Victor here, and I'd like to thank my sweetie for letting me blog here now that my own blog has died from neglect. Since she called me at work this morning with the news that two Tour de France favorites have been suspended, I've been reading and doing some research.
First of all, it is possible 2006 winner of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France favorite, and suspended rider Ivan Basso may have his Giro title stripped from his palmarès. There is precedent for it: In February of this year, the winner of the 2005 Vuelta a España and former US Postal Service rider Roberto Heras was stripped of his title when he failed a doping test after the second-to-last stage of that race. Second-place finisher Denis Menchov of Rabobank was declared the winner.
If these allegations against Basso hold up and he is stripped of his title, that should mean the second-place finisher, José Enriqué Gutierrez of Phonak, will be declared the winner....maybe. It turns out he, too, is implicated in this very same scandal.
Further, VeloNews is reporting:
After a series of crisis meetings Friday between the recently-installed Tour director Christian Prudhomme and the AIGCP, the body which represents the managers of all the teams taking part, Prudhomme was unequivocal in the race organizers' position."We're happy about T-Mobile's decision to suspend Sevilla and Ullrich," said Prudhomme, who is directing his first race in place of the retired Jean-Marie Leblanc. "Last night we received official documents from the Guardia Civil (Spanish police) via the Spanish cycling federation.
"We then had a meeting with the AIGCP. During that meeting it was decided that the race's ethical code will be applied to the letter and that none of the riders suspended will be allowed to be replaced. "The sporting directors of each team will now contact the riders concerned."
Fortunately for American Floyd Landis, it seems J.E.Gutierrez was not selected for Phonak's TDF team. (NOTE: These are provisional rosters; last-minute substitutions for pre-race crashes or other emergencies have been allowed in past Tours. Riders marked on this roster with an asterisk are "substitutes;" I confess I'm not sure how the Tour directors are defining "substitute" in this context.). With a full team, Floyd Landis and Phonak may now be considered among the favorites to win this years Tour de France.
This is very much a developing story. I suspect Nic and I will be reporting more throughout the day.
At least she took the day off and isn't risking her job.
Posted by Victor at June 30, 2006 07:34 AM | TrackBack