The tour reaches the fate of the doping cheats
The Tour de France is hosting its 75th edition in Pau. With the city at the fringe of the Pyrenees, there have been numerous doping scandals associated with it. In the past two decades, there have been doping scandals there repeatedly.
2007
The Tour stopped in Pau for two days in July 2007 - a horror trip came a year after the Fuentes scandal, which had cost Jan Ullrich his career. On the second rest day, the police searched the hotels of Alexander Vinokourov's Astana Team and those of Cofidis and Saunier Duval.
Astana and Cofidis left the Tour. On the same day, the positive blood doping test of Vinokourov was made known. Tour Director Christian Prudhomme spoke arrogantly about not having thought for a moment to stop the race. Nor when another day - the Tour was still in Pau - the race leader Michael Rasmussen was removed from the race for giving false statements about his whereabouts before the race.
2010
Perhaps the most famous steak in cycling history was probably eaten in Pau. At least, on July 21, 2010, the second rest day of the Tour, in Pau, a doping test was taken from Alberto Contador. In it, clenbuterol, a cattle growth hormone, was detected. When the positive test became known in the fall during the World Championships, Contador explained the test result with a food contamination.
He had eaten a steak that day. The explanation did not convince, Contador was suspended and lost his wins at the Tour de France 2010 and the Giro d'Italia 2011.
2012
Frank Schleck was not only a prominent rider but also a teammate of Andreas Klöden and Jens Voigt caught. A masking agent was found in his system, and he had to leave the Tour. Schleck denied illegal actions, threatened to sue.
Schleck was suspended for a year. Upon his return, he won still two races, the Luxembourg Championship 2014 and the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España 2015.
2022
Fifty policemen searched the hotel of the Bahrain-Victorious team in Pau. The riders complained about rough treatment, some had to hand over their personal items like smartphones. Already before the start in Copenhagen, raids had taken place at various locations. However, the justice system has remained silent on concrete investigation results that could lead to proceedings or bans to date.
The Tour de France's association with doping scandals in Pau continued in 2010, when Alberto Contador tested positive for clenbuterol, a banned substance often used in cattle farming, during the race's second rest day in the city. Despite his claim of food contamination, Contador was suspended and stripped of his wins at the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.
Despite numerous doping scandals and investigations, France's commitment to hosting the Tour de France's 75th edition in Pau in 2022 remains unwavering, sparking debate about the tournament's ability to combat doping effectively.
