The Problems of Reassigning Results After Admissions of Doping

After the recent USADA reasoned decision which contained the affidavits of several Garmin-Sharp riders who were teammates with Lance Armstrong in his Tour winning days have had their results voided for the years they admitted doping. Christian Prudhomme who is the head of the ASO has admitted that no rider should inherit the Tour titles that Armstrong looks likely to lose. Instead he has said that “If it’s a question that we would declare that era as a black era, then I’m not afraid to do so” as in many of the years the riders in the top ten have, if not tested positive been implicated, been tainted by doping scandals.

 Below are the results that have been voided by USADA and were possible the second place getter has been listed in italics. If remains to be seen whether the UCI will reassigning the results outside of ASO races but they may decide to leave them blank or with asterisk. It is not only the winning results that would need to be reassigned by finishing positions for podiums, classifications and who’s to say what will happened regarding TTT victories. For any rider who was second to a doping cyclist they will undoubtedly feel cheated as they have been compromised by racing against cyclists using blood boosters and took the glory on the day but not forever. The photos of the maillot jaune on the Champs-Élysées cannot be replicated; the history books will need to be rewritten anyway but to rewrite every single race that these riders and the many more who will hopefully come forward will be a very messy affair.

In the results of the American cyclists below where there is no italicised rider is because second or third place has also been implicated in the latest findings or previously admitted to doping. There will be no easy decision regarding the reassignment of results as the races extend to World Championships, Olympic Road and ITT races, National Championships and the Grand Tours amongst many more smaller but no less important in the context of erasing the names of those who won while doping. Along with winning races are the financial gains from winning the race and the opportunities of sponsorship. Those cyclists who finished behind the dopers have also been cheated out of potential earnings from races and contracts. Hincapie since joining BMC Racing has supplied the team with their team kit through his own Hincapie Sports brand. BMC may just change that deal over summer even though Hincapie has said that since 2006 he hasn't doped. For many of these teams and cyclists they will want to move and the easiest way to do that is to cut ties completely with any cyclist or manager involved in this dark and messy era of cycling.

Michael Barry

2005
-Stage 5 Tour of Austria Cyril Lemoine


Tom Danielson

2005
-Overall Tour of Georgia
Stage 5

2006
-Stage 5 Tour of Georgia
-Stage 17 Vuelta de España Alexandre Vinokourov


George Hincapie

2005
-Kurne-Brussels-Kurne Kevin Van Impe
-GP Ouest-France Alexandre Usov
-Stage 15 Tour de France Oscar Pereiro

2006
-Eneco Tour Stage 4 Vincenzo Nibali
-Maillot Jaune Stage 2 Thor Hushovd


Levi Leipheimer

1999
-Tour de Beauce Overall Jan Hruska
Tour de Beauce Stage 1

2000
-Stage 2 Circuit France Belge
-Stage 5 Redlands Bicycle Classic
Mountains Classification
-Stage 1 Sea Otter Classic

2002
-Route de Sud Overall
Stage 3 Route de Sud

2004
-Stage 4 Setmana Catalana

2005
-Overall Deutschland Tour Jan Ullrich
Stage 4 Georg Totschnig
Mountains Classification

2006
-Tour of California Prologue Bobby Julich
King of the Mountains Bernard Kohl

2007
-Stage 19 Tour de France Cadel Evans


Christian Vande Velde

2005
-Mountains Classification Eneco Tour Jason McCartney


David Zabriskie

2003
-Best young rider Quatre Jours de Dunkerque

2004
-USA National Time Trial Championships John Lieswyn
-Stage 11 Vuelta de España Alessandro Petacchi

2005
-Stage 1 Tour de France
Maillot Jaune (three days)
-Stage 8 Giro d’Italia Ivan Basso

2006
-USA National Time Trial Championships Chris Baldwin
-Critérium de Dauphiné Prologue Stuart O’Grady
Stage 3 Critérium de Dauphiné