Cycling World Past Armstrong to Tour de France 2013
Over the past few weeks the cycling world has been rocked by the revelations about Lance Armstrong’s drug abuse.
Despite all the negative press, the Tour de France is still the sports most exciting competition and next year’s competition is looking as exciting as ever
Now the Tour de France’s race director, Christian Prudhomme, is calling for Armstrong to repay his winnings.
However, despite all the negative press, the Tour de France is still the sports most exciting competition and next year’s competition is looking as exciting as ever.
There are some excellent (and honest) cyclists taking part and Alberto Contador is favourite to win with odds of 11/8. Other strong contenders include Chris Froome (7/2), Andy Schleck (11/1) and this year’s winner Bradley Wiggins (14/1).
Armstrong has now been stripped of all the titles he has won since August 1998 and Prudhomme has said that “the UCI rules are clear. When a rider is disqualified, he must pay the prize money back.”
It is estimated that Armstrong has won around £2.4 million for his seven successive wins between 1999 and 2005.
The UCI management committee will meet next Friday in order to discuss the exact consequences of the situation, including whether the titles and prize money will be re-distributed. However, Prudhomme has called for the years to be erased from the record an no alternative winners named.
