1989) was a Dutch racing cyclist. Oosterbosch was a successful Track cycling, track and Road bicycle racing, road racer. Early career In 1978, he won the World amateur team time trial championship (wi ...

in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draaijer, Johannes 1963 births Dutch male cyclists Doping cases in cycling Dutch sportspeople in doping cases 1990 deaths People from Gaasterlân-Sleat Cyclists from Friesland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen