New Zealand Cycling Legends #08: Swart Brothers, The: Jack and Stephen

- Blurb -

From the 1970s to the 1990s one name dominated New Zealand road cycling: Swart. Jack Swart shaped racing domestically for over a decade winning everything he could win in New Zealand and medalling at Commonwealth Games. Stephen, eleven years younger, took over the mantle as Jack retired, his path leading to racing in pro teams at the highest level on the roads of North America and Europe. He was recruited into the ranks of the Motorola team alongside a young Lance Armstrong and along with the thrill of racing the Classics and the Grand Tours in Europe, the pinnacle of road cycling, he was introduced to the dark side of the sport. Later he became one of the very few insiders to break the peloton's code of silence, admit to taking performance enhancing drugs himself and speak out against the drug use he saw was corrupting the sport he loved. In doing so he made himself a target, and his reputation was ruthlessly attacked by Lance Armstrong and the Armstrong machine. Eventually of course he was vindicated and Armstrong disgraced. The NZ Herald named him their New Zealander of the year in 2012 for the stand he had taken. From digging house foundations to smashing the New Zealand hour record, milking in Morrinsville to competing in the Tour de France, this is a story of two Kiwi cyclists and two remarkable but different cycling careers.