Despite the International Cycling Union declaring that no substitute winners of the Tour de France would stand in place of the now-deposed Lance Armstrong for the consecutive years 1999-2005, they have now announced that results from his comeback season (2009/10) will be reallocated; the upshot for Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins is that his fourth place 2009 Tour de France place is upgraded to a podium third place. The UCI confirmed: ‘In 2009 the placing of Mr Armstrong will be reallocated… Bradley Wiggins is the third-placed rider for the Tour de France, 2009.’
This will make for happier news for Sky who have had a fairly torrid couple of weeks with the departure, after their announcement of a zero-tolerance stance on historical drug use, of both Race Coach, Bobby Julich and Sporting Director Steven de Jongh. The team’s lead Sports Director, Sean Yates, has also departed although this is understood to have nothing to do with any previous (or indeed current) wrongdoing, but rather for ‘…purely personal reasons.’
