TdF: The Empty Years

Following the International Cycling Union’s announcement that Lance Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour de France wins (1999-2005), they have further confirmed that no substitute winners will stand in the now vacant spots. Given the breadth and depth of the scandal – which clearly goes far beyond just Armstrong – the UCI statement confirmed the break with tradition of reallocating first place positions, saying, ’The management committee decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events… a cloud of suspicion would remain hanging over this dark period – but that while this might appear harsh for those who rode clean, they would understand there was little honour to be gained in reallocating places.’