Editing Tour de France (section)

=== 1998–2011 ===
During the [[1998 Tour de France]], a doping scandal known as the [[Festina Affair]] shook the sport to its core when it became apparent that there was systematic doping going on in the sport. Numerous riders and a handful of teams were either thrown out of the race, or left of their own free will, and in the end [[Marco Pantani]] survived to win his lone Tour in a decimated main field. The [[1999 Tour de France]] was billed as the ‘Tour of Renewal’ as the sport tried to clean up its image following the doping fiasco of the previous year. Initially it seemed to be a [[Cinderella (sports)|Cinderella]] story when [[cancer]] survivor [[Lance Armstrong]] stole the show on [[Sestriere]] and kept on riding to the first of his astonishing seven consecutive Tour de France victories; however, in retrospect, 1999 was just the beginning of the doping problem getting much, much worse. Following Armstrong's retirement in [[2005 Tour de France|2005]], the [[2006 Tour de France|2006]] edition saw his former teammate [[Floyd Landis]] finally get the chance he worked so hard for with a stunning and improbable solo breakaway on Stage 17 in which he set himself up to win the Tour in the final time trial, which he then did. Not long after the Tour was over, however, Landis was accused of doping and had his Tour win revoked.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0520/Floyd-Landis-admits-doping-to-clear-his-conscience-implicates-Lance-Armstrong|title=Floyd Landis admits doping to clear his conscience, implicates Lance Armstrong|date=20 May 2010|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=26 March 2020|issn=0882-7729}}</ref>
[[File:Tour de France 2009, andy en albert (22014224710).jpg|thumb|left|[[Andy Schleck]] (left) and [[Alberto Contador]] (right) at the [[2009 Tour de France]]]]
Over the next few years, a new star in [[Alberto Contador]] came onto the scene;<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fotheringham|first=William|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/aug/07/alberto-contador-retire-cycling-vuelta-a-espana|title=Alberto Contador leaves a legacy of cavalier racing and controversy|date=7 August 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 March 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> however, during the [[2007 Tour de France|2007]] edition, a veteran Danish rider, [[Michael Rasmussen (cyclist)|Michael Rasmussen]], was in the [[maillot jaune]] late in the Tour, in position to win, when his own team sacked him for a possible doping infraction;<ref>{{cite web|title=I am a Drug Cheat and a Liar Says Former Rival of Cadel Evans
|work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=1 February 2013 |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/i-am-a-drug-cheat-and-a-liar-says-former-rival-of-cadel-evans-20130201-2dowo.html}}</ref> this allowed the rising star Contador to ride mistake-free for the remaining stages to win his first. [[2008 Tour de France|2008]] saw a Tour where so many riders were doping that, when it went ten days without a single doping incident, it became news.<ref name="Jamey Keaten">{{cite web|title=Carlos Sastre Wins Doping Scarred Tour
|publisher=Jamey Keaten |date=27 July 2008 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/carlos-sastre-wins-doping-scarred-tour/}}</ref> It was during this Tour that a UCI official was quoted as saying, "These guys are crazy, and the sooner they start learning, the better."<ref name="Jamey Keaten"/> [[Roger Legeay]], a [[Directeur Sportif]] for one of the teams noted how riders were secretly and anonymously buying doping products on the internet. Like Greg LeMond at the beginning of the EPO era, 2008 winner [[Carlos Sastre]] was a rider who went his entire career without a single doping incident and between approximately 1994 and 2011 this was the only Tour to have a winner with a clear biological passport.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lemond: Doping Era Denied Evans His Best Years
|publisher=Cycling Central SBS |date=7 April 2015 |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2015/01/22/lemond-doping-era-denied-evans-his-best-years}}</ref> 2009 saw the [[2009 Tour de France|return]] of Lance Armstrong and, strangely, after Contador was able to defeat his teammate, [[Der er et yndigt land|the Danish National Anthem]] was mistakenly played. No Danish rider was in contention in 2009, and Rasmussen, the only Danish rider capable of winning the Tour during this era, was not even in the race. Another rider absent was Floyd Landis, who had asked Armstrong to get him back on a team to ride the Tour once more, but Armstrong refused because Landis was a convicted doper. Landis joined [[UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (men's team)|OUCH]], an American continental team, and not long after this initiated contact with USADA to discuss Armstrong.

In [[2011 Tour de France|2011]], [[Cadel Evans]] became the first Australian to win the Tour after coming up just short several times in the previous few editions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.co.uk/olympics/tdf2011/story/_/id/6797580/2011-tour-de-france-cadel-evans-becomes-first-australian-win|title=Evans first Australian to capture Tour de France|date=24 July 2011|work=ESPN.co.uk|access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref> The [[2012 Tour de France]] was won by the first British rider to ever win the Tour, [[Bradley Wiggins]], while finishing on the podium just behind him was [[Chris Froome]], who along with Contador became the next big stars to attempt to contest the giants of [[Jacques Anquetil|Anquetil]], Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and Armstrong.
[[File:Tour de France 2016, froome (27979590983).jpg|thumb|right|[[Chris Froome]] at the [[2016 Tour de France]]]]
Overshadowing the entire sport at this time, however, was the [[Lance Armstrong doping case]], which finally revealed much of the truth about doping in cycling.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/10/24/lance-armstrong-doping-scandal-panel-delivers-final-justice/1757954002/|title=Final justice handed down in Lance Armstrong doping scandal|access-date=15 September 2020|first=Brent|last=Schrotenboer|work=USA Today|date=17 December 2019}}</ref> As a result, the UCI decided that each of Armstrong's seven wins would be revoked. This decision cleared the names of many people, including lesser-known riders, reporters, team medical staff, and even the wife of a rider who had their reputations tarnished or had been forced from the sport due to pressure from Armstrong and his support staff. Much of this only became possible after Floyd Landis came forward to [[USADA]]. Also around this time, an investigation by the French government into doping in cycling revealed that way back during the 1998 Tour, close to 90% of the riders who were tested, retroactively tested positive for EPO.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-doping-cycling-france/french-senate-lays-bare-doping-in-1998-tour-de-france-idUSBRE96N0PA20130724|title=French Senate lays bare doping in 1998 Tour de France|first=Alexandria|last=Sag|access-date=15 September 2020|work=Reuters|date=24 July 2013}}</ref> {{Failed verification|date=May 2024}} The result of these doping scandals being that in the case of Landis in 2006, and Contador in 2010, new winners were declared in [[Óscar Pereiro]] and [[Andy Schleck]], respectively; however, in the case of the seven Tours revoked from Armstrong, there was no alternate winner named.