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Big names skipping Tour presentation

Published: Oct. 24, 2006

Don’t expect to see many of cycling’s marquee names at Thursday’s unveiling of the 2007 Tour de France route.

Unlike most years, when the October presentation typically draws racing’s glitterati, VeloNews has learned that several major stars are staying away in droves from the annual ceremony.

One major rider told VeloNews that racers are boycotting the ceremony in the wake of the ongoing spat between the UCI and the organizers of cycling’s most important three-week tours. In a similar protest, riders also boycotted the podium ceremony following the season-closer at Giro di Lombardia earlier this month when race organizer RCS said it would snub the ProTour ceremony to honor overall individual winner Alejandro Valverde.

The boycott effort seems to have taken root as only a smattering of major names are expected to attend Thursday’s ceremony in Paris.

In a list released by Tour de France officials Tuesday afternoon, only nine of the 20 ProTour teams will have riders present. And among the three-dozen riders expected to attend, only 10 are from outside of France.

Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Epargne), David Millar, Gilberto Simoni, José Angel Marchante and Davide de la Fuente (all Saunier Duval-Prodir), Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner), Samuel Sanchez, Haimar Zubeldia and Igor Anton (all Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) are the only non-French riders expected to be in attendance.

The remainder is French riders from a mix of ProTour and continental teams.

Simoni will be the only grand tour winner in attendance as riders have decided to skip the ceremony for one reason or another.

Riders attend the ceremony by invitation-only and Tour officials didn’t reveal which riders had been invited or those who are opting not to attend.

Thursday’s proceedings will be marked by yet more distractions as the UCI revealed Tuesday that UCI president Pat McQuaid has not been invited to attend the lavish ceremony.

And the uncertain status of who will be named the official winner of the 2006 Tour will add another layer of tumult to the typically festive autumn rite.

Winner Floyd Landis is facing a two-year racing ban and the loss of his Tour crown if he cannot fend off doping charges after failing anti-doping controls taken after stage 17 in the Alps.

The October ceremony is typically one of cycling’s most-glamorous events as the route for the season’s most important race is unveiled in a dramatic multi-media presentation.

The unveiling ceremony is capped by the attendance of the sport’s top contenders, ex-champions, sport directors and pundits, who pass judgment on their first impressions of the new route.

Last year, however, Tour officials used the ceremony to chastise seven-time champion Lance Armstrong by essentially ignoring any mention of his name in the wake of doping allegations leveled at the retired Texan by the French newspaper L’Equipe.