In an interview with 20minutes.fr, Moncassin argued that the prohibition of performance-enhancing substances was mainly done to protect athletes' health. "Doping is illegal because it's not good for athletes' health. To deliver great spectacle is good, but you shouldn't put your health in danger," insisted the former French national team selector, and he also refuted the argument that if doping was made legal, potentially dangerous doping practices would be take place less often.
"It would be the same... All riders would take certain products, but some would try to take something else in order to go faster. Stupid things like Riccò... the solution is right: He got caught, now he's banned for life. End of story."
Moncassin, who in his time as a pro won two stages at the Tour de France, was adamant that even race results would not be very different to what they are today. If doping was legalised, "we'd get about the same results. A champion is a champion. Some won because they cheated, but many won because they are great champions," he said.
