The biggest doping scandals on the Tour de France – and they do it now – NRK Sport – Sports News, Results and Schedule

The history of the Tour de France is rich in doping scandals that have left a negative imprint on the biggest cycling race in the world.

For the moment, this year's tour has not sparked major scandals before runners begin Saturday the real challenges of the mountain and the decision should fall.

Here are some of the biggest problems that rocked the race.

Floyd Landis

Landis won the Tour de France in 2006, but only four days after the last stage, it was known that the American had tested positive. He tried to clean himself for several years, but in 2010, Landi admitted his drug use.

In 2006, Landis raced for Phonak, but earlier in his career, he was part of the same team as Lance Armstrong. Landis accused former doping teammates when he himself presented his story in 2010, including Armstrong.

Landis' confession led the US Anti-Doping Agency and the federal government to open an investigation into Armstrong, which eventually became too heavy to allow Armstrong to stay out of the way.

Óscar Pereiro Sio took the victory during the tour of that year.

In the fall of 2018, Landis created his own team of cyclists. Did the "Floyd Leadville Pro Cycling Team" and cycled at the level of the continent, level three in cycling. The name of the cycling team comes from Landi's own cannabis company, "Floyd's of Leadville".

There he sells a number of products containing Cannabidiol (CBD), a drug whose extracts are extracted from plants of the cannabis genus, that Landis and the company also travel and promote, including at sporting events in the United States. .

Lance Armstrong

The biggest doping scandal in the history of the Tour de France in 106 years. And also among the biggest cases of doping in the sport in general.

Armstrong won the Tour de France seven years in a row between 1999 and 2005 and denied being a victim of doping abuse for many years. But in 2013, Armstrong admitted to being boosted for all his success at the Tour de France.

Several Armstrong teammates also admitted to having used drugs after their careers, including Norway's Steffen Kjærgaard.

No one is registered as winner of the Tour de France between 1999 and 2005, and Armstrong is no longer allowed to ride a bike for life.

Aged 47, he owns several properties in the United States. Since 2016, he has manufactured a daily pass for cyclist, "The move", during the circuit.

Michael Rasmussen

The Danes won the climbing jersey during the tour in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Rasmussen, often nicknamed the "chicken", was lying to win the Tour de France in general, but towards the end of the race he he was fired from his own team when he broke the obligation to report to the anti-doping inspectors.

Rasmussen lied about where he was during a period prior to the Tour de France that year and was therefore not available for an unannounced doping test. The Danes said that he was in Mexico's training camp, but that he was actually in Italy.

In 2013, Rasmussen admitted that he had been baptized between 1998 and 2010.

– I realize that I have fooled, lied and led people behind the light. I have cheated on other practitioners. I'm ready to take my time, said Rasmussen.

In retrospect, Rasmussen also told him that he had persuaded his father to donate blood so that he could use it to shed the blood drop. However, that mattered little when it turned out that his father's blood was not compatible with that of Rasmussen.

In recent years he has worked as a bicycle expert, for example for the newspaper Ekstra Bladet, and has been teaching on a bike path in a college in Denmark.

Operation Puerto

Before the start of the race in 2006, there were discounts. The Spanish police carried out several raids. Anti-doping preparations and blood bags were seized. Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes has been accused of helping athletes to baptize.

Several results, including Ivan Basso, Allberto Contador and Jan Ullrich, were excluded from the Tour de France that year. The case has left a dark shadow on the 2006 edition of the tour and for many years to come.

Although Fuentes, who had been a family doctor at a health center for several years, was acquitted of the charges in 2016, the case is constantly relaunched.

festina

Festina team masseur Willy Voet was arrested at the French-Belgian border before the start of the race in 1998. In his car, which was the official car of the Festina team, several illegal drugs were discoveries.

Later, the team withdrew from the Tour de France and the sports director Bruno Roussel admitted the systematic use of drugs. Roussel has been forbidden from cycling for a number of years and should have been a real estate agent before running for coaching again for Mexico in 2015.

Ricardo Ricco

Runner Saunier-Duval made his big breakthrough in 2008 by finishing second in Italy with Alberto Contador. So there were high expectations for Ricco before the Tour de France that year.

The Italian was impressed by the stage win on the sixth and ninth stages, but only a few days later, it was learned that Ricco had passed a positive doping test. Saunier-Duval pulled his team from the last stages of the Tour de France that year after the doping case. Ricco was also dismissed from the team.

In 2012, Ricco had been banned from the anti-doping regulations for a period of twelve years and, although he suggested returning to cycling in 2023, he now leads a quiet life.

Among other things, he and his wife run an ice cream shop in Tenerife, where they also make a dog specialist.

Jan Ullrich

The German Ullrich won the tour in 1997, and many duels against Lance Armstrong have remembered the French mountains. Ullrich was caught for the use of amphetamine in 2003. Ulrich won the Olympic gold in 2000. In addition, the German has two gold medals in the World Cup at the pace.

In 2013, Ullrich admitted doping. He had received help from Eufemiano Fuentes.

– Almost everyone had recourse to performance improvement when I was active. I did not take anything that anyone else took, said Ullrich in an interview with Focus Magazine:

– For me, it would only be cheating if I took advantage and if I did not. I just wanted to make sure I was the same with the others, said the former German cyclist.

Before the race started in the 2006 edition of the tour, Ullrich had been ruled out of the race because Fuentes had been revealed.

After an active career, Ullrich fought against the abuse of alcohol and drugs and, last year, he was arrested for abusing a prostitute. Recently, he told German Bild that he had left the past behind him and that he is now completely "clean".

Alberto Contador

The Spaniard has lived with speculation about doping throughout his career. In 2006, he was refused the start of the Tour de France, his team having participated in the aforementioned Puerto operation.

In 2008, there was no participation in the tour at Contador either. His team was excluded from the Tour de France because of the doping of Aleksandr Vinokurov from the previous year.

The Spaniard won the Tour de France overall in 2007 and 2009. In 2010, Contador was hailed winner after arriving in Paris, but two months later he was informed that Contador had been tested positive for doping.

The test took place on the second day of rest of the Tour de France. The next day he wins the stage up to the Col du Tourmalet, who "decides" on the tour that year. Contador thought that the positive sample was due to the contaminated meat that he had eaten.

After several years of decisions, appeals and postponements, Contador was banned for two years in 2012 and deprived of the victory of the 2010 edition, which fell into the hands of Andy Schleck. He returned to the saddle and left only after the 2017 season, after several victories approved in many of the world's biggest bike rides.

The 36-year-old is also on tour at this year's tour of France as an expert commentator for Eurosport. In his spare time, he leads a team of cyclists and devotes the rest of his time to the family.