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philmophlegm) wrote2012-08-27 09:48 pm
philmophlegm) wrote2012-08-27 09:48 pm
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So if Lance Armstrong has been "stripped" of his seven Tour de France titles, who did win them?
So the United States Anti-Doping Agency has declared that Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France wins. This is not, let's be clear, because he has failed a doping test, it's because he won't fight the allegations made by certain former team-mates (themselves banned dopers).
Let's leave aside for the moment the matter of Armstrong's guilt or innocence. I really don't know one way or the other, and neither it would seem, does anyone else - including the USADA. Let's also leave aside the matter that the USADA has as much jurisdiction over the Tour de France general classification as I do.
Instead, let's consider this question: If Lance Armstrong didn't win those Tours de France, and rumours of doping rather than actual failed tests are now apparently enough to disqualify a rider's entire Tour de France career, who exactly did?
Armstrong's first Tour win (or should that be 'win'?) was the 1999 Tour, his first after his cancer treatment. If we strip Armstrong of that race, we give it instead to second-placed Alex Zulle from Switzerland. Except that Zulle later admitted taking the banned substance EPO during his career. Third that year was Spaniard Fernando Escartin, but like Armstrong, a former teammate accused Escartin of systematic doping in 2004. Fourth was Laurent Dufaux, also found guilty of EPO use. Fifth was Angel Casero who was one of the riders investigated by the Spanish police in Operacion Puerto. Sixth was Abraham Olano, but he is known to have been a customer of Dr Michele Ferrari, the controversial sports doctor at the centre of many of the Armstrong allegations. You have to go down to seventh-placed Daniele Nardello to find the first rider never (to my knowledge) tainted by doping allegations.
So, not a good start. How about 2000, Armstrong's second win? Second that year was German Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner. But Ullrich was also part of the Operacion Puerto allegations and earlier this year was finally found guilty by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Third was Joseba Beloki (also involved in Puerto). Fourth was Christophe Moreau (arrested during the 1998 Tour and admitted taking EPO, his suspension had expired by the time of the 2000 race). Fifth was three-times Vuelta a Espana winner Roberto Heras (had a fourth Vuelta win stripped after testing positive for EPO). Sixth was Richard Virenque (on the same team as Moreau, denied doping continually despite overwhelming evidence and was suspended). Seventh was Santiago Botero of Columbia (Operacion Puerto). Eighth was Fernando Escartin (see above). Ninth was Francisco Mancebo (Operacion Puerto). That leaves our old friend Daniele Nardello (originally tenth) winning his second consecutive Tour de France!
2001, and we have some of the same names. We can quickly eliminate second-place Jan Ullrich and third-placed Joseba Beloki. In fourth place that year was the Kazakh rider Andrei Kivilev. And it's Kivilev who takes our prize. Tragically Kivilev was killed in a crash in the 2003 Paris-Nice, so he'll never know about his Tour de France win. (This crash, by the way, is the reason that helmets are now mandatory in cycle racing.)
2002 was Armstrong's fourth win. Second that year was Beloki. Third was the Lithuanian Raimondas Rumsas (suspended for EPO use in 2004 and later found guilty, along with his wife, of smuggling doping products into France). Santiago Botero was fourth. Fifth was Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano. He was suspended from the 2003 Tour by the French authorities for taking Salbutamol (an asthma drug), although the international governing body did not consider this to be a failed test. Jose Azevedo was sixth (Operacion Puerto) and Francisco Mancebo seventh. Levi Leipheimer was eighth (he's admitted doping and is one of the former teammates testifying against Armstrong). Roberto Heras was ninth. That leaves Carlos Sastre, winner of the 2008 Tour as our newly installed winner of the 2002 Tour.
2003 saw Armstrong win with Ullrich second. Third was 2012 Olympic champion Alexandre Vinokourov from Kazakhstan. He failed a drugs test during the 2007 Tour and was an associate of Dr Michele Ferrari. Fourth was Tyler Hamilton (another of Armstrong's accusers, failed three tests throughout his career and eventually banned for eight years). Fifth was Basque rider Haimar Zubeldia - and it is to Zubeldia that we give the 2003 Tour.
2004's runner up was the German Andreas Kloden. An independent commission ruled that he was guilty of taking an illegal blood transfusion in 2009. Two-times Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso was third (suspended for two years after Operacion Puerto), Ullrich fourth, Azevedo fifth and Mancebo sixth. Seventh was the Austrian rider Georg Totschnig (illegal blood transfusion and lying under oath about doping). That leaves Carlos Sastre in eighth as our overall winner for the second time.
2005 was Armstrong's final Tour victory. He beat Basso into second. Ullrich was third but the Court of Arbitration in Sport stripped him of that earlier this year. Fourth was Mancebo, fifth Vinokourov and sixth Leipheimer. In seventh was the Danish rider Michael Rasmussen (later suspended for two years for doping offences). And that leaves the Australian Cadel Evans, winner of the 2011 Tour as the winner of the 2005 Tour.
Let's summarise that. Applying the same logic that has 'stripped' Lance Armstrong of his seven Tours de France, those races have been won by:
1999: Daniele Nardello (promoted from seventh)
2000: Daniele Nardello (promoted from tenth)
2001: Andrei Kivilev (promoted from fourth)
2002: Carlos Sastre (promoted from tenth)
2003: Haimar Zubeldia (promoted from fifth)
2004: Carlos Sastre (promoted from eighth)
2005: Cadel Evans (promoted from eighth)
This turns Carlos Sastre into a triple Tour de France winner, putting him in with some pretty exalted cyclists. Evans gets a second maillot jaune. Kivilev and Zubeldia record victories far greater than anything else in their respective careers (Kivilev's biggest win was the 2003 Route du Sud while Zubeldia's was the 2000 Euskal Bizikleta). But nobody gains more out of this than Daniele Nardello. Previously a largely forgotten rider whose career highlights would be the Italian championship in 2001 and Zurich-Metzgete in 2003, he would now join the small list of riders to have won back-to-back Tours de France.
Let's leave aside for the moment the matter of Armstrong's guilt or innocence. I really don't know one way or the other, and neither it would seem, does anyone else - including the USADA. Let's also leave aside the matter that the USADA has as much jurisdiction over the Tour de France general classification as I do.
Instead, let's consider this question: If Lance Armstrong didn't win those Tours de France, and rumours of doping rather than actual failed tests are now apparently enough to disqualify a rider's entire Tour de France career, who exactly did?
Armstrong's first Tour win (or should that be 'win'?) was the 1999 Tour, his first after his cancer treatment. If we strip Armstrong of that race, we give it instead to second-placed Alex Zulle from Switzerland. Except that Zulle later admitted taking the banned substance EPO during his career. Third that year was Spaniard Fernando Escartin, but like Armstrong, a former teammate accused Escartin of systematic doping in 2004. Fourth was Laurent Dufaux, also found guilty of EPO use. Fifth was Angel Casero who was one of the riders investigated by the Spanish police in Operacion Puerto. Sixth was Abraham Olano, but he is known to have been a customer of Dr Michele Ferrari, the controversial sports doctor at the centre of many of the Armstrong allegations. You have to go down to seventh-placed Daniele Nardello to find the first rider never (to my knowledge) tainted by doping allegations.
So, not a good start. How about 2000, Armstrong's second win? Second that year was German Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner. But Ullrich was also part of the Operacion Puerto allegations and earlier this year was finally found guilty by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Third was Joseba Beloki (also involved in Puerto). Fourth was Christophe Moreau (arrested during the 1998 Tour and admitted taking EPO, his suspension had expired by the time of the 2000 race). Fifth was three-times Vuelta a Espana winner Roberto Heras (had a fourth Vuelta win stripped after testing positive for EPO). Sixth was Richard Virenque (on the same team as Moreau, denied doping continually despite overwhelming evidence and was suspended). Seventh was Santiago Botero of Columbia (Operacion Puerto). Eighth was Fernando Escartin (see above). Ninth was Francisco Mancebo (Operacion Puerto). That leaves our old friend Daniele Nardello (originally tenth) winning his second consecutive Tour de France!
2001, and we have some of the same names. We can quickly eliminate second-place Jan Ullrich and third-placed Joseba Beloki. In fourth place that year was the Kazakh rider Andrei Kivilev. And it's Kivilev who takes our prize. Tragically Kivilev was killed in a crash in the 2003 Paris-Nice, so he'll never know about his Tour de France win. (This crash, by the way, is the reason that helmets are now mandatory in cycle racing.)
2002 was Armstrong's fourth win. Second that year was Beloki. Third was the Lithuanian Raimondas Rumsas (suspended for EPO use in 2004 and later found guilty, along with his wife, of smuggling doping products into France). Santiago Botero was fourth. Fifth was Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano. He was suspended from the 2003 Tour by the French authorities for taking Salbutamol (an asthma drug), although the international governing body did not consider this to be a failed test. Jose Azevedo was sixth (Operacion Puerto) and Francisco Mancebo seventh. Levi Leipheimer was eighth (he's admitted doping and is one of the former teammates testifying against Armstrong). Roberto Heras was ninth. That leaves Carlos Sastre, winner of the 2008 Tour as our newly installed winner of the 2002 Tour.
2003 saw Armstrong win with Ullrich second. Third was 2012 Olympic champion Alexandre Vinokourov from Kazakhstan. He failed a drugs test during the 2007 Tour and was an associate of Dr Michele Ferrari. Fourth was Tyler Hamilton (another of Armstrong's accusers, failed three tests throughout his career and eventually banned for eight years). Fifth was Basque rider Haimar Zubeldia - and it is to Zubeldia that we give the 2003 Tour.
2004's runner up was the German Andreas Kloden. An independent commission ruled that he was guilty of taking an illegal blood transfusion in 2009. Two-times Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso was third (suspended for two years after Operacion Puerto), Ullrich fourth, Azevedo fifth and Mancebo sixth. Seventh was the Austrian rider Georg Totschnig (illegal blood transfusion and lying under oath about doping). That leaves Carlos Sastre in eighth as our overall winner for the second time.
2005 was Armstrong's final Tour victory. He beat Basso into second. Ullrich was third but the Court of Arbitration in Sport stripped him of that earlier this year. Fourth was Mancebo, fifth Vinokourov and sixth Leipheimer. In seventh was the Danish rider Michael Rasmussen (later suspended for two years for doping offences). And that leaves the Australian Cadel Evans, winner of the 2011 Tour as the winner of the 2005 Tour.
Let's summarise that. Applying the same logic that has 'stripped' Lance Armstrong of his seven Tours de France, those races have been won by:
1999: Daniele Nardello (promoted from seventh)
2000: Daniele Nardello (promoted from tenth)
2001: Andrei Kivilev (promoted from fourth)
2002: Carlos Sastre (promoted from tenth)
2003: Haimar Zubeldia (promoted from fifth)
2004: Carlos Sastre (promoted from eighth)
2005: Cadel Evans (promoted from eighth)
This turns Carlos Sastre into a triple Tour de France winner, putting him in with some pretty exalted cyclists. Evans gets a second maillot jaune. Kivilev and Zubeldia record victories far greater than anything else in their respective careers (Kivilev's biggest win was the 2003 Route du Sud while Zubeldia's was the 2000 Euskal Bizikleta). But nobody gains more out of this than Daniele Nardello. Previously a largely forgotten rider whose career highlights would be the Italian championship in 2001 and Zurich-Metzgete in 2003, he would now join the small list of riders to have won back-to-back Tours de France.