| 2005 UCI ProTour, race 17 of 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Route of the 2005 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 2–24 July 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,593 km (2,233 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 86h 15' 02" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of theTour de France, one of cycling'sGrand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance 3,593 km (2,233 mi). It has no overall winner—although American cyclistLance Armstrong originally won the event, theUnited States Anti-Doping Agency announced on 24 August 2012 that they had disqualified Armstrong from all his results since 1 August 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins from1999 to 2005. The verdict was subsequently confirmed by the UCI.
The first stages were held in thedépartement of theVendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was announced on 28 October 2004. It was a clockwise route, visiting theAlps before thePyrenees. Armstrong took the top step on the podium, for what was then the seventh consecutive time. He was accompanied on the podium byIvan Basso andJan Ullrich, but in 2012 Ullrich's results were annulled.[4] The points classification was won byThor Hushovd, and the mountains classification byMichael Rasmussen.
The race was seen by 15 million spectators along the road, and by 2 billion viewers on TV.[5]
In 2005, the UCI had started theProTour: 20 teams were given a ProTour licence, and were required to start in all ProTour races, which included the Tour de France. The Tour de France organisation was not happy with this rule, as they wanted to be able to decide which teams would join their race. While negotiations were still ongoing, it was decided to use the UCI rule for the 2005 Tour, so all 20 ProTour teams were automatically invited. The Tour organisation could invite one extra team with awildcard, and used this to inviteAG2R Prévoyance.[6] All teams were composed of nine cyclists, so 189 riders in 21 teams commenced the 2005 Tour de France.[7] Of them, 155 riders finished.
The teams entering the race were:[8]
The main favourite was (then) six-time winner Armstrong (now stripped of all his victories). Armstrong had had doubts if he should start the 2005 Tour,[9] but decided in February 2005 that he would race. His main rival Ullrich was happy with this decision, as he thought it would be a better race with Armstrong present.[6]
In previous years, Ullrich never had the full support of his team to win the general classification, as his team was also aiming for stage victories. In 2005,Erik Zabel, who had won thepoints classification six times, was left out of the team, and Ullrich was supported by Klöden and Vinokourov, who both had already reached the podium on the Tour.[6]
On the day before the Tour started, Ullrich crashed into his team director's car, but was not seriously injured.[6]
The Tour commemorated the death ofFabio Casartelli. During the 15th stage the riders passed theCol de Portet d'Aspet, where Casartelli died exactly 10 years earlier, in the1995 Tour de France.[10] The Tour also commemorated the first time there was an official mountain climb in the Tour, theBallon d'Alsace.[11] During the 9th stage this mountain was passed again, exactly 100 years after the first ascent in the Tour.
The 2005 Tour de France was divided into 21 stages. These stages belong to different categories: 8 were flat stages, 5 were medium mountain stages, 5 were high mountain stages, 2 wereindividual time trials and 1 was ateam time trial.[11] The distinction between flat stage, medium mountain stage and high mountain stage is important for thepoints classification. Thehighest point of elevation in the race was 2,642 m (8,668 ft) at the summit of theCol du Galibier mountain pass on stage 11.[12] There were two rest days, inGrenoble and inPau.[13]
The traditional prologue on the first day was replaced by anindividual time trial of more than twice the length of a standard prologue.[10] This stage crossed from the mainland of France to theÎle de Noirmoutier. The most famous route to this island is thePassage du Gois, a road that is under water at high tide. This road was included in the1999 Tour. Several of the favourites crashed there that year, and ended that stage 7 minutes behind the peloton. This year they took the bridge to the island. Later in the race, there was one more time trial, on the penultimate day. Also, there were just three uphill finishes (Courchevel,Ax-3 Domaines andPla d'Adet), a lower number than in previous years. The finish line of the last stage was, as has been since 1975, on theChamps-Élysées in Paris.
In the stages that were not time trials, there were intermediate sprints. Cyclist who crossed the intermediate sprints first received points for thepoints classification, and bonification seconds for thegeneral classification. Until stage 8, there were three intermediate sprints, and from stage 9 on there were two.[14]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 July | Fromentine toNoirmoutier-en-l'Île | 19.0 km (11.8 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  David Zabriskie (USA) |
| 2 | 3 July | Challans toLes Essarts | 181.5 km (112.8 mi) |  | Plain stage |  Tom Boonen (BEL) |
| 3 | 4 July | La Châtaigneraie toTours | 212.5 km (132.0 mi) | | Plain stage | Tom Boonen (BEL) |
| 4 | 5 July | Tours toBlois | 67.5 km (41.9 mi) | | Team time trial | Discovery Channel |
| 5 | 6 July | Chambord toMontargis | 183.0 km (113.7 mi) | | Plain stage |  Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 6 | 7 July | Troyes toNancy | 199.0 km (123.7 mi) | | Plain stage |  Lorenzo Bernucci (ITA) |
| 7 | 8 July | Lunéville toKarlsruhe (Germany) | 228.5 km (142.0 mi) | | Plain stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 8 | 9 July | Pforzheim (Germany) toGérardmer | 231.5 km (143.8 mi) |  | Hilly stage |  Pieter Weening (NED) |
| 9 | 10 July | Gérardmer toMulhouse | 171.0 km (106.3 mi) | | Hilly stage |  Michael Rasmussen (DEN) |
| 11 July | Grenoble | Rest day | ||||
| 10 | 12 July | Grenoble toCourchevel | 177.0 km (110.0 mi) |  | Mountain stage |  Alejandro Valverde (ESP) |
| 11 | 13 July | Courchevel toBriançon | 173.0 km (107.5 mi) | | Mountain stage |  Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) |
| 12 | 14 July | Briançon toDigne-les-Bains | 187.0 km (116.2 mi) | | Hilly stage |  David Moncoutié (FRA) |
| 13 | 15 July | Miramas toMontpellier | 173.5 km (107.8 mi) | | Plain stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 14 | 16 July | Agde toAx 3 Domaines | 220.5 km (137.0 mi) | | Mountain stage |  Georg Totschnig (AUT) |
| 15 | 17 July | Lézat-sur-Lèze toSaint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet | 205.5 km (127.7 mi) | | Mountain stage | George Hincapie (USA) |
| 18 July | Pau | Rest day | ||||
| 16 | 19 July | Mourenx toPau | 180.5 km (112.2 mi) | | Mountain stage | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) |
| 17 | 20 July | Pau toRevel | 239.5 km (148.8 mi) | | Plain stage | Paolo Savoldelli (ITA) |
| 18 | 21 July | Albi toMende | 189.0 km (117.4 mi) | | Hilly stage | Marcos Antonio Serrano (ESP) |
| 19 | 22 July | Issoire toLe Puy-en-Velay | 153.5 km (95.4 mi) | | Hilly stage | Giuseppe Guerini (ITA) |
| 20 | 23 July | Saint-Étienne toSaint-Étienne | 55.5 km (34.5 mi) | | Individual time trial | Lance Armstrong |
| 21 | 24 July | Corbeil-Essonnes to Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 144.5 km (89.8 mi) | | Plain stage | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) |
| Total | 3,593 km (2,233 mi)[18] | |||||
In Stage 1,David Zabriskie, a former teammate ofLance Armstrong, beat Armstrong by two seconds.[16] In the team time trial of stage 4, Zabriskie fell in the last kilometres, and Armstrong took over the lead.[16]
Armstrong initially refused to wear the yellow jersey in the fifth stage[c] but was forced by the Tour organisation, who threatened to remove him from the race.[6]
In the tenth stage, the start was moved from Grenoble to Froges.[13]
Before the 20th stage, an individual time trial,Michael Rasmussen occupied the third place in the general classification. During that stage, Rasmussen fell multiple times and changed bicycles multiple times, and lost so much time that he ended up at the seventh place in the general classification.[16] All total throughout the stage he changed bikes twice, changed wheels twice, began to hesitate going through corners and went off the road. His final time during this ITT was still better than half the field.[16]
The race jury invoked the 'rain rule'[19] for the Champs-Élysées, meaning that Lance Armstrong became the winner of the General classification the first time the race passed the finish line, rather than the eighth time as normal. The time bonification for the winner of the stage was still given, andAlexander Vinokourov profited from this as he won the stage after an escape in the last kilometre (the first time since 1994 that the final stage did not end in a sprint[16]), and passedLevi Leipheimer in the general classification to end fifth.[20]
During the final ceremonies in Paris, Armstrong was allowed to talk to the crowds, the first time in the Tour's history that a winner was given this chance.[21] It has since become a regular occurrence.
During the race, 143 urine tests and 21 blood tests were conducted. None of them returned positive.[22] Still, there were fears that banned substances were being used; the boss of theAmore & Vita–Beretta team (not racing in the 2005 Tour) questioned the increase in velocities.[23]
In 2010, Hans Michael Holczer, the team boss of Gerolsteiner in 2005, said that the UCI had informed him that Leipheimer had shown blood values just under the doping limit, and that Holczer suspected that Leipheimer was doping. The UCI advised Gerolsteiner to find a reason to remove Leipheimer from the race, but Holczer refused, because his team was still facing bad publicity from a previous doping case.[24]
The top five of the general classification of 2005 would not compete the 2006 edition. Armstrong had retired after the 2005 Tour, and a few days before the 2006 edition, after it became public that (among others) Basso, Ullrich and Mancebo were under investigation in the Operacion Puerto doping case, the Tour organisation and team leaders decided to exclude all cyclists under investigation from joining the Tour. Vinokourov, fifth-placed in 2005, was not under investigation, but his team was reduced to five cyclists, below the minimal required amount of six, so he could also not compete.[25]
In February 2012, theCourt of Arbitration for Sport found Ullrich guilty of being engaged in Fuentes' doping program, and decided that Ullrich's results since May 2005, including his results from the 2005 Tour de France, would be disqualified.[4]
Subsequent to Armstrong's statement to withdraw his fight againstUnited States Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) charges, on 24 August 2012, the USADA said it would ban Armstrong for life and stripped him of his record seven Tour de France titles.[26][27] Later that day it was confirmed in a USADA statement that Armstrong was banned for life and would be disqualified from any and all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to 1 August 1998, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, winnings, finishes, points and prizes.[1] On 22 October 2012, theUnion Cycliste Internationale endorsed the USADA sanctions, and decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events.[2]
Michael Rasmussen, winner of themountains classification, revealed in 2013 that in a doping test his value ofimmature red blood cells was below the minimum threshold, but that the UCI allowed him to continue in the race because they did not want an incident.[28]
There were four main individual classifications contested in the 2005 Tour de France, as well as a team competition. The most important was thegeneral classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage,[29] with time bonuses given at the end of eachmass start stage.[30] If a crash had happened within the final 3 km (1.9 mi) of a stage, not including time trials and summit finishes, the riders involved would have received the same time as the group they were in when the crash occurred.[31] The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Tour.[29] The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey.[32]
The second classification was thepoints classification. Riders received points for finishing in the highest positions in a stage finish, or inintermediate sprints during the stage. The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type.[29] The leader was identified by a green jersey.[32]
The third classification was themountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second- or first-category, orhors catégorie for the most difficult climbs.[33] The leader wore a white jersey with redpolka dots.[32]
The final individual classification was theyoung rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but the classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1980.[33] The leader wore a white jersey.[32]
The final classification was ateam classification. This was calculated using the finishing times of the best three riders per team on each stage; the leading team was the team with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie.[33]
In addition, there was acombativity award given after each mass start stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who has demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship".[30] The winner wore a red number bib the following stage.[32] At the conclusion of the Tour,Óscar Pereiro (Phonak) was given the overall super-combativity award.[34] TheSouvenir Henri Desgrange given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of theCol du Galibier on stage 11. This prize was won byAlexander Vinokourov.[35]
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Denotes the leader of thepoints classification[32] |  | Denotes the leader of themountains classification[32] |
 | Denotes the leader of theyoung rider classification[32] |  | Denotes the winner of thesuper-combativity award[32] |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSQ | Lance Armstrong (USA) | ||
| 2 | Ivan Basso (ITA) | Team CSC | + 4' 40" |
| DSQ |  Jan Ullrich (GER) | ||
| 4 | Francisco Mancebo (ESP) | Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne | + 9' 59" |
| 5 | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) | T-Mobile Team | + 11' 01" |
| DSQ | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | ||
| 7 | Michael Rasmussen (DEN) | Rabobank | + 11' 33" |
| 8 | Cadel Evans (AUS) | Davitamon–Lotto | + 11' 55" |
| 9 | Floyd Landis (USA) | Phonak | + 12' 44" |
| 10 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Phonak | + 16' 04" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Thor Hushovd (NOR) | Crédit Agricole | 194 |
| 2 | Stuart O'Grady (AUS) | Cofidis | 182 |
| 3 | Robbie McEwen (AUS) | Davitamon–Lotto | 178 |
| 4 | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) | T-Mobile Team | 158 |
| 5 | Allan Davis (AUS) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | 130 |
| 6 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Phonak | 118 |
| 7 | Robert Förster (GER) | Gerolsteiner | 101 |
| DSQ | Lance Armstrong (USA) | ||
| 9 | Baden Cooke (AUS) | Française des Jeux | 91 |
| 10 | Bernhard Eisel (AUT) | Française des Jeux | 88 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Rasmussen (DEN) | Rabobank | 185 |
| 2 | Óscar Pereiro (ESP) | Phonak | 155 |
| DSQ | Lance Armstrong (USA) | ||
| 4 | Christophe Moreau (FRA) | Crédit Agricole | 93 |
| DSQ | Michael Boogerd (NED) | ||
| 6 |  Santiago Botero (COL) | Phonak | 88 |
| 7 | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) | T-Mobile Team | 75 |
| 8 | Laurent Brochard (FRA) | Bouygues Télécom | 75 |
| DSQ | George Hincapie (USA) | ||
| 10 | Pietro Caucchioli (ITA) | Crédit Agricole | 73 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yaroslav Popovych (UKR) | Discovery Channel | 86h 34' 04" |
| 2 | Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) | Crédit Agricole | + 9' 02" |
| 3 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | + 44' 23" |
| 4 | Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ) | Domina Vacanze | + 59' 42" |
| 5 | Jérôme Pineau (FRA) | Bouygues Télécom | + 1h 12' 36" |
| 6 |  Vladimir Karpets (RUS) | Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne | + 1h 24' 43" |
| 7 | David Arroyo (ESP) | Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne | + 1h 35' 10" |
| 8 | Patrik Sinkewitz (GER) | Quick-Step–Innergetic | + 1h 48' 46" |
| 9 |  Thomas Löfkvist (SWE) | Française des Jeux | + 1h 48' 46" |
| 10 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) | Française des Jeux | + 2h 04' 58" |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | T-Mobile Team | 256h 10' 29" |
| 2 | Discovery Channel | + 14' 57" |
| 3 | Team CSC | + 25' 15" |
| 4 | Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne | + 55' 24" |
| 5 | Crédit Agricole | + 1h 06' 09" |
| 6 | Phonak | + 1h 09' 20" |
| 7 | Liberty Seguros–Würth | + 1h 47' 56" |
| 8 | Rabobank | + 2h 26' 30" |
| 9 | Fassa Bortolo | + 2h 48' 58" |
| 10 | AG2R Prévoyance | + 2h 52' 04" |
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