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Tour de France to start in London under doping cloud

CYCLING / More emphasis on scrutiny

— PHOTO: AFP

TESTING TIMES: A cyclist undergoes the customary medical check-up before the official start of the Tour de France.

London: With 2006 winner Floyd Landis fighting doping charges and cycling under intense pressure to clean up, the 189 riders scheduled to start the Tour de France on Saturday will be scrutinised more than ever.

Doping scandals have damaged the sport’s credibility to such an extent that the July 7 to 29 race is starting without a defending champion and several other big-name riders are absent.

“We are still in a difficult and heavy climate,” AG2R cyclist, Christophe Moreau, said on Thursday.

“What we need in cycling today is to talk about sport, talk about the winner.”

That’s unlikely to happen.

Pre-Tour talk is less about who will win, but rather whether the champion’s yellow jersey can be won cleanly.

“There have been a lot of problems,” T-Mobile rider, Michael Rogers, said. “We need transparency by all teams and all riders, and I think it is hard for us to go ahead if we don’t put the past behind us.”

Preparations on

While many riders have been suspended or fired, others are preparing for Saturday’s 7.9km (4.9-mile) prologue in England’s capital armed with medical certificates allowing certain products to be used.

That has led to doubts whether prescriptions may actually mask other doping products.

“Last year, 60 per cent of riders tested on the Tour had medical authorisations,” France’s Anti-Doping chief, Pierre Bordry, said on Wednesday. “The AUT (a medical authorisation) can become a passport for doping.”

According to the International Cycling Union, up to 40 per cent of riders at this year’s race have an AUT.

On a positive note, others appear to be rallying against cheating.

“More and more riders are calling us to say: ‘don’t give up. Carry on, we’re behind you,’” Tour Director, Christian Prudhomme, said.

“There are more and more managers who are also saying, ‘it has to change and we really want it to change.”’

Rather than a case of the 2007 Tour being a “who’s who?” of star names like Landis, 1997 winner, Jan Ullrich, and 2005 runner-up, Ivan Basso, it’s more “who’s left?” — only Astana rider, Alexandre Vinokourov, is a recognised favourite. Ullrich and Basso were both kicked off on the eve of last year’s race and have been implicated in doping since. Ullrich denies doping, while Basso admits attempting to dope but said he never went through with it. Landis, meanwhile, is hoping to overturn the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s 34-0 winning record on arbitration hearings to prove he did not take synthetic testosterone and that he’s actually been wronged by the same French lab which pioneered Epo testing methods.

Ullrich and Basso were tied to a Spanish doping investigation called Operation Puerto. More than 50 cyclists were implicated because of alleged ties to Eufemiano Fuentes, a doctor accused of running a blood-doping clinic in Madrid.

“It’s clear that last year’s atmosphere didn’t help,” Moreau said. “The time that has passed since then has passed too slowly... (things have) stagnated too much.” — AP

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