Tour de France roll of honour in doubt

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The Tour de France roll of honour is in potential disarray after the US Anti-Doping Agency said Lance Armstrong would be stripped of his seven wins following his decision to drop his fight against drug charges. The Texan won cycling’s greatest race from 1999 to 2005 but organisers of the annual blue riband event face a major headache if the sport’s world governing body confirms that he will be removed from the list of winners. Not only will they have to tackle the problem of reassigning his seven wins but also the 22 stages he claimed in the years he made the celebrated race his own. In the modern era two cyclists have been awarded the Tour de France on a disqualification. Spain’s Oscar Pereiro was awarded the 2006 race after American winner Floyd Landis was stripped of his title for doping. Pereiro’s compatriot, Alberto Contador, also found guilty of doping, was replaced by Andy Schleck as the winner in 2010.