Francisco Mancebo is puzzled by the Tour de France 2005 podium spot
Francisco Mancebo finished fourth at the Tour de France 2005 and he has now been promoted to the third overall position after CAS disqualified Jan Ullrich from all of his results since May 2005.
Lance Armstrong won the 2005 edition of the Tour de France with Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich at the second and the third positions. Francisco claimed the fourth spot after the final general classifications.
Court of Arbitration for Sport handed a two-year ban to Ullrich earlier this month following his involvement at the Operacion Puerto back in 2006.
He was accused of blood doping and the jury was convinced that the German had connections with Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, the mastermind behind Operacion Puerto.
Mancebo is all set to start his second consecutive season with Competitive Cycling Team and he does not really know how to react on the podium place he earned in 2005.
He voiced, “That race was seven years ago, and it’s in the past, something I don’t care about anymore. My future is with this team, with Competitive Cyclist and I want to do the best I can with them”.
The Spaniard holds as many as eleven World Tour appearances under his belt, one Giro, seven Tours and three Vuelta a Espana participations to his credit.
He finished third during the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Spanish Grand Tour and his best performance at the French race was at the Tour de France 2005.
Mancebo’s name also came up during the Operacion Puerto investigation and was not allowed to ride the Tour de France 2006. The cyclist announced his retirement from professional cycling immediately
Francesco decided to continue his professional pursuit and took his retirement back. He joined Team Relax-GAM after returning to the professional scene.
The 35-year-old told Cyclingnews, “I never retired. Some journalists said I did, but that never happened, I changed my focus. It’s a different experience”.
While commenting on Competitive Cyclist Racing Team, he said, “The young riders look for guidance. For me, it’s easy to help them with everything I know”.
Mancebo is optimistic to have a positive start to the 2012 season. He is certain to ride the Tour of California and hopes that the team gets invited to the race.
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