2006 Tour de France
cycling race / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France. It took place from 1 to 23 July 2006. The winner was Óscar Pereiro. Floyd Landis was the first person to finish the race, but was disqualified on 20 September 2007 for taking the drug testosterone during the 17th stage of the race.[1]
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The Tour began in Strasbourg, on the French-German border. It ended Sunday 23 July in Paris. The distance of the race was 3657 km (2272 mi). The race was the third fastest in average speed. Along the way, the cyclists passed through six different countries including France, The Netherlands (a stop at Valkenburg in Stage 3), Belgium (at Huy, Stages 3 and 4), Luxembourg (at Esch-sur-Alzette, Stages 2 and 3), Germany (though not stopping there, Stage 1) and Spain (Pla-de-Beret, Stage 11). For the first time since the 1999 race, there was no team time trial.
One day before the start of the Tour, there was a doping scandal. 13 racers were removed from the Tour, because it was believed that they were getting drugs from a doctor named Fuentes. Two of the 13 riders were the expected to do well in the race. They were Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso.