Tour de France Performance: Of the 70 available spots for the top 10 finishers for the seven years Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France, there were only 37 unique individuals. Half of them – 17 of the 36 (excluding Lance Armstrong) were either convicted or implicated for doping.
Of the 21 available podium spots, there were only 9 unique riders and all but one (3rd Fernando Escartin 1999) has been convicted or implicated for doping.
Yes, you read that correctly, with the exception of the first year that Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France, every single 2nd or 3rd place finisher, i.e. the greatest competition, has been either convicted or implicated for doping.
Lance Armstrong took the yellow jersey from an additional 4 riders who were also either implicated or convicted for doping. In other words, he beat 21 known dopers while working with 8 other known dopers over the course of 7 years, held the yellow jersey for 81 of a possible 147 days, and “never tested positive.”
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