Are Cyclists In The Tour De France Still Doping? (Explained)

Last Updated on March 25, 2024 by Emmanuel

You would probably have heard the sad story of the riders who doped for years on the Tour de France, which tarnished this most famous cycling event in the world’s image.

But are cyclists in the Tour de France still doping, or did the TdF organizers stop this bad practice to regain their former image as it seems today? Let’s see what happened from then to now.

How Did Doping on the Tour de France Start?

Some riders outperformed their counterparts through performance-enhancing drugs, which was unfortunate and unfair.

This doping scandal shook the cycling industry so badly that its reputation fell to the lowest level but it came out of these challenges.

Those in charge of organizing the Tour de France and other cycling events implemented rigorous doping measures; these protocols stopped the phenomenon until today.

Riders organized in different professional cycling teams must submit the test targeted screenings to ensure they don’t use illegally enhancing performance substances.

Do Cyclists In the Tour de France Still Dope?

Whether the cyclists on the Tour de France are still doping can be debated; there is not much coverage on the subject

The media hardly talks about it anymore making us believe that the phenomenon has been contained.

Cyclists dope for many reasons, including maintaining training performance before the cycle race starts.

Some say most riders are smart enough to be caught by the dag test; they would stop using prohibited substances before the race starts, but we disagree with such a claim.

To some extent, doping helps riders to maintain their bodies destroyed during their cycling careers that demand considerable effort to overcome.

Riders push their bodies through the limits, which can attempt doping to recover from pains faster and endure further racing.

Why Did Lance Armstrong Only Compete In The Tour De France?

The Tour de France was Lance Armstrong’s favorite, but saying it is the only one he attended is a wrong allegation.

Lance started biking when he was 17 by training in Colorado with the U.S. Olympic cycling developmental team.

• In 1993, Lance Armstrong won ten titles, including the World Road Championships race.
• In October 1996, he stopped cycling to undergo surgery and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Lance Armstrong was among the top five finishers in the 1998 Tour of Spain; it wasn’t until 1999 that he won his first Tour de France and six consecutive others, thus a total of seven.

Also, Lance won eleven individual time trials and twenty-two separate stages; he retired in 2011 aged 39.

When Was Lance Armstrong Found Guilty For Doping?

The Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found him guilty in June 2012 of being doped throughout his cyclist career.

He has since been stripped of all Tour de France titles, and his glory became an absolute nightmare.

He won seven consecutive Tour de France titles, and nothing tells us if other cyclists were not using prohibited substances.

They never caught him all these years, making us believe there were control failures. Likely, many other competitors did the same without the authorities knowing it.

It’s like in a neighborhood with many thieves; whoever you catch is responsible, but we don’t mean Lance was correct to dope.

Many will never forget Lance Armstrong as one of the best cyclists on the Tour de France regarded as the best global sporting event.

What Road Bicycles Was Lance Armstrong Riding?

Lance Armstrong won the Tour of France in 1988 using a Carbon Fibre Trek Madone bike, one of the fastest road bikes.

He continued using Trek bikes until 2005 and won seven titles, as outlined before.

Besides Trek bikes, this company’s other cycling products are Bontrager, Diamond bikes, and Electra Bicycles. Trek Corporation quality road bikes sell from $1,200 to over $13,000.

What Happened to the Titles Stripped from Lance Armstrong?

The titles stripped from Lance Armstrong remain vacant; they have not been awarded to anyone.

Other cyclists stripped of their Tour de France titles for doping include:

Floyd Landis.

Froyd Landis revealed Lance Armstrong’s long doping history following the allegations he was doing the same.

During Lance’s reign of dominance in the cycling industry, Landis was his teammate on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team.

He was also Armstrong’s confidant and had known his doping secrets for years but never revealed them before the investigation occurred.

Also, the cycling authorities found that Floyd Landis was found like his teammate Lance Armstrong; they stripped his title.

Floyd Landis never recognized the doping allegations he was accused of; Oscar Pereiro (his dolphin) was awarded the so brutal Tour de France green jersey.

Alberto Contador.

Also, Alberto Contador won three Tour de France yellow jerseys from which he was stripped for doping like the other cyclists we have mentioned.

Contador claimed the cause of clenbuterol in his blood was the substances ingested in his food without him knowing, but they didn’t accept his claims.

Jan Ullrich.

The German Jan Ullrich is another famous cyclist who lost his third position in the Tour de France in 2005.

The Cycling Court of Arbitration said Ulrich was part of riders allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs.

Jan Ullrich lost his third place, and they banned him from participating in cycling for two consecutive years.

Also, many thought the Olympic committee would strip Jan Ullrich of his men’s racing Olympic medal won in 2,000, but it never happened.

The Content Final Thoughts.

That’s what we can tell about the cyclists are still doing in the Tour de France; we hope this content is helpful.

There have been several cases of doping at the Tour de France but it seems that the organizers have curbed this bad practice; we don’t talk about it anymore.