1998 Tour de France

85th edition of cycling Grand Tour April 2019 May 2019 1998 Tour de France Route of the 1998 Tour de France.png 360px Route of the 1998 Tour de France Map of France with the route of the 1998 Tour de France 11 July – 2 August 1998 21 + Prologue 3875 km 92h 49' 46" Marco Pantani ITA UNO 1998 yellow Jan Ullrich GER THR 1998 Bobby Julich USA COF 1998 Erik Zabel GER THR 1998 green Christophe Rinero FRA COF 1998 polkadot Jan Ullrich GER THR 1998 COF 1998 Jacky Durand FRA CSO 1998 red_number 1997 1999 The 1998 Tour de France was the 85th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,875 km mi on race was composed of 21 stages and a prologue. It started on 11 July in Ireland before taking an anti-clockwise route through France to finish in Paris on 2 August. Marco Pantani of UNO 1998 won the overall general classification, with THR 1998's Jan Ullrich, the defending champion, and COF 1998 rider Bobby Julich finishing on the podium in second and third respectively. The general classification leader's yellow jersey was first awarded to Chris Boardman of the GAN 1998a team, who won the prologue in Dublin. Following a crash by Boardman on stage 2 that caused his withdrawal, Ullrich's sprinter teammate Erik Zabel took the race lead. He lost it the next stage to ALM 1998's Bo Hamburger, who took it after being in a breakaway. The day after, the yellow jersey switched to another rider from the same breakaway, Boardman's teammate Stuart O'Grady, who took vital seconds from time bonuses gained in intermediate sprints. He held it for a further three stages, until pre-race favourite Ullrich won stage 7's individual time trial, moving him into the overall lead. The next day, Laurent Desbiens of COF 1998 finished in a breakaway with a large enough margin to put him in the yellow jersey. Ullrich regained the race lead two stages later as the Tour went into the Pyrenees. Following his poor showing in the opening week, Pantani placed second and first, respectively, on the two Pyreneean stages. He then won stage 15, the first in the Alps, to replace Ullrich in the yellow jersey, and kept it until the race's conclusion. Zabel won his third consecutive Tour points classification and Julich's teammate Christophe Rinero, fourth overall, was the winner of the mountains classification. Ullrich was the best young rider and the most combative was CSO 1998's Jacky Durand. The team classification was won by COF 1998 yes. Tom Steels of MAP 1998 won the most stages, with four. The race was marred throughout by a doping scandal, known as the Festina affair. Before the Tour began, Willy Voet, an assistant of the Festina team, was arrested at the Franco-Belgian border when doping products were found in his car. The affair broadened and the team was expelled after top personnel admitted to widespread doping. Police raids on numerous teams during the course of the race led to two riders' strikes and the withdrawal of several teams and riders. Due to the controversy, the race became known by the nickname "Tour de Farce". In July 2013, retrospective tests for recombinant EPO made in 2004 were made public, revealing that 44 out of 60 samples returned positive tests. Teams List of teams and cyclists in the 1998 Tour de France thumb|alt=A gated large stone building with a clock tower on its roof|Trinity College Dublin in Ireland hosted the team presentation ceremony on 10 July. The organisers of the Tour, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), cut the number of teams from 22 to 21 for the 1998 Tour, to reduce the number of crashes in the opening week of the race seen in recent editions, caused by the large number of riders.Ullrich enthousiast, Virenque in mineur Ullrich enthusiastic, Virenque in minor https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/ullrich-enthousiast-virenque-in-mineur~bd8b3f90/ 16 April 2019 De Volkskrant 24 October 1997 nl https://web.archive.org/web/20190416231704/https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/ullrich-enthousiast-virenque-in-mineur~bd8b3f90/ 16 April 2019 live The first round of squads that were invited were the first sixteen teams in the ranking system of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), cycling's governing body, on 1 January 1998, provided that they were still in the top twenty after transfers were factored into the calculation.1998 Tour de France – Sporting aspects http://www.letour.fr:80/tour98us/particularites.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 24 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19980526070652/http://www.letour.fr/tour98us/particularites.html 26 May 1998 dead All these sixteen teams fulfilled this requirement.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/feb98/feb6.html News for February 6, 1998: Tour 1998 6 February 1998 21 August 2011 Cyclingnews.com https://web.archive.org/web/20121025181403/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/feb98/feb6.html 25 October 2012 live On 19 June, the ASO gave wildcard invitations to ASI 1998, COF 1998, RIS 1998 and VIT 1998, with AUB 1998 receiving a special invitation.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/jun98/jun19.html News for June 19, 1998: In the Tour de France 19 June 1998 21 August 2011 Cyclingnews.com https://web.archive.org/web/20121025181408/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/jun98/jun19.html 25 October 2012 live The presentation of the teams – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place outside the Front Gate of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland on the evening before the prologue stage, which began at the college.Edwards et al. 1998 30 Each squad was allowed a maximum of nine riders, resulting in a start list total of 189 riders.Le Tour de France report – Teams http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/teams.htm 16 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale live https://web.archive.org/web/20190516193702/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/teams.htm 16 May 2019 Of these, 51 were riding the Tour de France for the first time.Tour de France 1998 – Debutants https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/startlist/debutants ProCyclingStats 12 May 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190512185712/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/startlist/debutants 12 May 2019 live The riders came from 22 countries, with the majority of them coming from France, Italy and Spain. Jörg Jaksche (POL 1998) was the youngest rider at 21 years and 353 days on the day of the prologue, and the oldest was Massimo Podenzana (UNO 1998) at 36 years and 347 days.Tour de France 1998 – Youngest competitors https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/startlist/youngest-competitors ProCyclingStats 12 May 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190512185444/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/startlist/youngest-competitors 12 May 2019 live The POL 1998 yes cyclists had the youngest average age while the riders on UNO 1998 yes had the oldest.Tour de France 1998 – Average team age https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/startlist/average-team-age ProCyclingStats 12 May 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190512185502/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/startlist/average-team-age 12 May 2019 live The teams entering the race were: Qualified teams 20em GCE 1998 ALM 1998 FES 1998 FDJ 1998 C.A 1998a KEL 1998 SIL 1998 MAP 1998 UNO 1998 ONC 1998 POL 1998 RAB 1998 SAE 1998 THR 1998 TVM 1998 DSC 1998 Invited teams 20em ASI 1998 AUB 1998 COF 1998 RIS 1998 VIT 1998 Pre-race favourites thumb|upright|alt=Jan Ullrich riding a bicycle wearing a yellow jersey|Jan Ullrich (pictured during the 1997 Tour) was considered the main favourite for the general classification. Jan Ullrich (TEL 1998 yes) was the defending champion. He had won the 1997 edition's overall general classification by over nine minutes.Augendre 2016 113 His Telekom team was considered as "clearly the squad to beat",Fotheringham 2017 5 having won the previous two editions with Bjarne Riis and Ullrich respectively.Whittle et al. 1998 77 The 1997 Tour had seen a contest for leadership between Telekom's two captains, but for 1998 this had been resolved in Ullrich's favour.Fotheringham 2017 6 During the winter break, Ullrich's training was impaired by the consequences of the fame and fortune that came with his Tour win,McGann McGann 2008 243Kelly Seamus Le Tour de France report – Intro http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/intro.htm 5 June 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale live https://web.archive.org/web/20190605011322/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/intro.htm 5 June 2019 and his weight had increased from 73 kg lbs on to 87 kg lbs on.Fotheringham 2017 6 In March 1998, El País headlined an article with "Ullrich is fat", which highlighted that he was still 8 kg lbs on over the weight he had during the previous Tour.Arribas Carlos Ullrich está gordo Ullrich is fat https://elpais.com/diario/1998/03/16/deportes/890002833_850215.html 16 April 2019 El País 16 March 1998 es https://web.archive.org/web/20190416103955/https://elpais.com/diario/1998/03/16/deportes/890002833_850215.html 16 April 2019 live His preparation suffered further when he was forced to retire from Tirreno–Adriatico with a cold. However, Ullrich performed well in both the Tour de Suisse and the Route du Sud directly before the start of the Tour, erasing doubts over his form.Abt Samuel Samuel Abt Cycling; Ullrich ready to roll after tasting success https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/07/sports/cycling-ullrich-ready-to-roll-after-tasting-success.html 16 April 2019 The New York Times 7 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190416093817/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/07/sports/cycling-ullrich-ready-to-roll-after-tasting-success.html 16 April 2019 live He was therefore thought to be the clear favourite going into the 1998 Tour,McGann McGann 2008 243Fotheringham 2017 5–6Moore 2014 181 with El País going so far as to write that "we can no longer speak of an open Tour, of a deck of suitors. There is talk of Ullrich, and then of the others."Arribas Carlos Ullrich y los demás Ullrich and the others https://elpais.com/diario/1998/07/11/deportes/900108009_850215.html 16 April 2019 El País 11 July 1998 es https://web.archive.org/web/20190416102451/https://elpais.com/diario/1998/07/11/deportes/900108009_850215.html 16 April 2019 live The route of the race was considered to be an advantage to Ullrich as well, with many time-trial kilometres and comparatively few mountain passes. The veteran Riis, who had raced the 1997 Tour with a cold, was seen as a capable backup option for the team. The strongest challenge was expected to come from FES 1998 yes, which led the UCI team ranking prior to the start of the Tour.UCI Road Rankings – 7 July 1998 http://www.uci.ch/english/road/data/men_980705.pdf 6 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale 7 July 1998 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20000830115753/http://www.uci.ch/english/road/data/men_980705.pdf 30 August 2000 Their leading rider, Richard Virenque, had finished second to Ullrich the year before. The two long individual time trials were expected not to be in Virenque's favour, since he did not excel in the discipline. He was however a very good climber, having won the mountains classification in the four previous Tours.Augendre 2016 120 The team was further strengthened by the arrival of Alex Zülle in the 1998 season, winner of the two previous editions of the three-week Grand Tour of Spain, the Vuelta a España, who was considered to be a competitor for overall victory in his own right.Fotheringham 2017 6–7Whittle et al. 1998 26 He was a leading pre-race favourite at Italy's Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia,Whittle et al. 1998 28–28Farrand Stephen Giro d'Italia: The apotheosis of Marco Pantani http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/giro-ditalia-the-apotheosis-of-marco-pantani/ Cyclingnews.com 16 April 2019 26 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20190416105133/http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/giro-ditalia-the-apotheosis-of-marco-pantani/ 16 April 2019 live one month earlier, winning two of the three time trial stages and leading the race before he faltered badly in the final mountain stages to end the race in 14th overall.Whittle et al. 1998 28–28Giro d'Italia, Grand Tour – Stage 22 brief http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/may98/giro98/stage22.html 13 May 2019 Cyclingnews.com 7 June 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190606222335/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/may98/giro98/stage22.html 6 June 2019 live Another possible contender from Festina was Laurent Dufaux, who had finished fourth overall in 1996 and ninth in 1997. Marco Pantani (UNO 1998 yes) was considered the "dominant climber in the sport" at the time. In June, he had taken an "exceptionally impressive"Fotheringham 2017 7 overall victory at the Giro. Of his three appearances in the Tour up to that point, he had finished third in two of them, including in 1997.Whittle et al. 1998 36 When the Tour's route was announced in October 1997, Pantani expressed dissatisfaction with the number of time trials and the fact that the race featured only two mountain-top finishes. Since the route was not to his liking, he originally had shown no interest in riding the race. Following his victory at the Giro, Pantani raced only once, a criterium race in Bologna. His decision to ride the Tour was not made until Luciano Pezzi, his closest confidant and an important figure at Mercatone Uno, died suddenly in late June. Pantani decided to go to the Tour in honour of Pezzi, but had done very little training beforehand.Friebe 2014 144–146 A further disadvantage to Pantani was his lack of a strong domestique, unlike Ullrich and Virenque.Whittle et al. 1998 36 A returning pre-race favourite from the 1997 Tour was time trialist Abraham Olano; in that race, he won the final time trial stage and placed fourth overall.Whittle et al. 1998 34 He led the experienced BAN 1998 yes team, who took Miguel Induráin to his five straight Tour wins between 1991 and 1995,Whittle et al. 1998 34Augendre 2016 110 and had been seen as his successor.Whittle et al. 1998 34 His weakness was thought to be his lack of strength on steep climbs.Whittle et al. 1998 34 In his final race leading up to the Tour, the Volta a Catalunya, he performed poorly in the high mountains, and as a result was only seen as a podium contender.Whittle et al. 1998 34 Banesto also fielded José María Jiménez, who as a strong mountain rider was considered a "major threat".Fotheringham 2017 7 The final rider noted as a leading contender, named "the outsider", was the ONC 1998 yes team leader Laurent Jalabert, a complete all-rounder who excelled in all road cycling disciplines.Whittle et al. 1998 29 Although he was the reigning time trial world champion and the clear first in the UCI individual ranking before the Tour, he had only aimed to match his overall placing of fourth in 1995. The riders also named as outside favourites for overall victory were Michael Boogerd (RAB 1998 yes), COF 1998 yes riders Francesco Casagrande and Bobby Julich, Evgeni Berzin (FDJ 1998 yes), Fernando Escartín (KEL 1998 yes), and Chris Boardman (GAN 1998a yes).Whittle et al. 1998 40–44 Route and stages 1998 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11 1998 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21 thumb|alt=A road summit hairpin with mountains in the background|The Col du Galibier Alpine pass on stage 15 was the highest point reached in the Tour at 2645 m ft on. The route of the 1998 Tour de France was officially announced during a presentation at the Palais des congrès in Paris on 23 October 1997.The Tour de France https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-tour-de-france-1.119017 16 April 2019 The Irish Times 24 October 1997 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162816/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-tour-de-france-1.119017 18 June 2019 liveAbt Samuel Samuel Abt Cycling: Tour de France; 1998 race too flat for Virenque's tastes https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/24/sports/cycling-tour-de-france-1998-race-too-flat-for-virenque-s-tastes.html 16 April 2019 The New York Times 24 October 1997 https://web.archive.org/web/20190416220902/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/24/sports/cycling-tour-de-france-1998-race-too-flat-for-virenque-s-tastes.html 16 April 2019 live First negotiations about a potential start of the race in Ireland took place in October 1996, with the Irish government securing funding of IR£2 million to host the event.Dunne Jim Ireland may host start of 1998 Tour de France https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland-may-host-start-of-1998-tour-de-france-1.93761 16 April 2019 The Irish Times 9 October 1996 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162931/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland-may-host-start-of-1998-tour-de-france-1.93761 18 June 2019 live The opening stages (known as the Grand Départ) in Ireland were confirmed in early April 1997.McArdle Jim Irish stages confirmed for 1998 Tour de France https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-stages-confirmed-for-1998-tour-de-france-1.58384 16 April 2019 The Irish Times 3 April 1997 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162944/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-stages-confirmed-for-1998-tour-de-france-1.58384 18 June 2019 live Irish officials expected the race to bring in IR£30 million to the local economy.Dunne Jim Tour worth £30m to economy – Kenny https://www.irishtimes.com/news/tour-worth-30m-to-economy-kenny-1.58741 16 April 2019 The Irish Times 4 April 1997 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162953/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/tour-worth-30m-to-economy-kenny-1.58741 18 June 2019 live It was the first and so far only time that the Tour has visited Ireland. The race paid tribute to two famous former Irish professional cyclists: on the day before the prologue, a commemoration service was held in Kilmacanogue for Shay Elliott, the first Irish rider to ride the Tour and win a stage,O'Brien Tim Service commemorates Shay Elliott https://www.irishtimes.com/news/service-commemorates-shay-elliott-1.172172 9 May 2019 The Irish Times 11 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618163004/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/service-commemorates-shay-elliott-1.172172 18 June 2019 live and during stage 2 of the race, the route went through Carrick-on-Suir, the hometown of Sean Kelly, four-time winner of the Tour's points classification.Smith 2009 148Watterson Johnny Race whizzes through Carrick in tribute to a great Irish sportsman https://www.irishtimes.com/news/race-whizzes-through-carrick-in-tribute-to-a-great-irish-sportsman-1.173042 9 May 2019 The Irish Times 14 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618163250/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/race-whizzes-through-carrick-in-tribute-to-a-great-irish-sportsman-1.173042 18 June 2019 live Stage 2 also commemorated the 200th anniversary of French troops landing at Killala Bay during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.Smith 2009 147 The 1998 Tour was pushed back one week from its original start date, so as not to overlap too much with the 1998 FIFA World Cup, also held in France, which ended on 12 July, one day after the prologue.Rendell 2007 116 The 3875 km 0 on-race lasted 23 days, including the rest day, and ended on 2 August.Augendre 2016 89Le Tour de France report http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/default.htm 16 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale https://web.archive.org/web/20190516193726/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/default.htm 16 May 2019 live The longest mass-start stage was the fourth at 252 km 0 on, and stage 20 was the shortest at 125 km 0 on. The race contained three individual time trials, one of which was the prologue, totalling 115.6 km on.McGann McGann 2008 243 Of the remaining stages, twelve were officially classified as flat, two as mountain and five as high mountain. There were only two summit finishes,Moore 2014 181 which were both at ski resorts, one at Plateau de Beille on stage 11 and another on stage 15 at Les Deux Alpes. The highest point of elevation in the race was 2642 m ft on at the summit of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 15.Augendre 2016 177–178Tour de France, Grand Tour – Stage 15 brief http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/tour98/stage15.html 13 May 2019 Cyclingnews.com 27 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20110909054249/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/tour98/stage15.html 9 September 2011 live It was among five hors catégorie (beyond category) rated climbs in the race.Le Tour de France report – Stage 10 http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_10.htm 16 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale live https://web.archive.org/web/20190516210027/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_10.htm 16 May 2019Le Tour de France report – Stage 11 http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_11.htm 16 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale live https://web.archive.org/web/20190516210031/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_11.htm 16 May 2019Le Tour de France report – Stage 15 http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_15.htm 16 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale live https://web.archive.org/web/20190516210043/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_15.htm 16 May 2019Le Tour de France report – Stage 16 http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_16.htm 16 May 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale live https://web.archive.org/web/20190516210110/http://62.50.72.82/english/tdf/tdf_98_16.htm 16 May 2019 Cycling journalist Samuel Abt considered the route easier than the 1997 edition. Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc countered criticism by Virenque and Pantani that the race was not mountainous enough, saying: "The course is tough enough with 23 mountains. That is eight more than last year." The Tour started with a prologue time trial around the streets of Dublin. Stage 1 was a loop that returned to the city, with the following stage travelling down the Irish eastern coast to Cork. The riders then travelled to France by plane,Edwards et al. 1998 43 with the team vehicles and equipment following by sea.Edwards et al. 1998 51 Just as the year before, the Tour took a counter-clockwise route through France.van den Akker 2018 12 The course in France started in Roscoff in the north-western region of Brittany, with three stages taking the race to the centre of the country at Châteauroux. Stage 6 moved the Tour into the Massif Central highlands, which hosted the next stage. Two transitional stages to Pau then placed the race in the foothills of the Pyrenees, where two stages took place. Following the rest day, a three-stage journey crossed the south to three further stages in the Alps. The next stage took the Tour through the Jura Mountains to Switzerland, with the following stage crossing back over the border to Burgundy, where the penultimate stage took place. After a long transfer to the outskirts of Paris, the race ended with the Champs-Élysées stage.Bacon 2014 210 + Stage characteristics and winnersBacon 2014 210The history of the Tour de France – Year 1998 – The stage winners http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1998/vainqueurs.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 4 April 2020 3 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200403012337/http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1998/vainqueurs.html dead Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner P11 July Dublin (Ireland) 5.6 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Individual time trial Chris Boardman GBR 112 July Dublin (Ireland) 180.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Tom Steels BEL 213 July Enniscorthy (Ireland) to Cork (Ireland) 205.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Ján Svorada CZE 314 July Roscoff to Lorient 169 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Jens Heppner GER 415 July Plouay to Cholet 252 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Jeroen Blijlevens NED 516 July Cholet to Châteauroux 228.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Mario Cipollini ITA 617 July La Châtre to Brive-la-Gaillarde 204.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Mario Cipollini ITA 718 July Meyrignac-l'Église to Corrèze 58 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Individual time trial Jan Ullrich GER 819 July Brive-la-Gaillarde to Montauban 190.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Jacky Durand FRA 920 July Montauban to Pau 210 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Léon van Bon NED 1021 July Pau to Luchon 196.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= High mountain stage Rodolfo Massi ITA 1122 July Luchon to Plateau de Beille 170 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= High mountain stage Marco Pantani ITA 23 July Ariège Rest day 1224 July Tarascon-sur-Ariège to Cap d'Agde 190 km 0 onStage 12 was originally scheduled to be 206 km mi on long, but as a result of the delayed start due to a riders' strike, the stage was shortened to 190 km 0 on.Fotheringham 2017 142 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Tom Steels BEL 1325 July Frontignan la Peyrade to Carpentras 196 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Daniele Nardello ITA 1426 July Valréas to Grenoble 186.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Mountain stage Stuart O'Grady AUS 1527 July Grenoble to Les Deux Alpes 189 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= High mountain stage Marco Pantani ITA 1628 July Vizille to Albertville 204 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= High mountain stage Jan Ullrich GER 1729 July Albertville to Aix-les-Bains 149 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= High mountain stage —"note-stage-17" Stage 17 was cancelled and did not count as the riders held a strike due to the developing Festina affair.Stage 17 cancelled http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/ Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 24 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19990203085256/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/ 3 February 1999 1830 July Aix-les-Bains to Neuchâtel (Switzerland) 218.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Mountain stage Tom Steels BEL 1931 July La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) to Autun 242 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Magnus Bäckstedt SWE 201 August Montceau-les-Mines to Le Creusot 52 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Individual time trial Jan Ullrich GER 212 August Melun to Paris (Champs-Élysées) 147.5 km 0 on 20px|alt=|link= Flat stage Tom Steels BEL Total 3875 km 0 onAugendre 2016 89 Race overview 1998 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11 1998 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21 Pre-Tour revelations On 4 March 1998, a truck belonging to the Dutch TVM 1998 yes team was seized by customs officers in Reims, France, revealing 104 vials of recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), a drug with performance-enhancing effects. The two mechanics in the truck were released and the vials were taken by the police, who said they had more "important matters" to be concerned with.Edwards et al. 1998 2Edwards et al. 1998 12 During the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, a race held two weeks before the start of the Tour, Christophe Moreau of Festina tested positive for the anabolic steroid mesterolone.Dauphiné Libéré: De las Cuevas leader https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/1998/06/11/185857-dauphine-libere-de-las-cuevas-leader.html 16 August 2019 La Dépêche du Midi 11 June 1998 fr The UCI accepted Festina's explanation that the positive test was a result of the influence of a team masseur, and Moreau was allowed to start the Tour de France.Woodland 2003 155 Three days before the start of the Tour, on 8 July, Willy Voet, a soigneur (team assistant) with the Festina squad, was stopped by customs officers driving along a back road on the Franco–Belgian border.Edwards et al. 1998 1 A routine check revealed that he carried a large quantity of performance-enhancing drugs with him.The content of Voet's car was "82 vials of Saizen (somatropin, or human growth hormone), 60 capsules of Pantestone (epitestosterone), 248 vials of physiological serum, 8 pre-filled syringes containing hepatitis-A vaccine, 2 boxes of 30 Hyperlipen tablets (to lower the amount of fat in the blood), 4 further doses of somatropin, 4 ampoules of Synacthene (to increase the rate at which corticoid hormones are secreted by the adrenal gland) and 2 vials of amphetamine" as well as "234 doses of recombinant human erythropoietin".Rendell 2007 117 He was thereafter placed under arrest, initially claiming they were "for personal use".Edwards et al. 1998 1 The following day, police carried out a search of Festina's headquarters in Meyzieu, close to Lyon.Edwards et al. 1998 19 On the day before the prologue, a judicial inquiry was opened by the public prosecutor's office and Voet was held for investigation,Edwards et al. 1998 19 with the story also breaking to the media.Rendell 2007 117 The Tour's organisation as well as Festina were quick to dismiss the news as having nothing to do with the race.Abt Samuel Samuel Abt Cycling; Boardman wins as drug case arises https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/12/sports/cycling-boardman-wins-as-drug-case-arises.html 12 May 2019 The New York Times 12 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190512122629/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/12/sports/cycling-boardman-wins-as-drug-case-arises.html 12 May 2019 liveMcGann McGann 2008 246 Early stages in Ireland thumb|left|alt=An illustrated map of Dublin with the route of the prologue time trial|The 5.6 km on route of the prologue time trial around the streets of Dublin, won by Chris Boardman (C.A 1998a) Chris Boardman covered the 5.6 km mi on route of the prologue time trial fastest with a time of 6:12.36 minutes,Edwards et al. 1998 31 gaining his third Tour prologue victory.Edwards et al. 1998 27 Olano finished second, four seconds slower. Third to sixth place went to Jalabert, Julich, Moreau, and Ullrich, all five seconds behind Boardman.Edwards et al. 1998 31 Marco Pantani meanwhile had not bothered to preview the course and finished 181st out of the 189 starters, 48 seconds slower than the winning time.Rendell 2007 118 Boardman was awarded the yellow and green jerseys as the leader of both the general and points classification respectively.Tour de France 1998 – Leaders overview https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/stages/leaders-overview ProCyclingStats 16 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190216224428/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/stages/leaders-overview 16 February 2019 live Tom Steels outsprinted Erik Zabel in stage 1's bunch sprint finish.Edwards et al. 1998 35 Steels came to the Tour with the full support of his MAP 1998 yes squad for the sprints, unlike Zabel's TEL 1998 yes who were focused on Ullrich's pursuit for overall victory.Edwards et al. 1998 43 Mario Cipollini (SAE 1998 yes), a favourite for the stage win, was held up 8 km on from the end when he was involved in a crash with his teammate, Frédéric Moncassin.Wicklow Welcomes Tour de France Sunday Sport 12 July 1998 https://www.rte.ie/archives/2018/0703/976039-tour-de-france-in-wicklow/ 10 June 2019 RTÉ Sport Willoughby Roy (reporter) https://web.archive.org/web/20190529042355/https://www.rte.ie/archives/2018/0703/976039-tour-de-france-in-wicklow/ 29 May 2019 live Edwards et al. 1998 33 Steels took the lead of the points classification from Boardman, who retained the overall lead. Steels's teammate Stefano Zanini was the first of a seven-rider breakaway group to reach the summit of the Wicklow Gap mountain pass, claiming the Tour's first available mountains classification points and the first polka-dot jersey.Edwards et al. 1998 34–35 Unlike other general classification favourites, who always rode at the front of the peloton (main group), Pantani spent the first days of the Tour at the back, surrounded by his teammates.Rendell 2007 118Common cycling tactics dictate that riders should stay towards the front of the peloton to minimise the risk of being involved in a crash.Friebe 2014 148 This almost cost him, when during stage 2, which was raced largely on the wide N25 road,Edwards et al. 1998 39–40 crosswinds split the field into several echelons. Pantani was caught out and only came back when yellow jersey-wearer Boardman crashed heavily. In the aftermath, the peloton slowed down, allowing Pantani to catch back up.Friebe 2014 142 Boardman meanwhile hit his head badly on a stone wall beside the road. He was taken to hospital and had to abandon the Tour.Pogatchnik Shawn Britain's Boardman out of Tour after crash https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/cycling/longterm/1998/tour/articles/boardman.htm limited 12 May 2019 The Washington Post Associated Press 13 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162605/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/cycling/longterm/1998/tour/articles/boardman.htm 18 June 2019 live MAP 1998 yes rider Ján Svorada was involved in a crash with 15 km on to go, but was able to recover and win the bunch sprint finish.Edwards et al. 1998 42–43 Zabel, who before the stage stood in eighth position overall,Edwards et al. 1998 38 had collected enough time bonuses in the intermediate sprints to take the yellow jersey.Edwards et al. 1998 40–41 Move to France and evolving doping scandal thumb|upright|alt=Portrait of Richard Virenque wearing a white, red and yellow cap|Richard Virenque (pictured in 1993), the leader of the FES 1998 team, which was expelled from the Tour after stage 6 following its management's admission to doping. TEL 1998 yes's Jens Heppner won stage 3 from a two-rider sprint with Xavier Jan of FDJ 1998 yes, after the pair had escaped late from a nine-rider breakaway. Bo Hamburger of ALM 1998 yes, who won two of the three intermediate sprints whilst in the escape group, took the overall lead.Edwards et al. 1998 47–52 Svorada took the lead of the points classification, while Festina's Pascal Hervé led the mountains classification. The second and third-placed riders in the now much-changed general classification also came from the breakaway, with George Hincapie (DSC 1998 yes) two seconds down on Hamburger, and Stuart O'Grady (C.A 1998a yes) a further second behind.Edwards et al. 1998 52–53 Hincapie and O'Grady went head to head for the time bonuses in stage 4's three intermediate sprints in pursuit of the race lead. O'Grady won two of them to end the day with an eleven-second overall advantage over both Hincapie and Hamburger. The stage was won by Jeroen Blijlevens (TVM) from an uphill bunch sprint at Cholet in the Loire Valley.Fotheringham 2017 77Edwards et al. 1998 55–60 Cipollini suffered his third crash of the Tour at the end of stage 4,Edwards et al. 1998 58 accumulating eight separate injuries,Fotheringham 2017 81 but was able to avoid the multiple crashes in the next stage to win the bunch sprint finish.Fotheringham 2017 79 Svorada was disqualified for causing a crash at the end of the stage, losing the points he had earned from his tenth-place finish. Svorada's green jersey went to Zabel, who finished second in the stage.Edwards et al. 1998 67 & 72 Cipollini won the following stage, from a bunch sprint into Brive-la-Gaillarde.Edwards et al. 1998 74 As the ferry reached French soil overnight into 14 July, the day of stage 3, all team vehicles were meticulously searched at customs.Edwards et al. 1998 51 During the day, Voet admitted to police that he had been following team orders, with Festina's team doctor Eric Rijkaert publicly denying he administered any banned substances. The next day, the team manager Bruno Roussel and Rijkaert were taken into police custody.Edwards et al. 1998 19 Before the start of stage 5,Edwards et al. 1998 64 Jean-Marie Leblanc announced at a press conference that the professional licences held by Roussel and Rijkaert had been provisionally suspended by the UCI. At the same time, Festina riders Richard Virenque, Laurent Brochard and Laurent Dufaux stated their intention to carry on racing.Edwards et al. 1998 19 During stage 6, Roussel and Rijkaert confessed to systematic doping in the Festina squad. This led to the Tour organisation to expel the team ahead of the following stage.McGann McGann 2008 246–247 Before the start of stage 7 Virenque, on behalf of Festina, held a private meeting with Leblanc to plead for the team to be allowed to continue, but to no avail.Fife 2000 202 Stage 7, the hilly and technical first long individual time trial, was won by Ullrich, 1:10 minutes ahead of USP 1998 yes's Tyler Hamilton, with Julich in third a further eight seconds behind. O'Grady was fifteenth with a deficit of 3:17 minutes, and lost the yellow jersey to Ullrich, who was now 1:18 minutes in front of Hamburger and Julich on the same time in second and third respectively. Pantani finished thirty-third, 4:21 minutes slower than Ullrich, he said later that he had held himself back in anticipation of the upcoming Pyrenees.Edwards et al. 1998 77–84 Zanini regained the polka dot jersey. Stage 8 was held in very high temperatures. A group of six riders reached the finish 7:45 minutes ahead of the peloton. The sprint was won by Jacky Durand of ALM 1998 yes, who had been in an escape group on every road stage so far. Four riders from the group gained enough time to move to the top of the general classification, with COF 1998 yes's Laurent Desbiens taking the yellow jersey.Edwards et al. 1998 85–91 Temperatures increased to a high of 44 C during the following stage, which was won by RAB 1998 yes rider Léon van Bon in a final sprint, contested between a four-man breakaway. The closing field followed 12 seconds later. Second-place finisher Jens Voigt (C.A 1998a yes) collected enough mountains classification points from within the breakaway to take the polka-dot jersey.Tour de France, Grand Tour – Stage 9 brief http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/tour98/stage9.html 13 June 2019 Cyclingnews.com 20 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20120701091323/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/tour98/stage9.html 1 July 2012 live Two-time stage winner Cipollini dropped out during this stage.Fotheringham 2017 116Over the course of his career, Mario Cipollini had shown a tendency to avoid riding high mountain stages, which did not suit him, instead focusing on the flat stages in the first week of the race. In fact, he never finished a Tour de France in seven appearances, neither the Vuelta a España in six attempts.Abt Samuel Cycling: Hardly a sprint, but Cipollini heads toward the end https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/09/sports/IHT-cycling-hardly-a-sprint-but-cipollini-heads-toward-the-end.html 9 March 2020 The New York Times 9 September 2003 https://web.archive.org/web/20200309122413/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/09/sports/IHT-cycling-hardly-a-sprint-but-cipollini-heads-toward-the-end.html 9 March 2020 Pyrenees thumb|left|alt=A green mountainside with a low-gradient road|Stage 10's descent on the eastern side of the Col d'Aubisque mountain pass (pictured) saw a total of 30 riders fall in the wet and foggy conditions.Edwards et al. 1998 100 Stage 10 saw the race move into the high mountains, starting with the Pyrenees. On the way to Luchon, four mountain passes had to be crossed: the Col d'Aubisque, the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aspin and finally the Col de Peyresourde, followed by 15.5 km mi on of downhill to the finish line.Casino gamble pays great dividends http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/10/ Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 14 June 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20041212232716/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/10/ 12 December 2004 A total of 30 riders fell on the wet and foggy descent of the Aubisque, including overall contenders Olano, Jalabert and Francesco Casagrande,Edwards et al. 1998 99 with the latter being one of six that retired from the race. A three-rider breakaway of Cédric Vasseur (C.A 1998a yes) and ALM 1998 yes teammates Rodolfo Massi and Alberto Elli formed by the foot of the Tourmalet. The pace set by TEL 1998 yes halfway up this climb split the peloton, with yellow jersey wearer Desbiens dropped. Massi moved clear from his fellow riders in the breakaway group on the steep section midway on the 13 km mi on-long last climb, and also at the same point after, a move by Ullrich formed a small group of elite riders which included pre-race favourites Pantani, Julich, Riis, Boogerd, Escartín and Jiménez. Close to the top, Pantani launched a successful attack and summited with an advantage of 42 seconds, but was unable to catch the soloing Massi on the descent,Edwards et al. 1998 99–106 who took the stage victory as well as the lead of the mountains classification. Pantani finished second, 33 seconds behind. Ullrich followed with the other favourites, a further 23 seconds back, to regain the yellow jersey, while Julich moved up to second overall.Edwards et al. 1998 105–106 The following stage 11 featured the first mountain-top finish of the 1998 Tour. The peloton agreed not to begin racing until after the first 45 km mi on, when they stopped to pay their respects at the memorial to Fabio Casartelli on the Col de Portet d'Aspet, who crashed and died there during the 1995 Tour.Nicholl Robin Ullrich produces a tour de force https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ullrich-produces-a-tour-de-force-1250966.html 14 June 2019 The Independent 16 July 1997 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162041/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ullrich-produces-a-tour-de-force-1250966.html 18 June 2019 liveLongmore Andrew Tour de France: From quiet American to big noise https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tour-de-france-from-quiet-american-to-big-noise-1102779.html 14 June 2019 The Independent 27 June 1999 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618162144/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tour-de-france-from-quiet-american-to-big-noise-1102779.html 18 June 2019 live As the field reached the bottom of the 16 km mi on climb to the finish at Plateau de Beille, Ullrich had a tyre puncture. Pantani was unaware of this and was about to attack, before being stopped by his teammate Roberto Conti, as it breaches the unwritten rules of the peloton to attack a rider when they have mechanical issues. Having waited for Ullrich to regain contact, Pantani waited until 4 km mi on from the finish to attack, and after passing the sole breakaway rider, Roland Meier (COF 1998 yes), he took the stage win.Edwards et al. 1998 108–112Friebe 2014 153 Following Meier and a group of five led by Julich, Ullrich crossed the finish line in eighth place, 1:40 minutes down on Pantani. After the two stages in the Pyrenees, Ullrich led the general classification, 1:11 minutes ahead of Julich, with both Jalabert and Pantani 3:01 minutes down in third and fourth.Edwards et al. 1998 112–113 Olano, a notable pre-race favourite, withdrew from the Tour halfway through the stage.Edwards et al. 1998 108 Transition stages and rider unrest thumb|upright|alt=Portrait of wearing a pink jsery and headnad with "ONCE" insignia|Laurent Jalabert (pictured in 1993) of the ONC 1998 team was an influential figure in both of the Tour's rider sit-down protests during stages 12 and 17. After the rest day, stage 12 followed a flat course between Tarascon-sur-Ariège and Cap d'Agde. The riders were unhappy with the looming expulsion of the TVM team, against which the police had renewed their investigation which was started in March. Likewise, journalists going through waste containers at team hotels, searching for evidence of performance-enhancing drugs, drew anger from the peloton. Some riders also spoke out against the announcement by the UCI to move forward the introduction of new health tests.Fotheringham 2017 138 As the riders lined up with their bikes at the start of the stage, Jalabert broadcast a statement on their behalf on the race's official station, Radio Tour, saying "We are fed up with being treated like cattle. So we are going to behave like cattle."Edwards et al. 1998 118 Following this, the majority of the riders sat down on the road and refused to continue, while others willing to start stood around, unsure what to do.Edwards et al. 1998 118 The instigators of the strike were Jalabert, Blijlevens, Max Sciandri (FDJ 1998 yes), and Prudencio Induráin (VIT 1998 yes) as well as ONCE's team manager Manolo Saiz.Fotheringham 2017 139–140 Leblanc negotiated with the team managers and they voted 14–6 in agreement to begin the stage. The peloton and vehicles slowly set off, but a Jalabert-led group of about 40 refused. They eventually relented and caught up to the rest 16 km mi on ahead, and the race started, exactly two hours after the scheduled time. It was at this point that the stage was officially started.Fotheringham William William Fotheringham Jalabert Puts on a Show with Road Rage https://www.newspapers.com/image/260825464/ 9 May 2020 The Guardian 25 July 1998 35 After about 40 km mi on, Jalabert then went on the attack over a short climb with his brother Nicolas (COF 1998 yes) and Bart Voskamp (TVM),Gómez Luis Escapada simbólica de Jalabert https://elpais.com/diario/1998/07/25/deportes/901317602_850215.html 9 May 2020 El País 25 July 1998 es Symbolic Escape by Jalabert with the group building up a lead of about five minutes. Team Telekom gave chase at a high pace, temporarily putting Pantani into difficulty as crosswinds created echelons in the peloton.Fotheringham 2017 141–143Edwards et al. 1998 119–121 The trio of escapees were eventually brought back. Steels took his second stage win of the Tour in a bunch sprint finish, but withheld any celebrations following the events of the stage.Edwards et al. 1998 119–122 The stage, shortened by 16 km mi on to account for the delay caused by the strike, was run at an average speed of 48.764 kph mph on, the third-fastest stage in Tour history.Fotheringham 2017 143 Stage 13 saw a breakaway by six riders, among them Daniele Nardello and Andrea Tafi, both of Team MAP 1998 yes. They worked together at the finish to ensure Nardello took Mapei's fourth stage win. At the only classified climb of the day, Luc Leblanc (POL 1998 yes) put in an attack, but was brought back by Riis.Fotheringham 2017 152 The following day's stage brought the Tour to Grenoble at the foot of the Alps. The stage was won by O'Grady, again from a breakaway.Tour de France, Grand Tour – Stage 14 brief http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/tour98/stage14.html 17 June 2019 Cyclingnews.com 26 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20160322165454/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/tour98/stage14.html 22 March 2016 live In the press conference after, Ullrich was asked whether his team would be capable of supporting him in the Alps and, after initially appearing upbeat, he ended his response with: "Even if I don't have the yellow jersey in Paris, I want to give my compliments to the team".Edwards et al. 1998 134–135 Pantani, who still stood at fourth overall, was quoted saying: "My main goal now is to win in Les Deux-Alpes." Alps and second strike thumb|left|alt=A turquoise and yellow Bianchi bicycle hung up at a cycle show stand|One of the racing bicycles that was used by Marco Pantani during the Tour's mountain stages Stage 15 was the first of three Alpine stages. After a warm start in Grenoble, the weather soon deteriorated, with cold temperatures, rain and fog impeding the riders. The route contained four classified climbs, including the hors categorie Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Galibier, and ending with a summit finish at Les Deux Alpes.Fotheringham 2017 164 On the Croix de Fer, Massi bridged over to a breakaway group and scored maximum points for the mountains classification, a feat he repeated on the second climb of the day, the Col du Télégraphe. By this point, the lead group contained only Massi, Christophe Rinero (COF 1998 yes) and Marcos-Antonio Serrano (KEL 1998 yes). Behind them in the group of the main favourites, the high climbing tempo put Jalabert into difficulty, which ultimately saw him drop far down the general classification by the end of the stage.Fotheringham 2017 165 After the short descent of the Télégraphe, the race reached the Galibier, where Riis cracked following his work reeling back attackers, leaving Ullrich without a teammate.Fotheringham 2017 166 With 6 km mi on remaining to the summit of the Galibier, Pantani made the decisive move of the race, attacking from the group of favourites.Edwards et al. 1998 141 By the summit of the climb, Pantani had passed all the breakaway riders and was out in front alone, leading by ten seconds. Ullrich reached the top 2:41 minutes behind Pantani. Crucially, unlike Pantani, he did not wear a raincoat during the descent. He subsequently suffered from the cold temperatures and hypoglycemia for the rest of the stage.Rendell 2007 124–126 The breakaway caught up to Pantani on the descent of the Galibier, forming a group of strong climbers. Before the final climb to Les Deux Alpes, Ullrich had a tyre puncture and was distanced by the group of chasers. On the climb, Pantani soon moved clear of his group and took the stage victory, almost two minutes ahead of Massi in second place. Ullrich finished with teammates Udo Bölts and Riis 8:57 minutes after Pantani, who took over the yellow jersey. He led Julich by 3:53 minutes, with Escartín in third place in the general classification, ahead of Ullrich.Edwards et al. 1998 142–146 Before the following stage to Albertville, speculation spread that Ullrich would abandon the race.Fotheringham 2017 187 Pantani's Mercatone Uno team coped well in defending his race lead over the four lesser categorised climbs, until the race reached the hors categorie final climb, the Col de la Madeleine, when Ullrich attacked, with only Pantani able to follow. Ullrich led the duo up the rest of the climb as they passed the breakaway riders and increased their advantage over the chasing Julich, who was accompanied by two teammates. The pair held their lead of around two minutes along the final 17 km mi on of flat, where at the finish, Ullrich outsprinted Pantani to the stage win. Pantani now led Julich by 5:42 minutes, with Ullrich third, 14 seconds behind Julich.Edwards et al. 1998 147–152 Another police raid on the TVM team and news about alleged mistreatment of the Festina riders while in custody led to another riders' strike on stage 17. After a brief stop of two minutes at the start, the riders rode slowly to the first intermediate sprint of the day, where they climbed off their bikes and sat on the road. Jalabert climbed into his team car and retired from the race. Meanwhile, Jean-Marie Leblanc negotiated with the riders and collected guarantees from a civil servant from the French Ministry of the Interior, who was visiting the Tour as a guest, that police treatment of the riders would improve. Nevertheless, the entire ONCE team followed their leader Jalabert and abandoned the race. As the riders slowly got moving again, they ripped off their race numbers as a further sign of protest. Luc Leblanc retired later in the stage. At the feed zone, the Banesto squad joined their fellow Spanish-based ONCE team in quitting, as did the Italian-based Riso Scotti team. The field reached the finishing town, Aix-les-Bains, two hours behind schedule. The TVM team was allowed to cross the line first as a sign of solidarity; the stage was annulled and no results counted. Overnight, two more Spanish-based teams, Kelme and Vitalicio Seguros, also decided not to carry on in the Tour. This caused the retirement of the fourth rider overall, Escartín of Kelme.Fotheringham 2017 202–223 Conclusion thumb|upright|alt=Portrait of Marco Pantani wearing a bandana and glasses on his head|Marco Pantani (pictured in 1997) was the overall winner of the Tour, completing the Giro–Tour double, as he had also won the Giro d'Italia earlier in the season. Before stage 18 into Neuchâtel in Switzerland, police held Massi, who was still the leader in the mountains classification, for questioning after corticoids were allegedly found in his room during a search of the Casino team hotel.Massi was later cleared of all charges.'Festina Affair': A timeline http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/988530.stm 30 October 2019 BBC Sport 24 October 2000 He was therefore unable to start the stage,Thomazeau François Troubled Tour Resumes; Steels Wins 18th Stage http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/cycling/longterm/1998/tour/articles/tour31.htm limited 4 June 2019 The Washington Post Reuters 30 July 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190604145145/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/cycling/longterm/1998/tour/articles/tour31.htm 4 June 2019 live and the lead of the mountains classification was passed to the second placed rider, Rinero. Victory went to Steels, who outsprinted Zabel and O'Grady at the finish. The remaining five riders from TVM exited the race on Swiss soil before the start of the following day. Stage 19 went back into France and saw a breakaway of 13 riders. Four riders broke away from the lead group to contest the stage win between them, with Magnus Bäckstedt (C.A 1998a yes) coming out on top.Abt Samuel Samuel Abt Backstedt's Late Surge Gives Him Slim Victory https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/01/sports/cycling-tour-de-france-backstedt-s-late-surge-gives-him-slim-victory.html 4 June 2019 The New York Times 1 August 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20150527073216/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/01/sports/cycling-tour-de-france-backstedt-s-late-surge-gives-him-slim-victory.html 27 May 2015 live The penultimate stage saw the last individual time trial of the race to Le Creusot. Ullrich won the stage, 1:01 minutes ahead of Julich, to move into second place overall. Pantani finished the stage third, 2:35 minutes behind Ullrich, effectively sealing his victory in the general classification.Edwards et al. 1998 174–175 The final stage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris was won by Steels from a bunch sprint, while Pantani finished safely in the peloton to secure the Tour win.Edwards et al. 1998 177 Ullrich ended the Tour in second place, with a deficit of 3:21 minutes, with Julich a further 47 seconds behind in third.Stage 21: Melun – Paris-Champs-Élysées (147,5 km): Overall standings http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/itg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 23 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19991221194735/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/itg.html 21 December 1999 Pantani was greeted on the podium by Felice Gimondi, who had been invited by Jean-Marie Leblanc to present to the crowd the first Italian winner since his own victory in 1965.Westemeyer Susan Gimondi on Pantani film and cyclist http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gimondi-on-pantani-film-and-cyclist/ Cyclingnews.com 19 August 2019 5 February 2007 Zabel won his third consecutive points classification with a total of 327, 97 ahead of O'Grady in second.Augendre 2016 119Stage 21: Melun – Paris-Champs-Élysées (147,5 km): Overall sprinters http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/ipg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 23 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19991221164955/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/ipg.html 21 December 1999 Although Pantani won two high mountain stages, the mountains classification was won by the more consistent Rinero, whose total of 200 points was 25 more than that of second-placed Pantani.Stage 21: Melun – Paris-Champs-Élysées (147,5 km): Overall climbers http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/img.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 23 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19991221125924/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/img.html 21 December 1999 Due to the high number of abandons because of the Festina affair, only 96 riders reached the finish in Paris. Only Team Telekom and U.S. Postal Service ended the Tour with all nine riders still racing.van den Akker 2018 39 Doping Doping at the 1998 Tour de France The prevalence of EPO in the cycling peloton had been a topic of debate since the early 1990s.Woodland 2003 142 The first news stories about the drug appeared in 1994.Fotheringham 2017 106 The UCI gave the task of developing a test for EPO to Francesco Conconi, a professor at the University of Ferrara, Italy, and a member of the UCI Medical Commission. In June 1996, Conconi, seemingly unable to find a definite test for the substance,Around the year 2000, investigations in Italy revealed that Conconi had used the money given to him by the UCI to provide EPO to professional cyclists.Fotheringham 2017 109Capodacqua Eugenio Ecco il doping di Conconi Here is the doping of Conconi https://www.repubblica.it/online/sport/pantapro/capo/capo.html 30 October 2019 la Repubblica 27 October 2000 https://web.archive.org/web/20191030105104/https://www.repubblica.it/online/sport/pantapro/capo/capo.html 30 October 2019 it A promising test for EPO by Canadian scientist Guy Brisson, who conducted a trial run during the 1996 Tour de Suisse and found indications of EPO abuse in all tested 77 riders, was not followed up by the UCI, due to fear that the test would not "stand up to legal challenges".Fotheringham 2017 112–113 proposed to the UCI to introduce a test for an athlete's hematocrit level instead, which tested how many red cells were in a rider's blood.Fotheringham 2017 109 During the UCI's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 24 January 1997, the procedure, labelled as a "health test", limiting the allowed hematocrit level to 50 per cent, was introduced.Martin Daniel T. Ashenden Michael Parisotto Robin Pyne David Hahn Allan G. Blood Testing for Professional Cyclists: What's a fair hematocrit limit? http://www.sportsci.org/news/news9703/AISblood.html sportsci.org Sportscience News 16 August 2019 1997 If a rider returned a value higher than 50 per cent, they were not allowed to compete for a two-week period. However, as cycling journalist Alasdair Fotheringham noted, "the 50 per cent threshold became a target to aim for" instead of a reliable deterrent to using EPO.Fotheringham 2017 107 The doping scandal that occurred throughout the Tour became known as the Festina affair,Whittle Jeremy The 1998 Tour de France: Police raids, arrests, protests... and a bike race http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-1998-tour-de-france-police-raids-arrests-protests-and-a-bike-race/ Cyclingnews.com 25 June 2019 3 March 2017 starting with the arrest of Voet.Tour rocked by drugs arrest http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/07/98/tour_de_france/130515.stm 25 June 2019 BBC News 11 July 1998 Initially, the suspicion only surrounded the Festina and TVM teams, but later investigations and retrospective tests revealed the doping abuse was far more widespread. Even while the race was running, media sources coined nicknames for it, such as the "Tour de Farce"Fotheringham 2017 Dust jacketFotheringham William William Fotheringham Scandal revives doping fears https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/jan/28/cycling.cycling 18 June 2019 TheGuardian.com 28 January 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20190618164423/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/jan/28/cycling.cycling 18 June 2019 liveAusblenden und Gesundbeten Suppressing and Healing Through Faith https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-7941085.html 4 June 2019 Der Spiegel 31/1998 104 de https://web.archive.org/web/20110222014555/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-7941085.html 22 February 2011 live or "Tour du Dopage" (Tour of Doping).De positieve renners van de Tour du dopage The positive riders of the Tour du Dopage https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/de-positieve-renners-van-de-tour-du-dopage~q0570442/ 25 June 2019 de Volkskrant 24 July 2013 nlRadsport: TVM-Affäre 1998: Blijlevens und Voskamp gestehen Epo-Doping TVM affair: Blijlevens and Voskamp admit to EPO doping https://www.focus.de/sport/radsport/radsport-tvm-affaere-1998-blijlevens-und-voskamp-gestehen-epo-doping_id_3983157.html 25 June 2019 Focus Sport-Informations-Dienst 11 July 2014 de 1 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200901032723/https://www.focus.de/sport/radsport/radsport-tvm-affaere-1998-blijlevens-und-voskamp-gestehen-epo-doping_id_3983157.html dead Waddington 2001 159 Following Festina's expulsion from the race, the police investigation against the TVM team in March was made public by Le Parisien and the case reopened.Fotheringham 2017 96 Many riders in the Tour reacted to the developing scandal by hiding or destroying evidence of doping. Rolf Aldag (TEL 1998 yes) said he flushed his doping products down the toilet before the race began in Dublin.Fotheringham 2017 1 His teammate Bjarne Riis said in his autobiography that he disposed of his vials of EPO in the toilet after stage 3.Riis Pedersen 2012 171 Likewise, the U.S. Postal team flushed their drugs down the toilet following Voet's arrest, according to Tyler Hamilton.Fotheringham 2017 92 According to Jörg Jaksche, the Polti squad hid their supply of EPO in a vacuum cleaner on the team bus; Jaksche believed that most Italian teams kept their drugs during the race as well. Philippe Gaumont claimed in his autobiography that the Cofidis team were told by team management to destroy their substances on the day the Festina team was expelled, with the riders subsequently going into a forest to dispose of the evidence.Fotheringham 2017 60–61 Julich said he quit doping altogether during the 1998 Tour.Fotheringham 2017 279 After their arrests, Voet, Roussel, and Rijckaert gave the police confessions detailed the doping practices at Festina. Roussel said that one per cent of the team's budget (around €40,000) was used to pay for EPO and human growth hormones.Fotheringham 2017 71 The Festina riders were placed under custody and brought into individual prison cells, and allegedly subjected to cavity searches. On 24 July, four Festina riders confessed to taking performance-enhancing drugs, with the first being Alex Zülle. The only riders to deny the allegations were Virenque and Neil Stephens.Stephens maintains that he took EPO unknowingly, having thought it to be vitamin supplements.Aubrey Jane Orica-GreenEdge owner unaware of Stephens' past admissions http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/orica-greenedge-owner-unaware-of-stephens-past-admissions/ Cyclingnews.com 16 August 2019 12 December 2012Fotheringham 2017 135–138 Examinations carried out on the nine Festina riders on 23 July, with the results being published on 28 November, revealed that eight riders took EPO and four amphetamines. Virenque was the only rider not to test positive in these tests.News for October 25, 2000 http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2000/oct00/oct25news.shtml Cyclingnews.com 2 September 2019 25 October 2000 On 23 July, the Tour's rest day, TVM's manager Cees Priem and team doctor Andrei Mikhailov were arrested by the police.Fotheringham 2017 135 At the beginning of August, team soigneur Johannes Moors was taken into custody as well.News for August 4, 1998: The drugs scandal update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug4.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 4 August 1998 Priem and Moors were released on 10 August.News for August 11, 1998: Drugs Scandal update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug11.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 11 August 1998 The TVM riders were also questioned by the police on 4 August and held for about 12 hours, before they were released.Second Edition News for August 4, 1998: The drugs scandal update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug4a.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 4 August 1998 However, no banned substances were found during the raid at TVM's team hotel during the Tour.News for August 8, 1998: The drugs scandal update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug8.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 8 August 1998 At ONCE and BigMat, police did find performance-enhancing drugs during their raids. ONCE maintained that the substances were for medical use of the team staff.News for August 4, 1998: The drugs scandal update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug4.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 4 August 1998 Police called in twelve riders from BigMat for questioning along with the directeur sportif and some soigneurs a week after the end of the Tour because of "330 bottles and ampoules of drugs" found in the team's truck.News for August 15, 1998: Drugs Update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug15.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 15 August 1998 The legal investigation into doping at the 1998 Tour was given to judge Patrick Keil shortly after the race concluded. He handed in his 5539-page report on the matter at the beginning of July 1999, which laid the groundwork for subsequent legal proceedings against team staff and riders.News for July 2, 1999 http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/jul99/jul2.shtml Cyclingnews.com 2 September 2019 2 July 1999 Virenque confessed during a court hearing concerning the Festina affair, on 24 October 2000.Hamoir Oliver Virenque: 'I took drugs, I had no choice' https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/virenque-i-took-drugs-i-had-no-choice-637089.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/virenque-i-took-drugs-i-had-no-choice-637089.html 1 May 2022 subscription live 16 August 2019 The Independent 25 October 2000 Virenque received a nine-month racing ban and a suspended prison sentence.Virenque appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Court considered turning his ban into a suspended sentence. They eventually upheld the verdict, but brought its start date forward, meaning Virenque was able to return to competition on 14 August 2001.News for March 13, 2001: Virenque's suspension brought forward http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/mar01/mar13news.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 13 March 2001 Voet was sentenced to a suspended ten months in prison and a fine of 3,000 franc. Roussell received a one-year suspended sentence and a 50,000 franc fine. Lesser verdicts were handed out to "two masseurs, the team's logistics manager, the team doctor at the Spanish ONCE team, Nicolas Terrados, and two pharmacists".Fotheringham William William Fotheringham Festina trial ends with fines and a warning https://www.theguardian.com/sport/story/0,3604,415051,00.html 2 September 2019 The Guardian 23 December 2000 During the Tour, 108 tests for performance-enhancing drugs were carried out by France's main anti-doping laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry. All of them were negative.Fotheringham 2017 101Waddington Smith 2009 148 In 2004, 60 remaining anti-doping samples given by riders during the 1998 Tour were tested retrospectively for recombinant EPO by using three recently developed detection methods. The tests produced 44 positive results and 9 negatives, with the remaining 7 samples not returning any result due to sample degradation. At first, the rider names with a positive sample were not made public, as it had only been conducted as scientific research.http://www.dhnet.be/sports/tourdefrance/1998-plane-sur-le-centieme-tour-de-france-51cbd867357030bb907bbd54 1998 plane sur le centième Tour de France 1998 flat on the hundredth Tour de France fr La Dernière Heure 27 June 2013 28 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130630073932/http://www.dhnet.be/sports/tourdefrance/1998-plane-sur-le-centieme-tour-de-france-51cbd867357030bb907bbd54 30 June 2013 live In July 2013, the anti-doping committee of the French Senate decided it would benefit the current doping fight to shed full light on the past, and so decided – as part of their "Commission of Inquiry into the effectiveness of the fight against doping" report – to publish all sample IDs along with the result of the retrospective test. This revealed, that the 9 negative samples belonged to 5 riders (of whom two nevertheless had confessed using EPO in that Tour), while the 44 positive samples belonged to 33 riders – including race winner Pantani, Ullrich, Julich, and Zabel.Cipollini, Livingston among 1998 Tour riders positive for EPO http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/07/news/pantini-ullrich-among-1998-tour-riders-positive-for-epo_296750 VeloNews 24 July 2013 28 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130728091214/http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/07/news/pantini-ullrich-among-1998-tour-riders-positive-for-epo_296750 28 July 2013 liveRapport Fait au nom de la commission d'enquête sur l'efficacité de la lutte contre le dopage (Annexe 6: Résultats test EPO Tour De France 1998 et 1999) Report Made on behalf of the commission of inquiry into the effectiveness of the fight against doping (Appendix 6: EPO test results Tour de France 1998 and 1999) http://www.senat.fr/rap/r12-782-2/r12-782-21.pdf fr N° 782, Sénat Session Extraordinaire de 2012–2013 French Senate 17 July 2013 28 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130806234902/http://www.senat.fr/rap/r12-782-2/r12-782-21.pdf 6 August 2013 live Julich had already admitted in 2012 that he had used EPO from August 1996 to July 1998.http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/exclusive-bobby-julich-doping-confession Exclusive: Bobby Julich doping confession Cyclingnews.com 25 October 2012 25 October 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121025181017/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/exclusive-bobby-julich-doping-confession 25 October 2012 live Classification leadership and minor prizes thumb|upright|alt=Portrait of Erik Zabel wearing a pink jersey and cap|Erik Zabel (TEL 1998, pictured in 2002) won the points classification for the third time in a row. There were several classifications in the 1998 Tour de France.Nauright Parrish 2012 452–455 The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.Nauright Parrish 2012 452–453 Jan Ullrich wore the yellow jersey in the prologue as the winner of the previous edition.Edwards et al. 1998 27 Time bonuses were given during the first half of the Tour to the first three finishers on each stage, excluding mountain stages and time trials. The winner received a 20-second bonus, the second finisher 12 seconds and the third rider 8 seconds.van den Akker 2018 128–129 During the first half of the race, intermediate sprints also had time bonuses, with bonuses of 6, 4, and 2 seconds given to the first three riders to cross the line.van den Akker 2018 183 Additionally, there was a points classification, in which cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints.Nauright Parrish 2012 453–454 In flat stages, the first 25 finishers received points, 35 for the stage winner down to 1 point for 25th place. In medium mountain stages, the top-20 finishers received points, with 25 points for the stage winner down to 1 point. In mountain stages, the first 15 finishers received points, with 20 points given to the stage winner. In time trials, 15 points were given to the winner, down to 1 point for the tenth-placed finisher.van den Akker 2018 154 Points could also be won during intermediate sprints along the race route, with 6, 4, and 2 points for the first three riders across the line respectively.van den Akker 2018 182 The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and was identified by a green jersey.Nauright Parrish 2012 453–454 There was also a mountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second- or first-category and hors catégorie, with the more difficult climbs rated lower.Nauright Parrish 2012 454 The first rider to cross the summit of an hors catégorie climb was given 40 points (down to 1 point for the 15th rider). Twelve riders received points for first category climbs, with 30 for the first rider to reach the summit. Second-, third- and fourth-category climbs gave 20, 10 and 5 points to the first rider respectively.van den Akker 2018 164 The cyclist with the most points led the classification, wearing a white jersey with red polka dots.Nauright Parrish 2012 454 The young rider classification, which was not marked by a jersey, was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders under 26 years were eligible.Nauright Parrish 2012 454–455 This meant that in order to compete in the classification, a rider had to be born after 1 January 1973. 34 out of the 189 starters were eligible.van den Akker 2018 174–175 Jan Ullrich won the classification for the third time in a row.van den Akker 2018 176 For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time.Nauright Parrish 2012 455 In addition, there was a combativity award given after each mass-start stage to the cyclist considered the most combative. The winner of the award wore a red number bib during the next stage, this feature was introduced for the first time in 1998. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave points. The cyclist with the most points from votes in all stages led the combativity classification.van den Akker 2018 211–216Nauright Parrish 2012 455 Jacky Durand won this classification, and was given overall the super-combativity award.Augendre 2016 89 The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Galibier on stage 15. The winner of the prize was Marco Pantani. +Classification leadership by stageTour de France 1998 – Leaders overview https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/stages/leaders-overview ProCyclingStats 16 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190216224428/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/1998/gc/stages/leaders-overview 16 February 2019 livevan den Akker Pieter Informatie over de Tour de France van 1998 Information about the Tour de France from 1998 http://www.tourdefrancestatistieken.nl/tour.php?jaar=1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20190302052644/http://www.tourdefrancestatistieken.nl/tour.php?jaar=1998 2 March 2019 nl TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl 2 March 2019 live Stage Winner General classification25px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=A yellow jersey. Points classification25px|link=Points classification in the Tour de France|alt=A green jersey Mountains classification25px|link=Mountains classification in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with red polka dots. Young rider classificationA white jersey was not awarded to the leader of the young rider classification between 1989 and 1999.Nauright Parrish 2012 454–455 Team classification Combativity 20px|link=Combativity award in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with a red number bib. Award Classification P Chris Boardman Chris Boardman Chris Boardman no award Jan Ullrich FES 1998 no award 1 Tom Steels Tom Steels Stefano Zanini Jacky Durand Jacky Durand 2 Ján Svorada Erik Zabel Christophe Agnolutto 3 Jens Heppner Bo Hamburger Ján Svorada Pascal Hervé George Hincapie ALM 1998 Bo Hamburger 4 Jeroen Blijlevens Stuart O'Grady Stuart O'Grady Jacky Durand 5 Mario Cipollini Erik Zabel Aart Vierhouten 6 Mario Cipollini Max Sciandri 7 Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich Stefano ZaniniJan Ullrich THR 1998 no award 8 Jacky Durand Laurent Desbiens COF 1998Andrea Tafi 9 Léon van Bon Jens Voigt Jens Voigt 10 Rodolfo MassiJan UllrichRodolfo MassiCédric Vasseur 11 Marco PantaniRoland Meier 12 Tom Steels Laurent Jalabert 13 Daniele Nardello Andrea Tafi 14 Stuart O'Grady Giuseppe Calcaterra 15 Marco PantaniMarco PantaniChristophe Rinero 16 Jan Ullrich Stéphane Heulot 17 —"note-stage-17" —"note-stage-17" 18 Tom Steels Christophe Rinero Christophe Mengin 19 Magnus Bäckstedt Jacky Durand 20 Jan Ullrich no award 21 Tom Steels Pascal Chanteur FinalMarco Pantani Erik Zabel white Christophe Rinero yes Jan Ullrich COF 1998 white Jacky Durand yes In stage one, Abraham Olano, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Chris Boardman wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.Stage 1: Dublin – Dublin (180,5 km): Overall standings http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/01/classements/itg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 24 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20001025183839/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/01/classements/itg.html 25 October 2000Stage 1: Dublin – Dublin (180,5 km): Overall sprinters http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/01/classements/ipg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 24 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20001025174137/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/01/classements/ipg.html 25 October 2000 Final standings Legend 20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=A yellow jersey. Denotes the winner of the general classification 20px|link=Points classification in the Tour de France|alt=A green jersey. Denotes the winner of the points classification 20px|link=Mountains classification in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with red polka dots. Denotes the winner of the mountains classification 20px|link=Combativity award in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with a red number bib. Denotes the winner of the super-combativity award General classification + Final general classification (1–10) Rank Rider Team Time 1 Marco Pantani ITA 20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=A yellow jersey. UNO 1998 92h 49' 46" 2 Jan Ullrich GER TEL 1998 + 3' 21" 3 Bobby Julich USA COF 1998 + 4' 08" 4 Christophe Rinero FRA 20px|link=Mountains classification in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with red polka dots. COF 1998 + 9' 16" 5 Michael Boogerd NED RAB 1998 + 11' 26" 6 Jean-Cyril Robin FRA USP 1998 + 14' 57" 7 Roland Meier SUI COF 1998 + 15' 13" 8 Daniele Nardello ITA MAP 1998 + 16' 07" 9 Giuseppe Di Grande ITA MAP 1998 + 17' 35" 10 Axel Merckx BEL POL 1998 + 17' 39" Final general classification (11–96) Rank Rider Team Time 11 Bjarne Riis DEN TEL 1998 + 19' 10" 12 Dariusz Baranowski POL USP 1998 + 19' 58" 13 Stéphane Heulot FRA FDJ 1998 + 20' 57" 14 Leonardo Piepoli ITA SAE 1998 + 22' 45" 15 Bo Hamburger DEN ALM 1998 + 26' 39" 16 Kurt Van De Wouwer BEL LOT 1998 + 27' 20" 17 Kevin Livingston USA COF 1998 + 34' 03" 18 Jörg Jaksche GER POL 1998 + 35' 41" 19 Peter Farazijn BEL LOT 1998 + 36' 10" 20 Andrey Teteryuk KAZ LOT 1998 + 37' 03" 21 Udo Bölts GER TEL 1998 + 37' 25" 22 Laurent Madouas FRA LOT 1998 + 39' 54" 23 Geert Verheyen BEL LOT 1998 + 41' 23" 24 Cédric Vasseur FRA C.A 1998a + 42' 14" 25 Evgeni Berzin RUS FDJ 1998 + 42' 51" 26 Thierry Bourguignon FRA AUB 1998 + 43' 53" 27 Georg Totschnig AUT TEL 1998 + 50' 13" 28 Benoît Salmon FRA ALM 1998 + 51' 18" 29 Alberto Elli ITA ALM 1998 + 1h 00' 13" 30 Philippe Bordenave FRA AUB 1998 + 1h 05' 55" 31 Christophe Agnolutto FRA ALM 1998 + 1h 11' 03" 32 Oscar Pozzi ITA ASI 1998 + 1h 14' 54" 33 Maarten den Bakker NED RAB 1998 + 1h 16' 21" 34 Patrick Jonker AUS RAB 1998 + 1h 16' 49" 35 Pascal Chanteur FRA ALM 1998 + 1h 19' 32" 36 Massimiliano Lelli ITA COF 1998 + 1h 20' 15" 37 Massimo Podenzana ITA UNO 1998 + 1h 20' 47" 38 Viatcheslav Ekimov RUS USP 1998 + 1h 22' 40" 39 Denis Leproux FRA AUB 1998 + 1h 25' 05" 40 Beat Zberg SUI RAB 1998 + 1h 26' 08" 41 Lylian Lebreton FRA AUB 1998 + 1h 28' 19" 42 Andrea Tafi ITA MAP 1998 + 1h 29' 22" 43 Rolf Aldag GER TEL 1998 + 1h 29' 27" 44 Koos Moerenhout NED RAB 1998 + 1h 29' 37" 45 Peter Meinert Nielsen DEN USP 1998 + 1h 29' 52" 46 Riccardo Forconi ITA UNO 1998 + 1h 30' 33" 47 Fabio Sacchi ITA POL 1998 + 1h 31' 53" 48 Marty Jemison USA USP 1998 + 1h 34' 27" 49 Nicolas Jalabert FRA COF 1998 + 1h 38' 45" 50 Massimo Donati ITA SAE 1998 + 1h 38' 59" 51 Tyler Hamilton USA USP 1998 + 1h 39' 53" 52 Simone Borgheresi ITA UNO 1998 + 1h 40' 04" 53 George Hincapie USA USP 1998 + 1h 40' 39" 54 Stuart O'Grady AUS C.A 1998a + 1h 46' 04" 55 Filippo Simeoni ITA ASI 1998 + 1h 47' 19" 56 Jens Heppner GER TEL 1998 + 1h 50' 43" 57 François Simon FRA C.A 1998a + 1h 52' 41" 58 Frankie Andreu USA USP 1998 + 1h 53' 44" 59 Thierry Gouvenou FRA AUB 1998 + 1h 55' 20" 60 Roberto Conti ITA UNO 1998 + 1h 55' 33" 61 Laurent Desbiens FRA COF 1998 + 1h 56' 28" 62 Erik Zabel GER 20px|link=Points classification in the Tour de France|alt=A green jersey. TEL 1998 + 1h 56' 57" 63 Léon van Bon NED RAB 1998 + 1h 57' 30" 64 Paul Van Hyfte BEL LOT 1998 + 1h 58' 02" 65 Jacky Durand FRA 20px|link=Combativity award in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with a red number bib. ALM 1998 + 1h 59' 42" 66 Christophe Mengin FRA FDJ 1998 + 2h 00' 35" 67 Frédéric Guesdon FRA FDJ 1998 + 2h 05' 08" 68 Wilfried Peeters BEL MAP 1998 + 2h 06' 16" 69 Rik Verbrugghe BEL LOT 1998 + 2h 06' 17" 70 Magnus Bäckstedt SWE C.A 1998a + 2h 08' 30" 71 Eddy Mazzoleni ITA SAE 1998 + 2h 10' 19" 72 Fabiano Fontanelli ITA UNO 1998 + 2h 11' 37" 73 Stefano Zanini ITA MAP 1998 + 2h 12' 11" 74 Alain Turicchia ITA ASI 1998 + 2h 14' 12" 75 Mirko Crepaldi ITA POL 1998 + 2h 15' 05" 76 Diego Ferrari ITA ASI 1998 + 2h 15' 46" 77 Xavier Jan FRA FDJ 1998 + 2h 15' 51" 78 Pascal Lino FRA AUB 1998 + 2h 16' 13" 79 Fabio Roscioli ITA ASI 1998 + 2h 17' 53" 80 Christian Henn GER TEL 1998 + 2h 19' 52" 81 Viatcheslav Djavanian RUS AUB 1998 + 2h 21' 31" 82 Rossano Brasi ITA POL 1998 + 2h 22' 10" 83 Jens Voigt GER C.A 1998a + 2h 25' 14" 84 Pascal Deramé FRA USP 1998 + 2h 26' 25" 85 Tom Steels BEL MAP 1998 + 2h 26' 30" 86 Eros Poli ITA C.A 1998a + 2h 31' 56" 87 Alexei Sivakov RUS AUB 1998 + 2h 33' 19" 88 Aart Vierhouten NED RAB 1998 + 2h 35' 06" 89 Robbie McEwen AUS RAB 1998 + 2h 36' 32" 90 Paolo Fornaciari ITA SAE 1998 + 2h 37' 50" 91 Massimiliano Mori ITA SAE 1998 + 2h 38' 12" 92 Bart Leysen BEL MAP 1998 + 2h 39' 43" 93 Francesco Frattini ITA TEL 1998 + 2h 43' 16" 94 Franck Bouyer FRA FDJ 1998 + 2h 43' 45" 95 Mario Traversoni ITA UNO 1998 + 2h 44' 42" 96 Damien Nazon FRA FDJ 1998 + 3h 12' 15" Points classification +Final points classification (1–10) Rank Rider Team Points 1Erik Zabel GER 20px|link=Points classification in the Tour de France|alt=A green jersey. TEL 1998 327 2Stuart O'Grady AUS C.A 1998a 230 3Tom Steels BEL MAP 1998 221 4Robbie McEwen AUS RAB 1998 196 5George Hincapie USA USP 1998 151 6François Simon FRA C.A 1998a 149 7Bobby Julich USA COF 1998 114 8Jacky Durand FRA 20px|link=Combativity award in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with a red number bib. ALM 1998 111 9Alain Turicchia ITA ASI 1998 99 10Marco Pantani ITA 20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=A yellow jersey. UNO 1998 90 Mountains classification +Final mountains classification (1–10) Rank Rider Team Points 1Christophe Rinero FRA 20px|link=Mountains classification in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with red polka dots. COF 1998 200 2Marco Pantani ITA 20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=A yellow jersey. UNO 1998 175 3Alberto Elli ITA ALM 1998 165 4Cédric Vasseur FRA C.A 1998a 156 5Stéphane Heulot FRA FDJ 1998 152 6Jan Ullrich GER TEL 1998 126 7Bobby Julich USA COF 1998 98 8Michael Boogerd NED RAB 1998 92 9Leonardo Piepoli ITA SAE 1998 90 10Roland Meier SUI COF 1998 89 Young rider classification +Final young rider classification (1–10)Stage 21: Melun – Paris-Champs-Élysées (147,5 km): Overall youth http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/ijg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 10 September 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20000307185840/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/ijg.html 7 March 2000 Rank Rider Team Time 1Jan Ullrich GER TEL 1998 92h 53' 07" 2Christophe Rinero FRA 20px|link=Mountains classification in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with red polka dots. COF 1998 + 5' 55" 3Giuseppe Di Grande ITA MAP 1998 + 14' 14" 4Kevin Livingston USA COF 1998 + 30' 42" 5Jörg Jaksche GER POL 1998 + 32' 20" 6Geert Verheyen BEL LOT 1998 + 38' 02" 7Benoît Salmon FRA LOT 1998 + 47' 57" 8Koos Moerenhout NED RAB 1998 + 1h 26' 16" 9Fabio Sacchi ITA POL 1998 + 1h 28' 32" 10Nicolas Jalabert FRA COF 1998 + 1h 35' 24" Team classification +Final team classification (1–10)Stage 21: Melun – Paris-Champs-Élysées (147,5 km): Overall team http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/etg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 23 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19991225065357/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/etg.html 25 December 1999 Rank Team Time 1 COF 1998 278h 29' 58" 2 ALM 1998 + 29' 09" 3 USP 1998 + 41' 40" 4 TEL 1998 + 46' 01" 5 LOT 1998 + 1h 04' 14" 6 POL 1998 + 1h 06' 32" 7 RAB 1998 + 1h 46' 20" 8 MAP 1998 + 1h 59' 53" 9 AUB 1998 + 2h 03' 32" 10 UNO 1998 + 2h 23' 04" Combativity classification +Final combativity classification (1–10)Stage 21: Melun – Paris-Champs-Élysées (147,5 km): Overall combativity http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/icg.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 10 September 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/19991225112611/http://www.letour.com/98us/etapes/21/classements/icg.html 25 December 1999 Rank Rider Team Points 1Jacky Durand FRA 20px|link=Combativity award in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with a red number bib. ALM 1998 94 2Andrea Tafi ITA MAP 1998 51 3Stéphane Heulot FRA FDJ 1998 49 4Cédric Vasseur FRA C.A 1998a 47 5Christophe Agnolutto FRA ALM 1998 43 6Laurent Desbiens FRA COF 1998 35 7Fabio Roscioli ITA ASI 1998 33 8Thierry Gouvenou FRA AUB 1998 30 9Christophe Rinero FRA 20px|link=Mountains classification in the Tour de France|alt=A white jersey with red polka dots. COF 1998 28 10Pascal Chanteur FRA CSO 1998 28 UCI Road Rankings Riders in the Tour competed individually, as well as for their teams and nations, for points that contributed towards the UCI Road Rankings, which included all UCI races.UCI Rules 1998 107–108 Points were awarded to all riders in the general classification, to the top ten finishers in each stage, and each yellow jersey given at the end of a stage.UCI Rules 1998 108–109 The points accrued by Marco Pantani moved him from fifth position to fourth in the individual ranking, with Laurent Jalabert, who did not finish the Tour, holding his lead. FES 1998 yes retained their lead of the team ranking, ahead of second-placed MAP 1998 yes. Italy remained as leaders of the nations ranking, with Switzerland second.UCI Road Rankings – 2 August 1998 http://www.uci.ch/english/road/data/men_980802.pdf 24 March 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale 3 August 1998 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20000830115625/http://www.uci.ch/english/road/data/men_980802.pdf 30 August 2000 +UCI Individual Classification ranking on 2 August 1998 (1–10) Rank Prev. Previous rank Name Team Points 1 1 Laurent Jalabert FRA ONC 1998 2961.00 2 2 Alex Zülle SUI FES 1998 2196.00 3 3 Michele Bartoli ITA ASI 1998 2097.00 4 5 Marco Pantani ITA UNO 1998 1961.00 5 4 Laurent Dufaux SUI FES 1998 1535.80 6 7 Andrei Tchmil BEL LOT 1998 1400.00 7 9 Davide Rebellin ITA PLT 1998 1301.00 8 8 Francesco Casagrande ITA COF 1998 1290.00 9 12 Andrea Tafi ITA MAP 1998 1281.50 10 16 Michael Boogerd NED RAB 1998 1279.00 Aftermath If we hadn't had those scandals, the Festina affair and so on, we would have continued in the world of ignorance and supposition. This way, [doping] was smashed right into our face. –Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc speaking about the fallout of the doping cases during the 1998 TourFotheringham 2017 264 25% right In the direct aftermath of the Tour, there were many raids and searches of cycling teams and many riders questioned by police.The Cantina Tollo team vehicles were searched upon entering Spain for the Clásica de San Sebastián, while FDJ 1998 had their cars searched when entering Germany to compete at the Regio-Tour. Meanwhile, Peter van Petegem, a member of TVM, was called in to testify towards the suspicious exit of his former team PDM 1991 during the 1991 Tour de France, when Eric Ryckaert was working there as a team doctor. Two meetings to discuss the issue of doping were held shortly after the Tour: the first, between the UCI, race organisers and teams, took place four days after the Tour ended in Paris; the second, on 11 August, was between the UCI and representatives of the riders. Neither meeting yielded results that had "any long-term effect".Fotheringham 2017 272–273 The riders voiced concern over the length of races and demanded changes to be made, while the question of a general amnesty for riders who took banned substances was also briefly discussed.Second Edition News for August 12, 1998: Drugs Update http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/aug98/aug12a.shtml Cyclingnews.com 5 September 2019 12 August 1998 In a press communiqué released on 13 August, the UCI claimed that "it is difficult to do more than is already being done" in response to doping and that the blood tests enforced in 1997 enabled the UCI "to control the EPO problem", a claim that Alasdair Fotheringham later described as bordering "on the delusional".Fotheringham 2017 273–275 Festina returned to racing shortly after the Tour de France, with the crowd showing positive responses to the team at the Vuelta a Burgos. The squad then competed in the last Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a España,Festina to turn the page http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/sep98/sep4.shtml Cyclingnews.com 31 August 2019 4 September 1998 where Alex Zülle failed to defend his title, but won a stage and finished eighth overall.Año 1998 http://historia.lavuelta.com/es/anio.asp?a=1998 LaVuelta.es Unipublic 31 August 2019 es https://web.archive.org/web/20170818175441/http://historia.lavuelta.com/es/anio.asp?a=1998 18 August 2017 dead Following the fallout from the 1998 edition, the 1999 Tour de France was dubbed by the organisers as the "Tour of Renewal", with the ASO publicly stating that they would welcome a lower average speed by around 3 kph mph on.Quénet Jean-François 1999 Tour de France: The farce of renewal https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/1999-tour-de-france-the-farce-of-renewal/ Cyclingnews.com 2 September 2019 27 June 2019 This did not come to pass however, as the average speed rose again and race winner Lance Armstrong was stripped of his title in 2012 following a lengthy investigation into doping practises.Macur Juliet Lance Armstrong Is Stripped of His 7 Tour de France Titles https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/sports/cycling/armstrong-stripped-of-his-7-tour-de-france-titles.html 2 September 2019 The New York Times 22 October 2012 ASO barred the TVM team from competing in the 1999 race.News for June 17, 1999 http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/jun99/jun17.shtml Cyclingnews.com 2 September 2019 17 June 1999 Richard Virenque and Manolo Saiz were originally banned from the race, before the UCI required the race organisers to allow both to participate, considering that the ASO had failed to comply with the registration period. This dictates that both organisers and teams need to register the invitation and their willingness to participate thirty days before the start of the event. Festina was allowed to start the next Tour, but the ASO handed out a warning to the team before the race, reminding them of their ability to disqualify them as they had in 1998.Fotheringham 2017 282 The Tour de France scandal highlighted the need for an independent international agency that would set harmonized standards for anti-doping work and coordinate the efforts of sports organizations and public authorities. Official document of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on its own creation1990s – A New Agency for a New Mission Play True 2009 2 29 https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/PlayTrue_2009_2_Special_Tenth_Anniversary_EN.pdf 6 September 2019 25% right Fotheringham noted nearly twenty years after the 1998 Tour that ever since, extraordinary performances in cycling have been viewed with suspicion, because of the sport's now cemented association with doping. Until the revelations of the Lance Armstrong doping case, the 1998 Tour de France stood as the biggest doping scandal in sport.Fotheringham 2017 269–270 One of the most significant effects of the Festina affair was the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in December 1999.Fotheringham 2017 271 In the media The Racer (film) In 2018, a film centering around the 1998 Tour, titled The Domestique and to be directed by Kieron J. Walsh and written by Ciarán Cassidy, was announced. Production was taken over by Blinder Films, with the movie receiving €800,000 funding through Screen Ireland, the Irish state development agency.Shortall Eithne Tour de Dopage film The Domestique passes test for Screen Ireland funding https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/tour-de-dopage-film-the-domestique-passes-test-for-screen-ireland-funding-5t9wdq0dd The Times 12 June 2019 22 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180731145447/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tour-de-dopage-film-the-domestique-passes-test-for-screen-ireland-funding-5t9wdq0dd 31 July 2018 live The film has since been renamed The Racer and secured funding from Screen Flanders, the Film Fund Luxembourg, Eurimages, the BAI Sound & Vision Fund, and RTÉ.Clarke Stewart First Look at 1998 Tour de France Film 'The Racer' https://variety.com/2019/film/news/tour-de-france-film-the-racer-louis-talpe-iain-glen-1203282740/ Variety 4 November 2019 29 July 2019 The film premiered at the 2020 South by Southwest film festival.Irish Tour de France drama The Racer will receive World Premiere at SXSW in March https://www.screenireland.ie/news/irish-tour-de-france-drama-the-racer-will-receive-world-premiere-at-sxsw-in Fís Éireann 26 February 2021 16 January 2020 See also Sports France 1998 in sports List of doping cases in cycling Operación Puerto doping case – a Spanish Police operation against mainly doping in professional cycling that began in 2006 Notes References 30em Bibliography Jacques Augendre Jacques Augendre http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/le-tour/2016/histoire/TDF16_GH_Interactif-PROD.pdf Guide historique Historical guide 2016 fr 27 October 2016 Tour de France Paris Amaury Sport Organisation https://web.archive.org/web/20160817121602/http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/le-tour/2016/histoire/TDF16_GH_Interactif-PROD.pdf 17 August 2016 live Bacon Ellis Mapping Le Tour: Updated History and Route Map of Every Tour de France Race https://books.google.com/books?id=628rngEACAAJ 2014 HarperCollins Glasgow, UK 978-0-00-754399-1 Beth Edwards Lori Hobkirk Bryan Jew Tim Johnson Kip Mikler Rivvy Neshama Charles Pelkey John Rezell John Wilcockson Steve Wood Lennard Zinn John Wilcockson Featuring the Tour diaries of Frankie Andreu Conquests and Crisis: The 1998 Tour de France https://books.google.com/books?id=X3FzOwAACAAJ 1998 VeloPress Boulder, Colorado 978-1-884737-65-7 Edwards et al. 1998 Fife Graeme Graeme Fife Tour de France: The History, the Legend, the Riders https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZeQ20Z4kcgC 2000 Mainstream Publishing Edinburgh 978-1-84018-284-2 Fotheringham Alasdair Alasdair Fotheringham The End of the Road: The Festina Affair and the Tour that Almost Wrecked Cycling https://books.google.com/books?id=vGXGCwAAQBAJ 2017 Bloomsbury Publishing London 978-1-4729-1304-3 Friebe Daniel Il Pirata Bacon Ellis Birnie Lionel Lionel Birnie The Cycling Anthology https://books.google.com/books?id=LP7JAgAAQBAJ 141–165 2014 4 London Yellow Jersey Press 978-0-2240-9243-2 McGann Bill McGann Carol The Story of the Tour de France: 1965–2007 2 https://books.google.com/books?id=V8mlwItBhhcC Dog Ear Publishing Indianapolis 2008 978-1-59858-608-4 Moore Richard Richard Moore (journalist) Étape: The Untold Stories of the Tour de France's Defining Stages https://books.google.com/books?id=nPLJAgAAQBAJ 2014 HarperCollins London 978-0-00-750010-9 Nauright John Parrish Charles Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice 2 https://books.google.com/books?id=IkLYDgTnMxEC 2012 ABC-CLIO Santa Barbara, California 978-1-59884-300-2 Rendell Matt The Death of Marco Pantani: A Biography https://books.google.com/books?id=XzlMPgAACAAJ 2007 Orion Publishing Group London 978-0-7538-2203-6 Riis Bjarne Pedersen Lars Steen Bjarne Riis Riis: Stages of Light and Dark https://books.google.com/books?id=tmB_tQAACAAJ 2012 Vision Sports Publishing Kingston upon Thames, UK 978-1-907637-51-3 Smith Martin The Telegraph Book of the Tour de France 2009 Aurum Press London 978-1-84513-545-4 http://www.uci.ch/english/road/data/rules.pdf UCI Rules: Part 2: Road races 1998 24 March 2019 Aigle, Switzerland Union Cycliste Internationale https://web.archive.org/web/19980524073404/http://www.uci.ch/english/road/data/rules.pdf 24 May 1998 dead UCI Rules 1998 van den Akker Pieter Tour de France Rules and Statistics: 1903–2018 https://books.google.com/books?id=09sxwQEACAAJ 2018 Self-published 978-1-79398-080-9 Waddington Ivan Sport, Health and Drugs: A Critical Sociological Perspective 2001 Spon Press London 0-419-25190-1 https://books.google.com/books?id=QQpEAgAAQBAJ Waddington Ivan Smith Andy An Introduction to Drugs in Sport: Addicted to Winning? 2009 Routledge Abingdon-on-Thames 978-0-203-88598-7 https://archive.org/details/introductiontodr0000wadd registration Jeremy Whittle Chris Wood Chris Murphy Debbie Lewis Stephen Farrand Tour Guide '98: Race for Yellow Tour Guide: Race for Yellow 1998 London Triathlete UK 1462-2343 Whittle et al. 1998 Woodland Les The Crooked Path to Victory: Drugs and Cheating in Professional Bicycle Racing https://books.google.com/books?id=SlhpJwAACAAJ 2003 Cycle Publishing San Francisco 1-892495-40-6 Further reading Abt Samuel Samuel Abt Startt James In Pursuit of the Yellow Jersey: Bicycle Racing in the Year of the Tortured Tour https://books.google.com/books?id=_UADAAAACAAJ 1999 Cycle Publishing San Francisco 978-1-892495-16-7 External links https://web.archive.org/web/19981202155449/http://www.letour.fr/98us/ 2 December 1998 Official website 1998 Tour de France at Cyclingnews.com 1998 Tour de France P 11 12 21 Category:Tour de France by year Tour de France Tour de France Category:Cycle racing in Ireland Category:1998 in Irish sport Tour de France Tour de France