“Twenty of the 21 podium
finishers in the Tour de France from 1999 through 2005 have been directly tied to likely doping
through admissions, sanctions, public investigations or exceeding the UCI hematocrit threshold.
Of the 45 podium finishes during the time period between 1996 and 2010, 36 were by riders similarly tainted by doping.” —
When news outlets, including ϳԹ, published articles on the recent United States Anti-Doping Agency's report on Lance Armstrong, one of the most referenced lines was a stat: 20 out of the 21 podium finishers had been directly tied to “likely doping.” The obvious question was, Who was the one person not tied to “likely doping”?
I emailed and called the USADA to get an answer, but haven't heard back. They are understandably busy. So, I did the next most obvious and slightly more time-consuming thing. I went back through news reports and the Tour de France standings to see who the 21st man might be.
A number of news organizations already played the same game. made a graphic showing those Tour de France podium finishers officially linked to doping. The only three podium finishers from 1999 to 2005 without mugshots on the graphic were Fernando Escartin (Spain), Joseba Beloki (Spain), and Andreas Kloden (Germany). made a list of the podium finishers from 1999 to 2005 and the only two finishers they had without notes on doping were Escartin and Kloden. made a similar list that lacked doping notes on those two same riders.
Beloki was involved in the Operacion Puerto investigation. The fact
that he racked up three podium finishes means he can't be the lone podium placement mentioned by the USADA. News articles on both Escartin and Kloden show that suspicions have been raised on their possible doping as well. Escartin was believed to be a client of Dr. Michele Ferrari. Kloden was connected to a doping scandal at Freiburg University in 2006. In August of this year, the German National Anti-Doping Agency expressed interest in investigating whether he and two other riders were doping.
So who is the podium finisher the USADA can't tie to “likely doping”? We may not find out for a bit, though, eventually, even more names may be added to their list. took the step of determining who the Tour de France winners might be based on a lack of doping suspicions. None of the athletes they selected between 1999 and 2005 finished in the top three spots. In one year, they decided the top spot would go to a 10th place finisher. Their hard work, or any judgment from the USADA on who did or didn't dope from 1999 to 2005 in the Tour de France, may not matter. Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, said the USADA's report is so “damning” and raises such doubts about “a system and an era” that if Lance Armstrong's titles are stripped, no one will be designated the official winner.
Right now, the USADA's report is with the UCI and they will make a decision on the next action. If they decide they don't want to strip Armstrong of his titles, there will likely be a fight with the USADA. If they do agree to strip his titles, the conclusion will likely be something many people have already come to terms with: During this period in cycling there were no clear winners.
I've listed the top three podium finishers from 1999 to 2005, with links to news articles about their official and suspected ties to doping.
1999: Lance
Armstrong, USA
“On Wednesday, at last, the image crystallized: Armstrong was the
ringleader, ruthless enforcer, and prime beneficiary of what USADA’s
Travis Tygart called 'the most sophisticated, professionalized, and
successful doping program that sport has ever seen.' As ESPN’s Bonnie
Ford : 'After today, anyone who remains unconvinced simply doesn’t want to know.'” ϳԹ
Alex Zulle, Switzerland
“His
1998 team, Festina, was ousted from the Tour that year in connection with the
widespread use of the performance-enhancing drug EPO. Zulle later
admitted to using the blood-booster over the four previous years. The Festina
affair nearly derailed the 1998 Tour, and is widely seen as the first big
doping scandal to jolt cycling.”
Fernando
Escartin, Spain
“Escartin was a frequent client of Michele Ferrari, although the Spaniard never tested positive.”
2000: Lance
Armstrong, USA
Jan Ullrich, Germany
“After a prolonged delay, , the German who won
the 1997 ,
was for two years Thursday for blood doping. Because Ullrich
retired from racing five years ago, the penalty imposed by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport is largely symbolic.”
Joseba Beloki, Spain
“Implicated in Operation Puerto, he retired in
2007. He was reportedly was cleared by a Spanish court of any involvement in
the case.”
2001: Lance
Armstrong, USA
Jan Ullrich, Germany
Joseba Beloki, Spain
2002: Lance
Armstrong, USA
Joseba Beloki, Spain
Raimondas Rumsas, Lithuania
“Raimondas Rumsas, the Lithuanian who finished third in last year's Tour de
France amid allegations of banned-drug use, was yesterday in the center of
another storm after testing positive en route to sixth place in the Giro
d'Italia last month. His team, Lampre, did not name the substance involved, but anti-doping
sources in Rome said the notorious blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) had been
found after Stage 6. Rumsas's sample will in any case be tested a second
time. 'He has really messed us around,' said his team manager
Giuseppe Saronni last night. 'We all feel betrayed, all of us who have
tried to put last year behind us.'”
2003: Lance
Armstrong, USA
Jan Ullrich, Germany
Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan
“Alexander Vinokourov has been fired by the Astana team following his
positive test for blood doping on the Tour de France, the team announced
Monday. 'Astana cycling team received confirmation that
Alexander Vinokourov's B sample was 'non negative,' the Swiss team
backed by Kazakh companies said in a statement. 'Consequently, the
Kazakh rider has been fired by Astana cycling team with immediate
effect.' Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping, a
method using the blood from another person, following his victory in a
time trial in Albi on July 21.”
2004: Lance
Armstrong, USA
Andreas Kloden, Germany
“The German National Anti Doping Agency has expressed interest in
investigating whether , Patrik Sinkewitz and Matthias Kessler used illegal doping products
or methods. It has asked to see the files from prosecutors in Freiburg,
Germany. Those prosecutors into doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmitt,
who, while associated with the Freiburg University Clinic, were also team
doctors for Team Telekom/T-Mobile. There was said to be 'no sufficient
suspicion of concrete violations of criminal provisions.' However, it also said
that it was 'verifiable' that those three riders were involved in blood doping
in 2006.”
Ivan Basso, Italy
“Ivan Basso has been handed the maximum two-year doping ban at an Italian cycling federation hearing. The 29-year-old acknowledged his involvement in the Spanish blood-doping
scandal known as Operation Puerto and pleaded for a lenient penalty. He admitted to 'attempted doping' but insisted he did not go through with it. But the Italian cycling federation has decided to punish the Italian
with the full two years, as requested by the International Cycling
Union.”
2005: Lance
Armstrong, USA
Ivan Basso, Italy
Jan Ullrich, Germany
—Joe Spring