A Cleaner Tour?

So the three week festival of cycling that is the Tour de France is over for another year and we’re left feeling slightly empty as we all return to our normal routines!

It’s been an encapsulating 2011 edition with incredible racing, spectacular scenery and the ever present passionate fans who line the roads in their thousands. The only sour note so far being the positive test of Katusha rider Alexandr Kolobnev.

As with any Grand Tour, we study the visual effects of riders, their body language and the speeds at which they ascend the monuments of the Alps and Pyrenees to try and gauge if the sport is cleaning up.

We have witnessed a gradual change in racing styles during the last number of Tours, notably with less teams dominating the mountain stages and ascension speeds dropping off. Whilst this could well be one of the cleanest Tour’s since the inception of EPO in the early 1990′s there is more than likely less doping than any other recent editions and this has to be welcomed.

The reasons for this aren’t fully clear but with the introduction of many anti-doping measures and the implementation of the Biological passport database, the risks of getting caught doping are far higher. Nevertheless, anti-doping constantly plays catch up as new illegal substances and methods creep into the sporting arena.

If we take a look at the climbing times of Alpe d’Huez, we can see the times have reduced from what many deem to be the high ‘EPO’ era of cycling. The late Marco Pantani holds the record with a time of 37’35. One has to remember that weather conditions and other factors also play a part, but we can clearly see that there are some drastic differences. The biological passport was introduced for the 2008 season and we can see the times have reduced since then, a possible sign that riders have changed their behaviour to suit the introduction of what many deem to be the most powerful anti-doping tool available at present.

This years Alpe d’Huez climb was also tackled after only 93km, a relatively short stage in comparison to previous years, meaning riders were perhaps somewhat fresher. Other notable HC climbs such as Luz Ardiden and Plateau de Beille were also ridden more than 3 minutes slower than previous record times set during the ‘EPO’ era. Pierre Rolland’s 2011 Alpe d’Huez time is in line with those witnessed in the late 1980′s.

1997 – Marco Pantani – 37’35
2004 – Lance Armstrong – 37’36 (time trial)
2001 – Lance Armstrong – 38’01
1995 – Miquel Indurain – 39’28
1995 – Bjarne Rijs – 39’30
1989 – Pedro Delgado – 42’15
1986 – Greg leMond – 48’00
2011 – Pierre Rolland – 42’22

As you can see from the list below, overall average speeds for the Tour have remained consistently high since the early 1990′s. Although not an accurate marker, again, one has to take into account factors such as weather conditions, distance and peleton size. Makes for interesting reading though!

2011 3431km Cadel Evans avg: 39.8 kph (24.9 mph)
2010 3642km Alberto Contador avg: 39.6 kph (24.7 mph)
2009 3459km Alberto Contador avg: 40.3 kph (25.2 mph)
2008 3559km Carlos Sastre avg: 40.5 kph (25.3 mph)
2007 3570km Alberto Contador avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)
2006 3657km Oscar Pereiro avg: 40.8 kph (25.5 mph)
2005 3593km Lance Armstrong avg: 41.7 kph (26 mph)
2004 3391km Lance Armstrong avg: 40.6 kph (25.3 mph)
2003 3427km Lance Armstrong avg: 40.9 kph (25.6 mph)
2002 3278km Lance Armstrong avg: 39.9 kph (25 mph)
2001 3458km Lance Armstrong avg: 40.1 kph (25 mph)
2000 3662km Lance Armstrong avg: 39.6 kph (24.7 mph)
1999 3870km Lance Armstrong avg: 40.3 kph (25.2 mph)
1998 3875km Marco Pantani avg: 40 kph (25 mph)
1997 3950km Jan Ulrich avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)
1996 3765km Bjarne Rijs avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)
1995 3635km Miguel Indurain avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)
1994 3978km Miguel Indurain avg: 38.4 kph (24 mph)
1993 3714km Miguel Indurain avg: 38.7 kph (24.2 mph)
1992 3983km Miguel Indurain avg: 39.5 kph (24.7 mph)
1991 3914km Miguel Indurain avg: 38.7 kph (24.2 mph)
1990 3504km Greg LeMond avg: 38.6 kph (24.1 mph)
1989 3285km Greg LeMond avg: 37.5 kph (23.4 mph)
1988 3286km Pedro Delgado avg: 38.9 kph (24.3 mph)
1987 4231km Stephen Roche avg: 36.6 kph (22.9 mph)

We await all the drug test results carried out from this years edition, but overall, the racing has looked more ‘real’ and the speeds more viable which has to be welcomed.

With the introduction of power meter readings from riders and analytical data, these will certainly become more powerful tools in the fight against doping. Science has a major part to play in sport because we now have an abundance of technological data our disposal in the fight against doping.

Vive Le Tour!

Andy Layhe