2006 Tour de France

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  Floyd Landis Óscar Pereiro (ESP) (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

For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 2006 Tour de France.

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:

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 characteristics and winners[4][5][6]
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

Riders during stage two

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

Classification leadership by stage
Stage Winner General classification
Yellow jersey
Points classification
Green jersey
Mountains classification
Polkadot jersey
Young rider classification
White jersey
Team classification
Jersey with yellow number
Combativity award
Jersey with red number
P Thor Hushovd Thor Hushovd Thor Hushovd no award Joost Posthuma Discovery Channel no award
1 Jimmy Casper George Hincapie Jimmy Casper Fabian Wegmann Benoît Vaugrenard Walter Bénéteau
2 Robbie McEwen Thor Hushovd Robbie McEwen David de la Fuente David de la Fuente
3 Matthias Kessler Tom Boonen Tom Boonen Jérôme Pineau Markus Fothen José Luis Arrieta
4 Robbie McEwen Robbie McEwen Egoi Martínez
5 Óscar Freire Samuel Dumoulin
6 Robbie McEwen Benoît Vaugrenard Anthony Geslin
7 Serhiy Honchar Serhiy Honchar Markus Fothen T-Mobile Team no award
8 Sylvain Calzati Sylvain Calzati
9 Óscar Freire Christian Knees
10 Juan Miguel Mercado Cyril Dessel Cyril Dessel AG2R Prévoyance Juan Miguel Mercado
11 Denis Menchov Floyd Landis David de la Fuente T-Mobile Team David de la Fuente
12 Yaroslav Popovych Daniele Bennati
13 Jens Voigt Óscar Pereiro Team CSC Jens Voigt
14 Pierrick Fédrigo Salvatore Commesso
15 Fränk Schleck Floyd Landis Stefano Garzelli
16 Michael Rasmussen Óscar Pereiro Michael Rasmussen Michael Rasmussen
17 Floyd Landis Carlos Sastre Damiano Cunego T-Mobile Team Floyd Landis
18 Matteo Tosatto Levi Leipheimer
19 Serhiy Honchar no award
20 Thor Hushovd Aitor Hernández
Final Floyd Landis
Óscar Pereiro
Robbie McEwen Michael Rasmussen Damiano Cunego T-Mobile Team David de la Fuente
  • 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
A yellow jersey. Denotes the winner of the general classification[13] A green jersey. Denotes the winner of the points classification[13]
A white jersey with red polka dots. Denotes the winner of the mountains classification[13] A white jersey. Denotes the winner of the young rider classification[13]
A white jersey with a yellow number bib. Denotes the winner of the team classification[13] A white jersey with a red number bib. Denotes the winner of the super-combativity award[13]

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)[5]
Rank Rider Team Time
DSQ  Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 89h 39' 30"
1  Óscar Pereiro (ESP) A yellow jersey. Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears 89h 40' 27"
2  Andreas Klöden (GER) A white jersey with a yellow number bib. 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) A white jersey with a yellow number bib. T-Mobile Team + 14' 10"
10  Fränk Schleck (LUX) Team CSC + 16' 49"

Points classification

Final points classification (1–10)
Rank Rider Team Points
1 Robbie McEwen (AUS) A green jersey.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) A yellow jersey.Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears 88

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10)
Rank Rider Team Points
1 Michael Rasmussen (DEN) A white jersey with red polka dots.Rabobank 166
2 David de la Fuente (ESP) A white jersey with a red number bib.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) A white jersey.Lampre–Fondital 80
7 Cyril Dessel (FRA)AG2R Prévoyance 72
DSQ Levi Leipheimer (USA)Team Gerolsteiner 66
9 Andreas Klöden (GER)T-Mobile Team 64
10 Óscar Pereiro (ESP) A yellow jersey.Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears 63

Young rider classification

Final young rider classification (1–10)
Rank Rider Team Time
1 Damiano Cunego (ITA) A white jersey.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) A white jersey with a red number bib.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

Final team classification (1–10)
Rank Team Time
1T-Mobile Team A white jersey with a yellow number bib. 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

  1. "'I am innocent,' Landis says after losing verdict". MSNBC. 2007-09-20. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05.
  2. Ullrich and Basso out of Le Tour, from BBC. Retrieved June 30, 2006.
  3. "Bookies react quickly to Tour scandal". velonews. 2006. Archived from the original on 17 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  4. Historical guide 2016, p. 97.
  5. 1 2 "93ème Tour de France 2006" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  6. Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCCBike.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  7. Historical guide 2016, p. 110.
  8. "Tour de France 2006: Floyd Landis". Outside Online. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  9. Macur, Juliet (2006-08-05). "Backup Sample on Landis Is Positive". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  10. Larry Fine (2008-03-24). "Landis appeal hearing ends, decision expected in June". Reuters.
  11. "Backup Sample on Landis Is Positive". Velonews. 2007-09-20.
  12. "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.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ASO 2006, pp. 5–6.

Sources

External links

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