[2] Rijkaert was active in cycling when EPO was being introduced to the professional peloton by doctors such as Francesco Conconi and his former assistant Michele Ferrari.
Rijkaert was under pressure from team management to go higher and further with doping of the riders.
[5] Rijkaert together with Bruno Roussel were arrested during the 1998 Tour de France in the town of Cholet.
[4] This ordeal during the diagnosis of his lung cancer was said to have deeply affected Rijkaert mentally and physically.
[7] In October 2000, Rijkaert was fined approximately 15,000 euros for breaking the law against doping.