Betting firm calls Andy Schleck a winner
On Friday, Danish betting firm Betsson announced that they’ve decided they consider Andy Schleck to be the winner of the 2010 Tour de France, in the wake of the current Alberto Contador doping controversy. Betsson will be paying out
to all bettors who put money on either Schleck or Contador as the eventual winner.
“We are of course not judging Contador, but in case of uncertainty about who will ultimately be declared the winner of a contest, we have to accept all doubts,” said Jesper Mortensen, national manager of Bettson. “We have therefore decided to pay to those
who wagered on Andy Schleck as the overall winner of the Tour de France.”
The Danish betting firm has made the decision based on the possibility that Contador’s win in the overall classification could be nullified if his ban is formalized by the Spanish Cycling Federation.
If his victory is revoked, Schleck will be declared the winner, while Denis Menchov and Samuel Sanchez will each move up one spot to take second and third place respectively. Betsson will also be paying out to those who have picked Sanchez for a podium finish.
In 2006, Oscar Pereiro was declared the winner of the Tour de France in similar circumstances after Floyd Landis was stripped of his title and banned for two years after testing positive after stage 17.
In 2007, Contador’s first of three victories at the Tour, the entire teams for Cofidis and Astana withdrew from the race in the wake of doping controversies. Team Astana included a pre-race favourite, Contador’s current teammate Alexandre Vinokourov, and
two riders who were in the top ten at the time. Michael Rasmussen of Rabobank took the yellow jersey with a victory in stage eight. By the time he took his second win in the 16th stage, he had all-but already won the Tour, but his team kicked him
out of the race for missing drug tests, giving Contador the opportunity to take over.
Team Saxo Bank signed Contador for the 2011 season and has also shown interest in Rasmussen. Rasmussen recently came forward to say that he is no longer a Grand Tour contender and will not be able to fill the Spaniard shoes if he cannot ride next year.
“It would be extremely optimistic to hire me and believe that the team could then start the Tour de France and win,” said Rasmussen.
“Contador is still the world’s best stage race rider. It is three years since I had it. But I can still fill a role, [but] at a level just below Contador.”
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