Clean or not, Contador's presence in the Tour will not be an embarrassment

British hopeful Bradley Wiggins, who recently won the Critérium du Dauphiné and in doing so proved himself back to the form he displayed when he came fourth in the 2009 Tour de France, has said that "it is not a good thing [for cycling] that a bloke who tested positive four times is in the race" in reference to Alberto Contador who tested positive for the banned bronchodilator Clenbuterol during last year's Tour.

Contador, like any professional cyclist at the top of his game, is no stranger to the murky world of doping. In 2006 he became caught up in the notorious Operation Puerto which followed Jesus Manzano's exposure of widespread doping in his team and the shady practices of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, but was subsequently cleared of all charges by the Spanish courts and by the UCI. He was questioned again in connection with the case in December and rather inadvisably refused to submit to a DNA sample which would have either proved or disproved links to nearly a hundred bags of blood plasma - each with a cheeky shot of EPO for an added kick - that had been recovered by police during their investigation. In doing so, he probably did his career more harm than a conviction would have done - had he have been linked to it, he'd have received a suspension and once it had passed he could have returned to the sport. By refusing, he ensured that there was always going to be a great big question mark hanging over him. However, anyone who has ever found themselves the target of false charges will be well aware that once you're cleared you want to move on and continue with your life - Contador may regret refusing the DNA test now, but at the time he must have been heartily sick of the entire case and hoped to hear the last of it.

Contador is almost unique among climbers in that he can also perform at a very high level in time trials, a factor that has contributed to his success.

That question mark haunted him in the 2009 Tour when, following a spectacular climb up Verbier - the fastest in Tour history - in Stage 15, Greg LeMond wrote in a column for the Le Monde newspaper that Contador would have needed an oxygen transport rate in excess of that achieved "by any athlete in any sport" and demanded that he proved he was capable of such a feat "without falling back to the use of performance-enhancing products" and likened his victory to that of "a Mercedes sedan winning on a Formula 1 circuit." During a press conference the next day, Contador once again unwisely decided to side-step the issue, increasing suspicions further. LeMond had based his accusation on figures calculated by Antoine Vayer, the trainer of the rival Festina team, which were called into doubt by physiologists including the highly-respected Andrew Coggan. Vayer assumed that Contador would have needed to maintain an average power output of 490 watts which, in a man weighing 83kg, would equate to 99.5ml per hour per kg - which would be unusually high. Coggan criticised Vayer's calculations which he termed sloppy and noted several areas which could contribute to false results, such as failing to take in decreased air resistance at altitude. Furthermore, virtually all the top riders had climbed Verbier in record times that day - including Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong, neither of whom have ever been proven to be involved in doping despite countless accusations and investigations in the case of Armstrong - suggesting that conditions on the mountain were simply conducive to high-speed cycling. He also noted an inconsistency between Vayer's given length of the climb, 8.6km, and the official length as given by the Tour de France organisers, 8.8km, more than sufficient to skew the results. Coggan concluded that the rider's average power would in fact have been more like 450 watts, equating to an oxygen transport rate of 80ml per hour per kg which could be expected for a man of his build and level of fitness.

As we all know, Contador gave a urine sample in September 2010 which tested positive for a drug called Clenbuterol, a sympathomimetic steroid and bronchodilator prescribed to asthmatics to ease breathing - thus enabling more oxygen to be absorbed into the blood - and the cycling press leapt on the case like starving wolves, in some cases predicting the end of his career. Once again, it was only a matter of time before doubts arose - what had at first seemed to be a case of an athlete being caught red-handed in the act of cheating turned out be rather more complicated. First of all, Contador failed one test only - his sample was declared clear in other tests to which it was subjected. Various people involved in cycling went on record stating that Clenbuterol is of little use as a performance-enhancer, especially in the miniscule amounts suggested by Contador's sample which were 40 times lower than would be required for any noticeable effect and Dr. Douwe van Boer (Contador's scientific advisor) claimed that it would have to be administered in amounts 180 times that discovered in the sample to have any chance of giving the recipient a competitive edge, supporting Contador's explanation that he had not deliberately taken the drug and that it had entered his system via contaminated food, most likely beef - it was used by veterinary surgeons to relax the uterus in cows and can be used illegally to promote the growth of lean meat in livestock destined to become food, which appears to add some credence, as does the support for the explanation given by Dr. Don Catlin, a highly-respected scientist and one of the driving forces behind modern anti-doping measures.

If he can repeat his 2008 Vuelta
success, Contador will be the
only cyclist to have won all
three Grand Tours in a single
season.

The incident led to the Spanish Cycling Federation proposing a one year ban for the cyclist but, following an appeal, all charges were subsequently dropped in early 2011 and he returned to professional racing in February. The independent World Anti-Doping Agency and UCI both appealed the Spanish decision to the Court for Arbitration in Sport in March and a hearing was scheduled for June but later put back after Contador's lawyers requested more time to prepare. It is now scheduled for early August later this year, until which time Contador is legally free to ride in professional events. If that's the case, there should be no reason that he should be singled out for a crime that in view of his current cleared status he should be considered not to have committed and banned from taking part in this year's Tour de France - during which he will doubtless be subjected to a barrage of tests and will, if he cheats, be found out. Bearing that in mind, the decision to enter the race if he is/has been doping would seem extraordinarily stupid because a positive test will ruin his chances with the Court.

The UCI supports this view, stating that until the Court finds him guilty, should it do so, Contador "has the right to be treated like every other rider who takes part in the Tour de France." Reporting on the case, Republican American says that his participation in the race could do great damage to the sport and compares it to Lance Armstrong's return from retirement in 2009. However, the opposite is more likely to be the case - if Contador consistently produces clean samples this year, his status as one of cycling's true heroes and an all-time great will be cemented and will pave the way for him to attempt victory in the Vuelta a Espana, which would make him the only cyclist ever to have won all three Grand Tours in a single season and which would generate enormous publicity for the sport. If he cheats and is found out - and there's little doubt he would be - then professional cycling can be shown to have got its act together following the scandals of a few years ago and the sport's reputation cane be repaired once the world is aware that those who obtain an unfair advantage by using performance-enhancing drugs will be caught and will be stripped of their titles.

"It is also bad for those teams that are fighting to be clean, as is the case with my team, Sky," says Wiggins, who has become Britain's best-ever hope of a Tour winner. If that's the case, he should welcome Contador's chance to prove that he too is clean, because if an athlete can perform in the way he does without resorting to drugs then that's one of the strongest arguments against doping anyone could ever want.

Tour de Suisse Stage 8

It's the penultimate day of what has been a great Tour de Suisse - we honestly can't see why this race doesn't get the attention the Vuelta and Giro do - and the sprinters will be glad that Stage 8 is completely different to Stage 8 and its vast climbs. Today is all about speed with long, flat sections around 400m above sea level, a couple of uncategorised 200m ascents and one C4 and a manageable C3 towards the end of the 167km parcour.

Mark Cavendish comments sarcastically about the rain in Tübach but is chipper on Twitter, saying "Lovely day for a bike race! Upside, should be a bunch sprint." British fans will be hoping to see the Manx Missile demonstrate the capability that earned him his nickname today and the flat finish at Schaffhausen should be to his liking. However, he's got to deal with those hills first and they're just big enough to spoil the fun.

Romanshorn, despite lying at an altitude of more than 400m in a landlocked country, as the feel of a seaside town due to the docks on Lake Constance where fishing vessels provide an important source of food and income.

The first climb comes just 1.8km after the start and though not huge, with an ascent of 196m in under 5km the mountain specialists and all-rounders will take up the lead for a while. Once topped, it's a long downhill run over 32.2km which should spread out the pack a bit. It's still early days at this point, but anyone who feels up to it may start putting on the pressure with a breakaway attempt before reaching the second respectable uncategorised climb of 200m up to Romanshorn on the banks of Lake Constance. Then there's a quick bit of descending and, but for a brief blip at Altnau where remains of a Neolithic culture dating to 5500 years old have been discovered, it's a flat run all the way to the food station at 94.2km.

It's much the same all the way for the next 32km until the first of the day's visits to Schaffhausen, but with a few hazards in the form of level crossings, narrow roads and an undefined hazard at 105.2km it's not a section to be taken lightly - especially when traveling at the high rate the Tourists will be maintaining. Schaffhausen was an independent city state during the Medieval period and despite accidental bombing by the USAF on April Fool's Day 1944 (oh, how the locals laughed) has retained many very fine old buildings in the traditional Swiss Alpine style. If you're watching on television, make the most of any local interest to catch the cameraman's eye because they'll be concentrating on the rider at the front next time the Tour hits town.

Schaffhausen

More flatlands, narrow roads and another hazard bring us up to sharp bend into Rheinfall, the largest waterfall in Europe and quite possibly the most spectacular too, which brings holidaymakers and their wallets in droves to the area. Then it's a short climb followed by a couple of fast sprints (at 132.7km and 142.3km) before the first proper climb of the day, the 177m Category 3 Oberhallau. An equally steep descent affords little let-up before Cat 4 Siblingerhöh at 560m. The actual ascent is just 89m, but after spending so much of the last 154km trying to keep up with the sprinters few of the climbers will make it to the top without at least minor suffering. Once back down, the real sprinting will start - it's flat all the way over the final 11.7km back to Schaffhausen on a road with few complications other than a tight bend 0.4km from the finish line. This is where we may see Cavendish prove why he's got such a formidable reputation and, with a bit of luck, take the stage winner honours. However, the thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon in the region may mess things up a bit.

On average, 700 cubic metres of water flow over the Rheinfall every second in summer.

The weather looks set to be fairly horrible for most of the day, with heavy rain in Tübach and thunderstorms likely to leave the roads slippery around Schaffhausen even if they've died out by the latter part of the afternoon.


Predictions: we were even less accurate yesterday than the day before, but it's that unpredictability that keeps stage racing interesting. We thought the top five would be Cunego, Kruijswijk, Frank Schleck, Mollema and finally ten Dam in fifth. As it turned out, none of them were even in the top ten; somewhat surprisingly as each of them is a strong climber who should have performed well on a course dominated by the vast Flüelapass - we did at least have a Schleck in there, though - the high altitude horror brought the expert mountain man Andy Schleck out of hiding and he took an opportunity to show everyone what Contador will have to contend with in the Tour de France.

Will Cavendish show us why he's called the Missile today?

Now, this is just a hunch and may be down to wishful patriotic thinking rather than studious examination of form, but we think Mark Cavendish will shine today, and we think that as a result he's going to be the first over the line. We'll hope for Ben Swift of Team Sky to make a top ten appearance too, but this is less likely. Second place is a difficult one to describe because so many riders will be after it. Oscar Freire may be one of the older riders, but he managed second in Stage 5 which was, broadly, a similar one to today; but Peter Sagan, Tejay Van Garderen, Jose Joaquin Rojas and Marco Marcato (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th in Stage 5) are all going to be jostling for a piece of the action too. Then again, at this late stage in the Tour, some of the sprinters further down the ranks might be wanting to have a go on the podium too. Oh well - we'll have a stab at it: Cavendish for 1st, Marcato for 2nd, Freire for 3rd, Linus Gerdemann for 4th (perhaps encouraged by team mate Schleck's success) and Van Garderen for fifth.


We were correct in our guess that yesterday would see abandonments: Daniel Sesma, Mirco Lorenzetto, Danilo Di Luca, Jeffry Louder and Philip Deignan all fell by the wayside. Provided there's no accidents or illness today, there's every chance that everyone who sets out will make it to the end today.

Tour de Suisse Stage 7

Stage 6 may have considerately allowed the sprinters a chance to strut their funky stuff yesterday, but Stage 7 is just going to hurt them because it's gradients all the way in a parcours du combattant that will punish all but the very fittest of the mountain specialists and which looks set to be the toughest stage of this year's event.


Extending over 223km in the decidedly spiky east of the nation, the route takes in the Flüelapass (46°45′01″N 9°56′52″E - worth a look on Google Earth) which, with an elevation of 2383m, is the fifth highest pass in Switzerland. Unlike the rolling terrain to the first climb in Stage 6, there's no easy build-up today either - it's uphill all the way for the first 65km from the start at Vaduz in Liechtenstein. Then it gets tough.

Flüelapass. At 2383m, riders are going to suffer.

75-95km sees the first real climbing of the day: though uncategorised, this short section ascends 701m from Thusis at 720m and Wiesen at 1421m. There's then a relatively flat section, but when you're one-and-a-half thousand metres up riding on pancake-flat terrain is still tiring - this is, after all, higher than the highest point in the British Isles - so the food station positioned at 105km is going to be a welcome sight. They're going to need an extra energy bar or two in the musettes too, because from here it's 10km to Flüelapass and a steep 841m climb up to the top which will sort out the superhumans from the merely super fit. And there's still almost 100km to go!


There's no let-up even after the teams crest the mountain because although the following 50km are downhill all (well, most) of the way, another climb is waiting in the shape of Catgory 2 Norbertshöhe with an average gradient of 6.4%. There's then another 30km of knee relief down to under 1000m prior to the day's final climb, Category 1 Serfaus which like yesterday marks another finish point outside Switzerland, this time in the Austrian Tyrol. The village of Serfaus is notable in being entirely car-free, made possible by its diminutive subway system in which a single train runs on a cushion of air rather like an underground hovercraft. The riders won't be afforded that sort of comfort, however, because they need to climb 477m over 5km to get there.

Serfaus, proving how pretty a town can look if it bans cars. If only everywhere else had underground hovercrafts and a network of ski lifts to rely on for local transport too! Looks a nice spot for a holiday - unless you happen to be Jewish.

Weather: Vaduz will reach highs of around 26C, creating the possibility of thunderstorms and at least a 60% chance of rain. There's every possibility that this won't happen until after the stage is well under way, but ominous clouds on the horizon (or around the mountaintops, you don't get to see the horizon very often in Liechtenstein) will remind the riders that there are other ominous natural phenomena ahead and do nothing at all to raise spirits. Arrival in Serfaus doesn't look much better with a 70% chance of rain.


Predictions: How wrong were we yesterday? Very, basically. We didn't even include stage winner Steven Kruijswijk, a complete oversight on our behalf because the Dutch grimpeur was an obvious contender. Nor did we rate Levi Leipheimer who, with second place, showed us all that being 37 years old doesn't necessarily mean a rider no longer has what it takes. Not if that rider is Leipheimer at any rate - but then, like all professional cyclists, what applies to mere mortals doesn't apply to him. We raised doubts that Little Prince Damiano Cunego had the physical strength required to do battle with the likes of Frank Schleck and Laurens ten Dam on Triesenberg: in fact, he beat them both and hangs onto his top place in the overall classification with a lead of 1'23" after he was 4th over the line. We did put Bauke Mollema in the top five and got that one right as he achieved fourth, whereas we'd never even heard of Katusha's Giampaolo Caruso until he crossed  in fifth place on Mollema's back wheel. We reckoned Frank Schleck would take his first stage win, but in reality he finished in 6th. Ten Dam, our choice for 2nd, managed 8th. We were right about the overall classification, predicting a shake-up, but we really wish we hadn't been - the horrific crash which has left 3rd place Mauricio Soler in intensive care sees the other riders move up one place.


Today, we expect Cunego to deliver the goods and at this point in the proceedings we're also going to mark him as favourite for overall victory on Sunday when the race ends. We're going for Kruijswijk in 2nd, and since we're still gunning for the older Schleck brother we hope to see him take 3rd. We think Mollema will repeat his placing of yesterday and manage another 4th, followed by ten Dam in 5th. Let's just hope there's no further injuries, but we won't be surprised if anyone drops out and abandons the race today - this is a stage as hard as anything in the Grand Tours.

Tour de Suisse Stage 5

(Originally published Wednesday 15th of June 2011)


It's another day for the sprinters today with a long, flat(ish) course of 204km. However, this being Switzerland, even the flat stages are peppered with a few respectable climbs to make sure the rider's knees take the abuse that all cyclists know and love and Stage 5 is no different - there's a Category 3 and three Category 4 climbs lurking out there today ready to catch those who expend too much energy of maintaining a high pace as well as four uncategorised climbs of reasonable size. One, in fact, is very nearly as high as the Cat 3 and with just 20km from summit to summit will no doubt catch a few people out. Like yesterday the stage finishes with a circuit, looping for 40km or so around Tobel-Tägerschen but at least keeping to a steady altitude rather than the climbs and descents that must have tortured the leaders fighting for the finish in Stage 4.

Staffelegg Pass - doesn't look like much, does it? That sign reads 621m, though!

Starting where yesterday left off at Huttwil, the route travels downhill for 25km before a small climb at the 35km mark then 10km on the flat before reaching the first proper climb in the form of the Cat 3 Staffelegg Pass at an altitude of 621m and featuring a dangerous intersection at the summit, scene of many accidents when the Pass is open to traffic. There'll only be bike traffic as the Tour passes through, of course, but even the terrifyingly efficient Swiss clean-up crews can't be guaranteed to get every spot of oil and broken glass.


Next comes a fast descent into the village of Hornussen, designated in its entirety a Swiss Heritage Site and not to be confused with the peculiar Swiss sport of the same name which resembles a cross between golf and baseball and which takes its name not from the village but from the noise made by the puck which, traveling at up to 300kmph after being hit with a wooden bat, creates a buzzing sound said to sound like a hornuss (hornet). It no doubt stings like one too if you don't get out of the way fast enough. The route then takes in an uncategorised climb of around 133m (bigger than both of the upcoming Cat 4s) up to Mönthal, site of a Bronze Age fortress and a few still-standing Middle Ages houses dating from the 14th Century. There follows a reasonably flat section of some 50km, with the day's first Cat 4 - a short but steep climb of 103m  thrown in for good measure. There's a couple of climbs up to almost the same altitude later on but with much gentler gradients, so this ought to be where the same sprinters who made the most of Stage 4 can shine once they've picked up bidons and musettes at the 100km mark. There's an Hors-Categorie climb of 803m in the last 25km of tomorrow's Stage 6 and then the 2383m Flüela Pass to contend with on Friday, so they may as well grab whatever glory they can right now!

Hornusson in winter.

A Cat 4 climb of 153m marks Freudenberg before the riders hit Tobel-Tägerschen for the first time and embark on a 40km circuit taking in a very steep Cat 4 climb at Eschlikon, a plateau at 600m around Balterwil and the final 15km back to Tobel-Tägerschen.


The weather for Huttwil looks set to be bright, sunny and warm at 20 C with light wind, Tobel-Tägerschen later on this afternoon ought to be much the same with a little more cloud, but little chance of rain. The forecast is thunder and rain tomorrow which, when combined with that killer of an HC climb at the end of the stage, ought to make it a truly horrible experience for the riders. So that's a must-watch then.

There's a high probability we'll see a Hushovd v. Sagan battle again today.

Predictions for today? Sprinters again. We suspect the overall classification will change little, but the stage winners' board may get shaken up a bit. Thor Hushovd will no doubt fancy another go at victory, but whether or not he can beat Peter Sagan for the second day in a row is hard to say. Marco Marcato will fancy another good result but when you have Óscar Freire, at 35 still one of the world's most feared sprinters, right behind you (Marcato and Freire finished in a group yesterday, thus recording the same time with Marcato just crossing the line first) you really need to work hard.

Contador confirms

Alberto Contador, the winner of last year's Tour de France who looked set to miss the race this year after failing a dope test in which a "very small" amount of the banned bronchodilator Clenbuterol was found to be present in his sample, has confirmed that he will be taking part this year.

A German laboratory discovered the trace on the 21st of June 2010, towards the end of the Tour, leading to a suspension pending further investigation by the UCI as the testing procedure used is not recognised by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the amount found some 40 times lower than would usually be considered cause for concern. However, the Spaniard proclaimed his innocence and, following the publication of expert opinion that the food contamination explanation he gave was likely to be correct, was allowed to keep his title - his third Tour victory in four years. A one-year ban proposed by the Spanish cycling federation was dropped in January, leaving him free to take part in the Volta ao Algarve in which he took fourth place, crossing the line 41" after winner Tony Martin.

Schleck (in yellow) doubtless utters a few naughty words as his chain snaps in the 2010 Tour de France. Controversially, Contador (just behind him) didn't wait for the 39 seconds it took for the problem to be fixed - the exact same time by which he eventually won the overall classification.

Andy Schleck, the Luxembourgish Leopard Trek rider who seemed to spend most of the 2010 Tour hanging onto Contador's back wheel with an expression that seemed to say "I can't quite get you this year, but next year I'll be stronger" ready every time he looked over his shoulder, says his rival's return comes as no surprise.

"Honestly, I'm happy," he told L'Equipe. "I want to beat him on the road and that's what I've prepared for. I've studied the stages and I love the route."

The 2011 route looks set to favour climbers and punish sprinters, which means anyone who wants to challenge Contador's supremacy is in for a harsh time: the wiry 28-year-old is a spectacular climber - his 2009 ascent of the Hors-Categorie Verbier is recorded as the fastest climb in Tour de France history (and which led, unsurprisingly, to more allegations of skullduggery - most notably from Greg LeMond); but if we go on Schleck's performance last year when it looked for a while (until his chain broke during a dramatic Stage 15 attack and Contador gained a controversial 39" lead) like he might just take the race, he's the man most likely to succeed. He seems to be holding back a bit in the Tour de Suisse at the moment, allowing older brother Frank to beat him, but whether this is due to a lack of form or simply because he's taking things easy is impossible to say: another chain incident in the Stage 1 time trial saw him finish in 147th place and he may just not consider the effort and risk of riding as hard as would be necessary to make up that kind of gap worthwhile with the Tour less than three weeks away. He certainly seems confident and there's every chance that Contador is more worried than he is.

Doping in Cycling

Depending on who one talks to, doping (the use of drugs to have an effect upon peformance) is either the biggest problem to face cycling or one of the more amusing and interesting aspects of the sport. Doping allegations have been a part of the Grand Tours since the inaugural Tour de France in 1903 when riders used alcohol and ether to deaden the pain felt during and after the phenomenally long stages. The use of performance enhancing drugs dates to even earlier days, having been a part of the sport before the Tour began. Health concerns - as opposed to allegations of cheating - didn't appear until the years following World War 2 and  began in earnest following the death of British rider Tom Simpson from heart failure brought on by  amphetamines, alcohol and sheer exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux in 1967, though concerns had been raised earlier including in 1960 when Frenchman Roger Rivière plunged into a ravine and broke his neck, choosing to blame a mechanic for leaving oil on the wheel rims. Doctors who treated Rivière later stated that their patient had such high levels of drugs in his body that, in their opinion, he would have been either unable to judge when to brake or physically incapable of doing so. Rivière later admitted this and confessed to having a drug addiction and swallowing thousands of tablets each year.

Tom Simpson brought doping to the public's attention after he died as a result of heart failure brought on by amphetamine use in 1967. A memorial erected where he fell on Mont Ventoux has become a site of pilgrimage for cyclists from around the world.

Since the criminalisation of doping in 1965, the UCI and race organisers have introduced ever more sophisticated measures designed to prevent doping, whereas those riders willing to risk it have strived to keep one step ahead - as one observer put it, "The Tour, in fact, is only possible because - not despite the fact - there is doping." Mandatory testing in French events began in 1966, revealing that a third of the riders subjected to tests at that year's Tour returned positive results.

Tests for other drugs became available in the 1970s including for Pemoline, a drug which has a similar effect to amphetamines and saw Eddy Merckx (considered by many to be one of the greatest cyclists in history) caught out in 1977. Steroid and corticoid use became so prevalent during that decade that it was said that only the high cost of obtaining them in the sort of quantities cyclists got through limited their use; when Jan-Luc van den Broucke tested positive in 1978 he went on record saying, "There was a mass of steroids used in the Tour, everyone will admit that. How can we stay at the top otherwise?"

EPO, erythropoietin, was a revolution in cycling on a par with the invention of derailleur gears and had a correspondingly enormous impact on the sport. Not only did the drug boost the production of red blood cells, thus allowing the muscles to receive more oxygen and nutrients for a longer period, it was also impossible to distinguish it from the testosterone naturally produced in the body. Organisers were forced to adopt a system whereby any rider tested and discovered to have a haematocrit level (red cell count) in excess of 50% (45% in men and 40% in women is considered normal in healthy adults) would be required to "rest" from a race for a given period. However, since cyclists frequently use high-altitude training to boost red cell counts, this system could lead to false accusations and was far from ideal.

Richard Virenque confessed to using EPO, a drug that became so prevalent in cycling that the term was almost synonymous with doping.

EPO use became so prevalent that estimates of how many riders were using it in the Tours between the late 1980s and 2000, when a test was finally developed, and the term became almost synonymous with doping. To this day, messages still appear painted on the roads of the Tour accusing riders disliked by those respinsible of "l'EPO." Matters came to a head in 1998 when the Festina team soigneur Willy Voet was arrested as he attempted to enter France with a bag full of banned drugs including EPO, testosterone amphetamines and an assortment of various growth hormones and narcotics - now, even those with no interest in cycling became aware that drug use was rife within the sport and there were even calls for all cycling events to be axed from the Olympics for fear of giving out the message to young sports fans that drugs could be used to enhance performance. Such has been the furore surrounding the matter since that accusations of doping, even when based on no evidence, are now used as an underhand tactic designed to undermine an opponent's credibility and tire him out with the rigourous testing to which anyone under suspicion will be subject - and testing can be rigourous indeed; as Lance Armstrong, himself the target of several doping allegations based either on nothing or his association with Michele Ferrari, who was convicted of supplying drugs to athletes, reveals in his autobiographies the UCI testers can strike at any time, anywhere and any attempt to escape them is liable to result in increased suspicion. They can even show up at a rider's private home and demand a test there and then - and a positive test isn't the only way to get a ban, failure or refusal to give a sample can also be viewed as legitimate reason.

The 2006 Tour looked set to become farce when Operation Puerto carried out by the Spanish police revealed yet more widespread drug use. Five members of the Astana team were banned, leaving an insufficient number to start the race, along with two members of T-Mobile and one each from CSC and AG2R-Prevoyance. Floyd Landis of Phonak tested positive for suspiciously high testosterone after Stage 17 and was later banned from the sport for two years.

2006 was possibly the worst ever year for doping in the Tour de France with one team unable to start after five members received bans. A number of other riders were also later caught out.

The Tour in 2007 began with suspicions flying all over the place - even Alessandro Pettachi, an asthmatic, was suspended after he tested positive for salbutmol, a very common anti-asthma drug. The suspension was later overturned after further tests revealed that the drug was present only in quantities confirming to standard therapeutic usage but too late, he'd already had to miss the Tour. Two German television companies abandoned their plans to film and televise the event and Astana abandoned the race after Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov tested positive following the second time trial, subsequently retiring from the sport (though he has since returned and raced in the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. Then following Stage 16 and a positive result supplied by Christian Moreni, Team Confidis also abandoned and Michael Rasmussen was ordered to leave the event by his team Rabobank for failing to provide a sample when required to do so during two consecutive days a fortnight before the Tour.

A list of riders convicted, sanctioned or suspected (with some grounds) to have doped is virtually indistinguishable from a list of the great names in the sport: Jacques Anquetil, Tour winner in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964 who managed to achieve detection whilst active, confessed to doping following his retirement; Eddy Merckx, five time Tour winner and one of the most successful cyclists in history, provided four positive samples and was banned from one Giro d'Italia; Stephen Roche, tour winner in 1987, was believed to have used EPO in 1993 but never supplied a suspicious haematocrit; Jan Ullrich, Tour winner in 1997, banned for apparently recreational amphetamine use; Marco Pantani, received a six month ban following the discovery of insulin in his hotal room; Alberto Contador, involved in the Operation Puerto case and later banned in a 2010 unrelated test; Bjarn Riis, Tour winner in 1996 and current owner of Saxobank Sungard, later admitted to have won with the help of performance enhancing drugs; Pedro Delgado, Tour winner in 1988, tested positive for a questionable substance but escaped sanctions as it was not yet banned by the UCI; Laurent Fignon, Tour winner in 1983 and 1984, positive test results after two separate events in 1989; Joop Zoetemelk, tested positive in three different Tours de France; Bernard Thévenet, confessed to doping (but wasn't caught) in the 1975 and 1977 - but not, coincidentally, in the 1976 Tour which he won; Lucien Aimar, Tour winner in 1966, banned from the Vuelta the same year after a positive test... In the last half decade, a mere nine have never tested positive for doping - Carlos Sastre in 2008, Lance Armstrong (tested positive for non-prescribed drug hormone, but result believed to be false and caused by the large number of drugs used during his cancer recovery) with his unprecedented seven wins, Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, Lucien van Impe, Luis Ocaña, Jan Janssen, Roger Pingeon and Felice Gimondi. Were they truly innocent or were they lucky enough to escape detection? Unless any confess, we'll never know.

What would professional cycling be like without doping? Bernard Hinault, winner of five Tours de France and the only man to have won all three Grand Tours more than once, is apparent proof that results can still be achieved - he's never given a positive test.

So what will the 2011 Tour bring? The madness of 2006 and 2007 has long since died down and some commentators are willing to suggest that anti-doping tests are now so effective that the problem has been brought into check, but past history suggests it never will be and it's only a matter of time before the latest doping methods emerge into the daylight. 2010 was an unusually dope controversy-free year: French newspaper l'Equipe published a leaked document listing all the riders and the level of suspicion they were under, from 0 (no suspicion) to 10 (extreme suspicion), with examples likely to give rise to suspicion including:


 1. sudden drop in hemoglobin one month before the summer of 2010 which could point to an important loss of blood possibly destined to be re-injected during the Tour


2. suspicion of EPO use during the 2009 Giro


3. hematocrit, hemoglobin or stimulation index superior to 2010 values, which could have led to a start ban before the UCI rules were changed


4. low parameters off-race

...which revealed that the vast majority of riders were rated less then 4 - winner Contador, who returned a positive test for the banned bronchodilator Clenbuterol during the race but was not banned after successfully claiming that contaminated food was the cause, was rated at five. At present, there's no way of knowing but the riders can be sure of scrutiny this year as cycling attempts to show the world it's cleaned up its act.

Tour de Suisse Stage 3

(Originally published Monday 13th June 2011)

Another exhausting day for the riders touring Switzerland today with the majority of Stage 3's 108km taking place at altitude. The race starts out today from the almost ridiculously beautiful town of Brig-Glis (I visited once as a child) which is home to the vast Stockalper Palace, at the time of its construction the largest private building project ever seen in Switzerland, and where inhabitants speak a unique German dialect used nowhere else in the country.

Stockalper Palace

Lying 691m above sea level, the town nestles among high Alpine peaks which have brought winter prosperity in the form of skiers and snowboarders and which also ensure that the riders will be met with a climb immediately upon leaving the town - it's a relatively minor one so far as gradient is concerned, rising some 655m in around to Ulrichen in around 25km, but it should be more than sufficient to get the old knees woken up. Next comes a flatter stage of around 15km, a welcome chance to summon up the energy to face the day's biggest challenge which comes in the form of an 819m climb in 10km to the Grimselpass at 2165m, the highest point of the stage and from which riders will be able to see the Rhone Glacier, source of the river Rhone, should any of them have achieved a sufficient lead in the climb to be able to afford a spot of sight-seeing.

The view from Grimselpass

From the summit, the riders descend 1520m in 30km (imagine that, Cambridge bikers! Makes the Coldham's Lane bridge seem a bit boring, eh?) to the stage's lowest point. This may prove to be a very interesting section - Andy Schleck, who took second place in last year's Tour de France following an incident in which his chain came off allowing eventual winner Alberto Contador to take a 39" lead (the margin by which he beat Schleck in the overall classification), has taken a bit of back seat thus far in the race, leaving his older brother Frank to defend Schleck family honour (their father and grandfather were also professional cyclists) on the leadership board, may decide to use today to demonstrate his form, displaying the ability as a grimpeur which had Contador looking extremely worried in the 2010 Tour, which could allow him to either lead or at least be one of the first over the Grimselpass. In addition to this, Andy demonstrated almost yogic serenity in France, looking calm and even smiling for the crowds at times when other riders were grimacing. If he's got the same form this year, he might be able to maintain any advantage obtained on the way up all the way back down again when other riders get a bit twitchy at high speeds.

Andy Schleck may decide to put on a show of strength today

Although nobody's going want to take their hands off the bars at those sorts of speeds, they're going to have to take the opportunity to top up on the energy gel because at the 78km mark there's a fearsome Hors-Catégorie climb to contend with. Despite reaching the highest point of the stage, the climb up Grimselpass begins at altitude and as such is rated Category 1. Once they've completed the descent, the competitors don't have any flatland whatsoever, allowing no respite before beginning the 1317m ascent of Grosse Scheidegg, a pass at 1962m which is usually only open to buses and the location of the final fight between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty, in which Moriarty was killed permanently and Holmes temporarily (it's amazing what public demand can achieve). 

This is going to be a very, very tough climb indeed and any rider for whom the descent was not enough to rest is going to suffer - we shall almost certainly see at least one rider abandon in this section, but anyone with the strength left in them will be wanting to get a lead because once they're over the top there's a shorter but even steeper descent, 958m over just 11km, to the finish. Anyone with significant lead on the pack will be able to use this section to cruise comfortably without needing to risk life and limb in a hairy free-fall to the finish at Grindelwald, a town that virtually defines what a Swiss town should look like and which was once home to the world's most talented anti-semite Richard Wagner. Keen-eyed sci-fi fans may also recognise the mountains surrounding Grindelwald as they were used to form the outline of the mountains surrounding Alderaan in Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith. 

Grindelwald - more typically Swiss than H.R. Giger eating a Toblerone while building a cuckoo clock and brewing up LSD with Albert Hoffman. In a bank.

You can watch very nice 3D Google Earth animations of the Grimselpass and Grosse Scheidegg sections courtesy of steephil.tv.

Tour de Suisse starts in earnest today

(Originally published Sunday 12th of June 2011)

The Tour de Suisse is the second big race at this time of year. Though it doesn't have the profile enjoyed by the Dauphine, it's another opportunity for riders to test themselves and teams to test their tech in preparation for next month's Tour de France. Beginning yesterday with a time trial, Stage 1 saw world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara complete the 7.3km course on the shores of Lake Lugano, including a climb of just over 400m roughly halfway in 9'41.83", his fourth victory in the first stage of this event since 2003 and in spite of a problem early on with his electronic gear shifters. HTC-Highroad's Tejay Van Garderen finished just nine seconds behind him and Liquigas rider Peter Sagan 17 seconds behind. Cancellara can be seen in a post-race interview on his (rather ugly) website.

The views from the 2478m Nufenen Pass are some of the best in Switzerland, but none of the riders are going to want to stop and enjoy them today.

Today's stage, 148km from Airolo to Crans Montana in the south of the country with some extreme climbs including one of 2478m, will almost certainly see the leader's board shaken up and looking very different by the end of the day, especially when the super-fit German Andreas Kloden in fifth place and American ace all-rounder Levi Leipheimer in 9th. With Tom Danielson, the current holder of the record time in the Colorado Mount Evans Hill Climb (which pits riders against a 4307m ascent, easily surpassing anything in any of the European tours), Peter Sagan (about whom Cadel Evans said, "he makes my legs hurt") and Bauke Mollema (still just 24 but a very promising climber) all in the top ten, making a prediction with any confidence in getting it right is all but impossible.