It was to be the Tour of Revival. A year after the affairs which polluted the Grande Boucle, the 1999 Tour de France was nevertheless going to be the starting point of the biggest scam in cycling.
It was to be the Tour of Renewal, the one which was to make us forget the affairs which had broken out in July 1998, first and foremost the Festina affair. “Only the teams that we deem worthy of respecting will come to participate in the Tour,” announced Jean-Marie Leblanc during the presentation of the route, adding the consideration of “ethical terms” for the selection of teams and riders. The organizers also reserved the right to refuse the start to a rider (or a team) subject to a procedure linked to doping or to exclude any team “convinced of having violated the general principles of the event”.
Above all, medical control had to be reinforced, a biological assessment of each runner being established just before the race, and the teams were also asked to show their credentials by adhering to one or another charter of ethics and sporting morality. adopted by the International Association of Professional Cycling Groups or by sponsors.
The betrayal of the UCI
These good intentions did not, however, prevent one of the biggest scandals in the history of the Tour and cycling in general. 1999 marked the first of Lance Armstrong’s seven victories on the roads of the Tour de France. And while it would take more than a decade before the American was convicted, the Texan was ultimately stripped of his seven titles after his doping confessions.
The use of doping by the leader of the US Postal was nevertheless highlighted during this 1999 Tour when he tested positive for corticosteroids. But the UCI betrays the Tour de France by covering the former world champion. The international body in fact accepted a backdated medical certificate to avoid a new scandal.
Heavy attacks against France
On July 4, the American national holiday, Lance Armstrong was checked at the end of the first stage between Montaigu and Challans. In the section “remarks from the athlete being tested” and “medications taken”, it was then written “nothingness”, the American runner de facto recognizing that he does not have a medical prescription authorizing the use of a medication. And it was the same with the many other checks he underwent throughout the Tour.
However, when on July 20, the results of the anti-doping test revealed traces of corticosteroids in Lance Armstrong’s urine, Hein Verbruggen, at the time president of the UCI, regretted the revelation of “confidential information” in the press and the The body published a statement of support for the Texan, affirming that “a medical prescription was presented to the UCI”. A shameless lie which would be shattered at the time of Lance Armstong’s confession.
Convinced of his impunity, the native of Plano street in the stretchers, castigated a “vulture journalism” and gossip and announced his desire to file a complaint to clear his honor. And the UCI was just as virulent, accusing France of wanting the death of cycling and the Tour de France. The scandal was only just beginning.
