 Route of the 2002 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 6–28 July 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 20 + Prologue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,278 km (2,037 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 82h 05' 12" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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← 2001 2003 → | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2002 Tour de France was amultiple-stagebicycle race held from 6 to 28 July, and the 89th edition of theTour de France. The event started inLuxembourg and ended in Paris. The Tour circled France counter-clockwise, visiting thePyrenees before theAlps. It has no overall winner—although American cyclistLance Armstrong originally won the event, theUnited States Anti-Doping Agency announced in August 2012 that they had disqualified Armstrong from all his results since 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins from1999 to2005; theUnion Cycliste Internationale confirmed the result.
The favourite was Armstrong, who was, at the time, the winner in the 1999, 2000 and2001 races. The main opposition would probably come from the ONCE team withJoseba Beloki (3rd last year),Igor González de Galdeano (5th last year) andMarcos Serrano (9th last year), and from the Kelme ridersÓscar Sevilla (7th last year, 2nd in last year'sVuelta a España) andSantiago Botero (8th last year). Other riders to keep in account for a high place in the final rankings wereTyler Hamilton (2nd Giro 2002),Levi Leipheimer (3rd Vuelta 2001),Christophe Moreau (4th Tour 2000) and Armstrong's teammateRoberto Heras (4th Vuelta 2001). Important riders who were not present wereJan Ullrich (2nd last year, injury) andGilberto Simoni (winner 2001 Giro).
Teams qualified for the 2002 Tour de France by various methods.[3]U.S. Postal Service was selected because it included the winner of the previous edition,Lance Armstrong.Rabobank was selected because it included the winner of the2001 UCI Road World Cup,Erik Dekker.Alessio,Kelme–Costa Blanca andiBanesto.com were selected because they won theteam classifications in respectively the2001 Giro d'Italia,2001 Tour de France and2001 Vuelta a España. A further seven teams qualified based on theUCI ranking in the highest UCI division at the end of 2001, after compensating for transfers.[4] Five more teams were givenwildcards by the organiser of the Tour,Amaury Sport Organisation.[4] After the wildcards were given, it was announced that Saeco's main riderGilberto Simoni had tested positive for cocaine on two occasions. In response, the wildcard for Saeco was withdrawn and given toJean Delatour.[5] In total, 21 teams participated, each with 9 cyclists, for a total of 189 cyclists.[6]
The teams entering the race were:[6]
Qualified teams
Invited teams
In the first week, the stages were mostly flat in the North of France. The last two weeks had mountain stages in the Pyrenees and Alps.[3] 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 16.[7]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 6 July | Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) | 7.0 km (4.3 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Lance Armstrong (USA) |
| 1 | 7 July | Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) | 192.5 km (119.6 mi) |  | Plain stage |  Rubens Bertogliati (SUI) |
| 2 | 8 July | Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) toSaarbrücken (Germany) | 181.0 km (112.5 mi) | | Plain stage |  Óscar Freire (ESP) |
| 3 | 9 July | Metz toReims | 174.5 km (108.4 mi) | | Plain stage |  Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| 4 | 10 July | Épernay toChâteau-Thierry | 67.5 km (41.9 mi) | | Team time trial | ONCE–Eroski |
| 5 | 11 July | Soissons toRouen | 195.0 km (121.2 mi) | | Plain stage |  Jaan Kirsipuu (EST) |
| 6 | 12 July | Forges-les-Eaux toAlençon | 199.5 km (124.0 mi) | | Plain stage |  Erik Zabel (GER) |
| 7 | 13 July | Bagnoles-de-l'Orne toAvranches | 176.0 km (109.4 mi) | | Plain stage | Bradley McGee (AUS) |
| 8 | 14 July | Saint-Martin-de-Landelles toPlouay | 217.5 km (135.1 mi) | | Plain stage |  Karsten Kroon (NED) |
| 9 | 15 July | Lanester toLorient | 52.0 km (32.3 mi) | | Individual time trial |  Santiago Botero (COL) |
| 16 July | Bordeaux | Rest day | ||||
| 10 | 17 July | Bazas toPau | 147.0 km (91.3 mi) | | Plain stage |  Patrice Halgand (FRA) |
| 11 | 18 July | Pau toLa Mongie | 158.0 km (98.2 mi) |  | Stage with mountain(s) | Lance Armstrong (USA) |
| 12 | 19 July | Lannemezan toPlateau de Beille | 199.5 km (124.0 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Lance Armstrong (USA) |
| 13 | 20 July | Lavelanet toBéziers | 171.0 km (106.3 mi) | | Plain stage |  David Millar (GBR) |
| 14 | 21 July | Lodève toMont Ventoux | 221.0 km (137.3 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Richard Virenque (FRA) |
| 22 July | Vaucluse | Rest day | ||||
| 15 | 23 July | Vaison-la-Romaine toLes Deux Alpes | 226.5 km (140.7 mi) |  | Hilly stage | Santiago Botero (COL) |
| 16 | 24 July | Les Deux Alpes toLa Plagne | 179.5 km (111.5 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Michael Boogerd (NED) |
| 17 | 25 July | Aime toCluses | 142.0 km (88.2 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  Dario Frigo (ITA) |
| 18 | 26 July | Cluses toBourg-en-Bresse | 176.5 km (109.7 mi) | | Hilly stage |  Thor Hushovd (NOR) |
| 19 | 27 July | Régnié-Durette toMâcon | 50.0 km (31.1 mi) | | Individual time trial | Lance Armstrong (USA) |
| 20 | 28 July | Melun to Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 144.0 km (89.5 mi) | | Plain stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) |
| Total | 3,278 km (2,037 mi)[12] | |||||
The Prologue was won byLance Armstrong withLaurent Jalabert andRaimondas Rumšas coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Armstrong and his incredibly dominant US Postal team were not concerned with defending theYellow Jersey in the early flat stages and it changed hands a few times. First it went toRubens Bertogliati who wore it during Stage 2 and Stage 3, whereRobbie McEwen defeatedErik Zabel in the sprint gaining enough time for the latter to wear the maillot jaune in Stage 4, which was a Team Time Trial. TeamONCE–Eroski won the TTT and their riderIgor González de Galdeano took over the overall lead. At this point in the Tour all of the Top 10 overall riders were either members of team ONCE or US Postal Cycling Team, but with two more ITT's and the Mountain stages to come this meant nothing as far as the overall standings, although it did make clear the fact that these two teams were in command within thePeloton.
The ensuing flat stages were won byJaan Kirsipuu, Erik Zabel,Bradley McGee andKarsten Kroon and by the end of Stage 8 places 1-7 were all riders for ONCE with Gonzalez leading his teammateJoseba Beloki by :04 for the overall lead as the next riders from other teams were Armstrong in 8th andTyler Hamilton of team CSC in 9th.
Stage 9 was an Individual Time Trial won bySantiago Botero and perhaps surprisingly seven riders finished within one minute of the stage winner when it was assumed by pundits that very few riders would keep Armstrong (who finished 2nd) that close and nobody would beat him. Following the ITT Gonzalez was still in Yellow leading the GC with Armstrong in 2nd overall, Beloki in 3rd and because of their strong performances in the ITTSerhiy Gonchar and Botero moved into 4th and 5th place in the General Classification.
Stage 10 was a hilly stage with a sprint finish won byPatrice Halgand of team Jean Latour. In places 2-11 wereJérôme Pineau of team Bonjour,Stuart O'Grady of Credit Agricole,Ludo Dierckxsens of Lampre,Pedro Horrillo of Mapei,Andy Flickinger of AG2R,Nicolas Vogondy of FDJ,Nico Mattan of Cofidis,Constantino Zaballa of Kelme,Enrico Cassani of Domo andUnai Extebarria of Euskadel.
Spanish team ONCE with Beloki, Gonzalez andAbraham Olano, and American team US Postal with Armstrong, a youngFloyd Landis,Viatcheslav Ekimov and the dominant Spanish riderRoberto Heras, a formerVuelta a España champion, would have the battle for the 2002 Tour de France in the mountains.
In Stage 11Laurent Jalabert lead the stage from kilometre 6 all the way until kilometre 155 when Armstrong caught and dropped him 3 km from the finish. US Postal controlled the pace of the Peloton for most of the race. Heras lead the way setting such a high pace that most of Armstrong's rivals were dropped before Armstrong even had to put in any work of his own, but when Armstrong finally did attack only his own teammate Heras and Beloki could stay with him, but before long Armstrong was on his own headed for the Yellow Jersey.
In Stage 12 Jalabert attacked early again withIsidro Nozal andLaurent Dufaux going with him. About halfway through the stage the chase-1 group was about 3:00 behind withRichard Virenque,Eddy Mazzoleni andAlexandre Botcharov while once again US Postal withGeorge Hincapie at the front dictated the pursuit of the main field/peloton just over 4:00 behind Jalabert, who was once again caught less than 10 km from the finish after leading the race for most of the day.[13]
Once again Heras fractured the group of the final ten elite riders left with only Armstrong and Beloki able to match his pace and once again when Armstrong launched his attack neither Heras or Beloki could go with him as they finished 2nd and 3rd to him 1:04 behind. Botero and Gonzalez were able to get within seven seconds of Heras and Beloki while Rumsas andCarlos Sastre finished about a minute and a half behind Armstrong.
Stage 13 was an intermediate stage and in thegreen jersey sprinters competition Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen were only separated by one point. Laurent Jalabert's relentless attacks and combative riding was paying off as not only was he in the Polka Dot Jersey asKing of the Mountains but he had also moved into a top 10 position in the overall standings. The stage was won byDavid Millar as the GC situation remained the same.
Armstrong would only build on his lead as the race progressed and by the time the Tour crossedMont Ventoux, theAlps and arrived in Paris Beloki was still 2nd more than 7:00 behind as Rumsas completed the podium with Colombian rider Botero in 4th and Gonzalez in 5th.White Jersey winnerIvan Basso would finish 11th overall and would become one of the only serious challengers toLance Armstrong in the coming Tours.[14]
Following theUSADA decision ten years later, which was confirmed by the UCI, Armstrong had this, and every result after 1998 vacated. It was also decided it was best for the sport and as an example to riders of future generations that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place riders would not be moved up to 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
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.[15][16] 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]
There were several classifications in the 2002 Tour de France.[17] The most important was thegeneral classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.[18]
Additionally, there was apoints classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.[19]
There was also amountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as eitherhors catégorie, first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and wore a white jersey with redpolka dots.[20]
The fourth individual classification was theyoung rider classification, which was marked by the white jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders under 26 years were eligible.[21]
For theteam classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time.[22]
In addition, there was acombativity award given after eachmass-start stage to the cyclist considered most combative, who wore a red number bib the next stage. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave points. The cyclist with the most points from votes in all stages led the combativity classification.[23] Laurent Jalabert won this classification, and was given overall the super-combativity award.[24]
There were also two special awards each with a prize of €3000, theSouvenir Henri Desgrange, given in honour of Tour founder and first race directorHenri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of theCol du Galibier on stage 16, and theSouvenir Jacques Goddet, given in honour of the second directorJacques Goddet to the first rider to pass the summit of theCol d'Aubisque on stage 11. Santiago Botero won the Henri Desgrange and Laurent Jalabert won the Jacques Goddet.[25][26]
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Denotes the leader of thepoints classification |  | Denotes the leader of themountains classification |
 | Denotes the leader of theyoung rider classification |  | Denotes the winner of thesuper-combativity award |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSQ | Lance Armstrong (USA) | ||
| 2 | Joseba Beloki (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | + 7' 17" |
| 3 |  Raimondas Rumšas (LTU) | Lampre–Daikin | + 8' 17" |
| 4 | Santiago Botero (COL) | Kelme–Costa Blanca | + 13' 10" |
| 5 | Igor González (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | + 13' 54" |
| 6 |  José Azevedo (POR) | ONCE–Eroski | + 15' 44" |
| 7 | Francisco Mancebo (ESP) | iBanesto.com | + 16' 05" |
| DSQ | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | ||
| 9 | Roberto Heras (ESP) | U.S. Postal Service | + 17' 12" |
| 10 | Carlos Sastre (ESP) | CSC–Tiscali | + 19' 05" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie McEwen (AUS) | Lotto–Adecco | 280 |
| 2 | Erik Zabel (GER) | Team Telekom | 261 |
| 3 | Stuart O'Grady (AUS) | Crédit Agricole | 208 |
| 4 | Baden Cooke (AUS) | Française des Jeux | 198 |
| 5 |  Ján Svorada (CZE) | Lampre–Daikin | 154 |
| DSQ | Lance Armstrong (USA) | ||
| 7 | Thor Hushovd (NOR) | Crédit Agricole | 103 |
| 8 | Laurent Brochard (FRA) | Jean Delatour | 99 |
| 9 |  Raimondas Rumšas (LTU) | Lampre–Daikin | 92 |
| 10 | Santiago Botero (COL) | Kelme–Costa Blanca | 87 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) | CSC–Tiscali | 262 |
| 2 |  Mario Aerts (BEL) | Lotto–Adecco | 178 |
| 3 | Santiago Botero (COL) | Kelme–Costa Blanca | 162 |
| DSQ | Lance Armstrong (USA) | ||
| 5 | Axel Merckx (BEL) | Domo–Farm Frites | 121 |
| 6 | Joseba Beloki (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | 115 |
| 7 | Michael Boogerd (NED) | Rabobank | 113 |
| 8 | Richard Virenque (FRA) | Domo–Farm Frites | 107 |
| 9 | Carlos Sastre (ESP) | CSC–Tiscali | 97 |
| 10 | Raimondas Rumšas (LTU) | Lampre–Daikin | 96 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Basso (ITA) | Fassa Bortolo | 82h 24' 30" |
| 2 | Nicolas Vogondy (FRA) | Française des Jeux | + 13' 26" |
| 3 | Christophe Brandt (BEL) | Lotto–Adecco | + 48' 32" |
| 4 | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | Bonjour | + 50' 08" |
| 5 | Isidro Nozal (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | + 54.09" |
| 6 | Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 56' 21" |
| 7 |  Volodymir Hustov (UKR) | Fassa Bortolo | + 58' 08" |
| 8 |  Gerhard Trampusch (AUT) | Mapei–Quick-Step | + 1h 32' 12" |
| 9 | David Millar (GBR) | Cofidis | + 1h 40' 33" |
| 10 | Sandy Casar (FRA) | Française des Jeux | + 1h 53' 04" |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ONCE–Eroski | 246h 36' 14" |
| 2 | U.S. Postal Service | + 22' 49" |
| 3 | CSC–Tiscali | + 30' 17" |
| 4 | iBanesto.com | + 34' 06" |
| 5 | Cofidis | + 36' 19" |
| 6 | Rabobank | + 40.41" |
| 7 | Jean Delatour | + 1h 17.21" |
| 8 | Kelme–Costa Blanca | + 1h 42.22" |
| 9 | Domo–Farm Frites | + 1h 46.20" |
| 10 | Fassa Bortolo | + 2h 01.59" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) | CSC–Tiscali | 100 |
| 2 | Franck Rénier (FRA) | Bonjour | 50 |
| 3 | Thor Hushovd (NOR) | Crédit Agricole | 35 |
| 4 | Michael Boogerd (NED) | Rabobank | 33 |
| 5 | Ludo Dierckxsens (BEL) | Lampre–Daikin | 33 |
| 6 | Mario Aerts (BEL) | Lotto–Adecco | 31 |
| 7 | Léon van Bon (NED) | Domo–Farm Frites | 29 |
| 8 | Stéphane Bergès (FRA) | AG2R Prévoyance | 24 |
| 9 | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | Bonjour | 23 |
| 10 | Axel Merckx (BEL) | Domo–Farm Frites | 20 |
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