This little post was inspired by Steve’s excellent summary of the history of doping in pro cycling, along with the little onslaught of doping news we’ve been subjected to this past week. Recently Jan Ullrich was banned for 2 years (starting retroactively in 2005, therefore making him eligible to race 5 years ago!) for doping and was stripped of his 3rd place finish in that year’s Tour. I wondered how the top ten of that year’s Tour de France looked.
Caution: it ain’t pretty.
2005 Tour de France Top Ten
- Lance Armstrong –
never sanctioned. Still being investigated by WADA.Update: watch Oprah… - Ivan Basso – banned two years for planning to use doping (Operation Puerto)
Jan Ullrich– banned two years in 2012 for doping in 2005. Stripped of 3rd place.- Francisco Mancebo – linked to Operation Puerto and not allowed to start the 2006 Tour de France.
- Alexandre Vinokourov – Banned two years for blood doping in 2007.
- Levi Leipheimer – admitted to doping till 2007 (in 2012)
- Michael Rasmussen – removed from the 2007 TdF while wearing the yellow jersey. He had missed a few doping controls and was subsequently fired by his team, Rabobank.
- Cadel Evans – never sanctioned.
- Floyd Landis – Stripped of his 2007 TdF win for doping. He adamantly denied this for years (even writing a book called ‘Positively False’), but came out in 2010, admitting that he was indeed doping.
- Oscar Pereiro – never sanctioned.
The Vicious Cycle 