Ullrich, Basso, Sevilla, Beloki, Gutierrez, Heras and Hamilton all received bans for either alleged or proven doping before this year’s tour started, and cycling suddenly became a clean sport.  For once we could all admire the bravery and determination displayed by Landis, taking on and beating the whole peleton despite having a dodgy hip.  Wrong.  He’s just given a positive testosterone sample (i.e. too high a level) after the 17th stage, and if the B sample backs this up, then he will be almost certainly stripped of his tour victory.

I had naively tried to watch the tour with a genuine belief that the vast majority of the peleton was clean.  I was slightly concerned but ignored the fact that the average speed was the 3rd fastest ever.  I ignored the similarities between Landis’s heroics, and that of Tyler Hamilton on EPO riding through the pain barrier and consequently grinding his teeth to the gum.  As much as I love cycling, I have now lost all faith in the professional side of it.