2006 Tour de France
| 2006 UCI ProTour, race 17 of 27 | |||
 | |||
| Route of the 2006 Tour de France | |||
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 1–23 July | ||
| Stages | 21 | ||
| Distance | 3,657 km (2,272 mi) | ||
| Winning time | 89h 40' 27" | ||
| Results | |||
 |
Winner |  |
(Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears) |
| Second |  Andreas Klöden (GER) |
(T-Mobile Team) | |
| Third | Carlos Sastre (ESP) |
(Team CSC) | |
 |
Points |  Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
(Davitamon–Lotto) |
 |
Mountains |  Michael Rasmussen (DEN) |
(Rabobank) |
 |
Youth |  Damiano Cunego (ITA) |
(Lampre–Fondital) |
| Team | T-Mobile Team | ||
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took between 1 July to 23 July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis. Due to United States Anti-Doping Agency announcing in August 2012 that they had disqualified Lance Armstrong from all his results since 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins from 1999–2005, this is the first Tour to have an overall winner since 1998.
The Tour began with a prologue in Strasbourg, on the French-German border, and ended on Sunday July 23 in Paris. The distance of the course (run counterclockwise around France) was 3,657 km (2,272 mi). The race was the third fastest in average speed. Along the way, the cyclists passed through six different countries including France, The Netherlands (a stop at Valkenburg in Stage 3), Belgium (at Huy, Stages 3 and 4), Luxembourg (at Esch-sur-Alzette, Stages 2 and 3), Germany (though not stopping there, Stage 1) and Spain (Pla-de-Beret, Stage 11). The presentation of the course was made by the new director of Le Tour, Christian Prudhomme. For the first time since the 1999 edition, there was no team time trial.
The event, as with some of the Tours of the late 1990s, was marred by doping scandals. Prior to the tour, numerous riders – including the two favourites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso – were expelled from the Tour due to their link with the Operación Puerto doping case.
After the Tour, the apparent winner, Floyd Landis, was found to have failed a drug test after stage 17; Landis contested the result and demanded arbitration. On September 20, 2007, Landis was found guilty and suspended retroactive to January 30, 2007 and stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title making Óscar Pereiro the title holder.[1] Landis appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which upheld the ban.
Teams
In the most controversial scandal since the 1998 tour, thirteen riders were expelled from the tour on the eve of Strasbourg prologue to the 93rd edition stemming from a Spanish doping scandal. Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, two favourites to win the race, were among those excluded from the Tour along with podium candidate Francisco Mancebo and Alberto Contador (who would return to win the following year, 2007). Alexander Vinokourov, another race favourite, was not linked to the doping scandal, but was forced to withdraw when the eligible riders on his Astana-Würth Team fell below the minimum starting requirement of six. Because of this and the retirement of then-seven-time consecutive winner Lance Armstrong, this year's Tour started without the top five riders from the 2005 edition. It was also the first Tour since 1999 that did not contain a past champion.
The teams entering the race were:
- Discovery Channel
- Team CSC
- T-Mobile Team
- AG2R Prévoyance
- Gerolsteiner
- Rabobank
- Davitamon–Lotto
- Phonak
- Lampre–Fondital
- Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears
- Quick-Step–Innergetic
- Crédit Agricole
- Euskaltel–Euskadi
- Cofidis
- Saunier Duval–Prodir
- Française des Jeux
- Liquigas
- Bouygues Télécom
- Team Milram
- Agritubel
Pre-race favourites
After the retirement of then seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, the main contenders for the overall win were expected to be Ivan Basso from Team CSC, the 2005 runner-up; and Jan Ullrich from T-Mobile Team, the third man on the podium in 2005, winner in 1997, and the only previous winner still racing. However, both Ullrich and Basso were suspended by their teams on June 30 after UCI told T-Mobile and Team CSC that the riders were involved in the anti-doping investigation in Spain.[2] The 2006 Tour also saw the return of former yellow jersey holder and three-time stage winner David Millar (Saunier Duval–Prodir) after serving a two-year ban for admissions of the use of the drug EPO, which was discovered in a police search of his house before the 2004 Tour de France, in June 2004.
Francisco Mancebo of the French team AG2R Prévoyance, who finished fourth last year and sixth the year before, was also suspended by his team, and subsequently announced his retirement. Alexander Vinokourov would have been the only returning rider with a top-five finish from last year's race. However, his team, Astana–Würth, was forced to pull out of the race because they would not be able to start with the minimum of six riders. As a result of the drug scandal, many believed Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Épargne), or the Americans Floyd Landis (Phonak), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), or Australian Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto) would probably win the race.[3]
Route and stages
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1 July | Strasbourg | 7.1 km (4 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Thor Hushovd (NOR) |
| 1 | 2 July | Strasbourg | 184.5 km (115 mi) |  |
Flat stage |  Jimmy Casper (FRA) |
| 2 | 3 July | Obernai to Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg) | 228.5 km (142 mi) | |
Flat stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 3 | 4 July | Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg) to Valkenburg (Netherlands) | 216.5 km (135 mi) |  |
Hilly stage | Matthias Kessler (GER) |
| 4 | 5 July | Huy (Belgium) to Saint-Quentin | 207.0 km (129 mi) | |
Flat stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 5 | 6 July | Beauvais to Caen | 225.0 km (140 mi) | |
Flat stage | Óscar Freire (ESP) |
| 6 | 7 July | Lisieux to Vitré | 189.0 km (117 mi) | |
Flat stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 7 | 8 July | Saint Grégoire to Rennes | 52.0 km (32 mi) | | Individual time trial |  Serhiy Honchar (UKR) |
| 8 | 9 July | Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Lorient | 181.0 km (112 mi) | |
Flat stage | Sylvain Calzati (FRA) |
| 10 July | Bordeaux | Rest day | ||||
| 9 | 11 July | Bordeaux to Dax | 169.5 km (105 mi) | |
Flat stage | Óscar Freire (ESP) |
| 10 | 12 July | Cambo-les-Bains to Pau | 190.5 km (118 mi) |  |
Mountain stage | Juan Miguel Mercado (ESP) |
| 11 | 13 July | Tarbes to Val d'Aran/Pla-de-Beret | 206.5 km (128 mi) | |
Mountain stage |  Denis Menchov (RUS) |
| 12 | 14 July | Luchon to Carcassonne | 211.5 km (131 mi) | |
Hilly stage | Yaroslav Popovych (UKR) |
| 13 | 15 July | Béziers to Montélimar | 230.0 km (143 mi) | |
Flat stage | Jens Voigt (GER) |
| 14 | 16 July | Montélimar to Gap | 180.5 km (112 mi) | |
Hilly stage | Pierrick Fédrigo (FRA) |
| 17 July | Gap | Rest day | ||||
| 15 | 18 July | Gap to Alpe d'Huez | 187.0 km (116 mi) | |
Mountain stage |  Fränk Schleck (LUX) |
| 16 | 19 July | Le Bourg-d'Oisans to La Toussuire | 182.0 km (113 mi) | |
Mountain stage | Michael Rasmussen (DEN) |
| 17 | 20 July | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Morzine | 200.5 km (125 mi) | |
Mountain stage | Carlos Sastre (ESP) |
| 18 | 21 July | Morzine to Mâcon | 197.0 km (122 mi) | |
Flat stage | Matteo Tosatto (ITA) |
| 19 | 22 July | Le Creusot to Montceau-les-Mines | 57.0 km (35 mi) | | Individual time trial | Serhiy Honchar (UKR) |
| 20 | 23 July | Antony/Parc de Sceaux to Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 154.5 km (96 mi) | |
Flat stage | Thor Hushovd (NOR) |
| Total | 3,657 km (2,272 mi)[7] | |||||
Race overview
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Doping
American Floyd Landis was initially awarded the victory in the closest three-way finish in the race's history to date. Floyd's final time was 89h 39'30". While Landis was a leading favorite even before the Spanish doping scandal came to light,[8] in an epic eight-minute loss of performance in Stage 16, it appeared he had lost all hope to finish on the podium, much less win.
But the following day, during Stage 17, Landis set a very high pace on the first climb of the day that no other rider could match. He then caught a breakaway group that had escaped earlier, passed them, and continued to the finish line solo, making up almost all of his deficit, ending up 30 seconds behind yellow jersey wearer Óscar Pereiro, which he made up with an extra minute in the final Stage 19 time trial.
A urine sample taken from Landis immediately after his Stage 17 win has twice tested positive for banned synthetic testosterone as well as a ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone nearly three times the limit allowed by World Anti-Doping Agency rules.[9] Landis indicated that he would appeal the test results with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.[10]
On September 20, 2007, Landis' doping accusation was upheld by an arbitration panel deciding between him and USADA and will be banned for two years. In response to this, International Cycling Union formally stripped him of his 2006 Tour de France title. Second place finisher Óscar Pereiro was officially declared the winner.[11] The only previous Tour de France winner to be disqualified was 1904 Tour de France winner Maurice Garin.
Classification leadership
- In stage 1, George Hincapie wore the green jersey.
- In stage 4, Daniele Bennati wore the green jersey.
- In stage 11, Juan Miguel Mercado wore the polka-dot jersey
- Stage 17 was originally won by Floyd Landis, who also wore the yellow jersey on the 19th and 20th stage. After the court's decision[12] to forfeit all his results in the 2006 Tour de France, Carlos Sastre became the winner of the 17th stage, and Cyril Dessel and Óscar Pereiro should be considered having led the general classification as shown in the table.
Final standings
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |
Denotes the winner of the general classification[13] | |
Denotes the winner of the points classification[13] |
| |
Denotes the winner of the mountains classification[13] | |
Denotes the winner of the young rider classification[13] |
 |
Denotes the winner of the team classification[13] |  |
Denotes the winner of the super-combativity award[13] |
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSQ |  Floyd Landis (USA) | | |
| 1 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 89h 40' 27" |
| 2 | Andreas Klöden (GER) | T-Mobile Team | + 0' 32" |
| 3 | Carlos Sastre (ESP) | Team CSC | + 2' 16" |
| 4 | Cadel Evans (AUS) | Davitamon–Lotto | + 4' 11" |
| 5 | Denis Menchov (RUS) | Rabobank | + 6' 09" |
| 6 | Cyril Dessel (FRA) | AG2R Prévoyance | + 7' 44" |
| 7 | Christophe Moreau (FRA) | AG2R Prévoyance | + 8' 40" |
| 8 | Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 11' 08" |
| 9 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | T-Mobile Team | + 14' 10" |
| 10 | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | Team CSC | + 16' 49" |
.svg.png){kind=small}
Points classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie McEwen (AUS) | Davitamon–Lotto | 288 |
| 2 | Erik Zabel (GER) | Team Milram | 199 |
| 3 | Thor Hushovd (NOR) | Crédit Agricole | 195 |
| 4 |  Bernhard Eisel (AUT) | Française des Jeux | 176 |
| 5 | Luca Paolini (ITA) | Liquigas | 174 |
| 6 | Iñaki Isasi (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 130 |
| 7 | Francisco Ventoso (ESP) | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 128 |
| 8 | Cristian Moreni (ITA) | Cofidis | 116 |
| 9 | Jimmy Casper (FRA) | Cofidis | 98 |
| 10 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 88 |
Mountains classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Rasmussen (DEN) | Rabobank | 166 |
| 2 | David de la Fuente (ESP) | Saunier Duval–Prodir | 113 |
| 3 | Carlos Sastre (ESP) | Team CSC | 99 |
| 4 | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | Team CSC | 96 |
| 5 |  Michael Boogerd (NED) | Rabobank | 93 |
| 6 | Damiano Cunego (ITA) | Lampre–Fondital | 80 |
| 7 | Cyril Dessel (FRA) | AG2R Prévoyance | 72 |
| DSQ | | | |
| 9 | Andreas Klöden (GER) | T-Mobile Team | 64 |
| 10 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 63 |
Young rider classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damiano Cunego (ITA) | Lampre–Fondital | 89h 58' 49" |
| 2 | Markus Fothen (GER) | Team Gerolsteiner | + 38" |
| 3 | Matthieu Sprick (FRA) | Bouygues Télécom | + 1h 29' 12" |
| 4 | David de la Fuente (ESP) | Saunier Duval–Prodir | + 1h 36' 00" |
| 5 | Moisés Dueñas (ESP) | Agritubel | + 1h 48' 40" |
| 6 |  Thomas Lövkvist (SWE) | Française des Jeux | + 1h 52' 54" |
| 7 | Francisco Ventoso (ESP) | Saunier Duval–Prodir | + 2h 22' 03" |
| 8 | Joost Posthuma (NED) | Rabobank | + 2h 32' 41" |
| 9 | Benoît Vaugrenard (FRA) | Française des Jeux | + 2h 33' 12" |
| 10 | Pieter Weening (NED) | Rabobank | + 2h 36' 44" |
Team classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | T-Mobile Team | 269h 08' 46" |
| 2 | Team CSC | + 17' 04" |
| 3 | Rabobank | + 23' 26" |
| 4 | AG2R Prévoyance | + 33' 19" |
| 5 | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | + 56' 53" |
| 6 | Lampre–Fondital | + 57' 37" |
| 7 | Team Gerolsteiner | + 1h 45' 25" |
| 8 | Discovery Channel | + 2h 19' 17" |
| 9 | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 2h 26' 38" |
| 10 | Phonak Hearing Systems | + 2h 49' 06"* |
See also
References
- ↑ "'I am innocent,' Landis says after losing verdict". MSNBC. 2007-09-20. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05.
- ↑ Ullrich and Basso out of Le Tour, from BBC. Retrieved June 30, 2006.
- ↑ "Bookies react quickly to Tour scandal". velonews. 2006. Archived from the original on 17 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
- ↑ Historical guide 2016, p. 97.
- 1 2 "93ème Tour de France 2006" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ↑ Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCCBike.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ↑ Historical guide 2016, p. 110.
- ↑ "Tour de France 2006: Floyd Landis". Outside Online. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
- ↑ Macur, Juliet (2006-08-05). "Backup Sample on Landis Is Positive". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ↑ Larry Fine (2008-03-24). "Landis appeal hearing ends, decision expected in June". Reuters.
- ↑ "Backup Sample on Landis Is Positive". Velonews. 2007-09-20.
- ↑ "United States Anti-Doping Agency vs Floyd Landis" (PDF). UNITED STATES ANTI-DOPING AGENCY. 2007-09-20. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
The violation of the UCI Rules having occurred as a result of an In-Competition test will result under UCI Articles 256 and 257.2 in the automatic disqualification of the Athlete's results in the 2006 Tour de France and forfeiture of any medals, points or prizes.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 ASO 2006, pp. 5–6.
Sources
- Augendre, Jacques (2016). Guide historique [Historical guide] (PDF). Tour de France (in French). Paris: Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- Race regulations (PDF). Tour de France. Paris: Amaury Sport Organisation. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2006 Tour de France. |
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Wikinews has news related to: |
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 August 2006)
- 2006 Tour de France at Cyclingnews.com
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