O'Grady returned suspicious test

Stuart O'Grady ... returned a suspicious urine test at the 1998 Tour de France. Source: Sarah Reed / News Limited

AUSTRALIAN cycling great Stuart O'Grady returned a suspicious - but not positive - test to banned EPO during the infamous 1998 Tour de France, according to a French Senate inquiry.

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The South Australian has been listed among 30 riders who returned either positive or suspicious samples to retrospective EPO testing.

O'Grady was listed among 12 cyclists whose urine sample was reanalysed and regarded as suspicious but fell short of being positive. A total of 18 riders were positive to traces of EPO.

French officials had earlier indicated names would not be released but, by early afternoon, both lists were available.

The positives include race winner Maro Pantani as well as Erik Zabel, Jan Ullrich - but not American Bobby Julich, as had been previously claimed by Le Monde.

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The positive list is: Andrea Tafi, Zabel, Bo Hamburger (twice), Laurent Jalabert, Marcos Serrano, Jens Heppner, Jeroen Blijlevens, Nicola Minali, Mario Cipollini, Fabio Sacchi, Eddy Mazzoleni, Jacky Durand, Abraham Olano, Laurent Desbiens, Pantani, Manuel Beltran, Ullrich (twice), Kevin Livingston (twice).

The suspicious list is: Ermanno Brignoli, Alain Turicchia, Pascal Chanteur, Frederic Moncassin, Julich, Roland Meier, Giuseppe Calcaterra, Stefano Zanini, Eddy Mazzoleni, Stephane Barthe, O'Grady, Axel Merckx.

The accusation against O'Grady tarnishes the reputation of Australia's greatest all-round cyclist and could change the context his sudden decision to retire on Sunday, when he said the outstanding Tour performance of Orica-GreenEDGE was the perfect platform to retire.

O'Grady, 39, bowed out on Sunday night after completing the centenary Tour on the Champs Elysees amid rumours he was to be named by French Senate officials after an investigation into the fight against doping.

The Orica-GreenEDGE veteran in June signed a contract extension that would have seen his career end after the 2014 Tour de France.

But the Olympic gold medallist, Paris-Roubaix winner and multiple world champion surprised even team officials and teammates with his change of heart.

His decision immediately sparked speculation he would be among those named by the French senate.

O'Grady was one of four Australians to contest the shambolic '98 Tour.

The others were Neil Stephens, now an Orica-GreenEDGE sports director who rode for Festina, Patrick Jonker and Robbie McEwen.

Stephens, Jonker and McEwen were not named.

The '98 Tour - known now in France as the "Tour of Dopage" - was disgraced by the eviction of the Festina team for doping after its soigneur Willy Voet was caught on the Belgian border with a carload of banned products, including EPO and testosterone.

Several riders and officials were arrested and taken into custody for interrogation, sparking a sit-down protest by the peloton.

Ironically the 1999 Tour - dubbed the "Tour of Renewal" - was won by the sport's grubbiest and most despised cheat, Lance Armstrong.

There was no test for EPO in '98 and, at the time, a Swiss doctor estimated 98 percent of the peloton was using the blood booster.

The French commission questioned 84 witnesses under oath, taking evidence from athletes organisers and US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart.

Former rider and now Garmin-Sharp CEO Jonathan Vaughters, a reformed doper, was dismissive of the report.

"Re '98 tests:small percentage of guys were tested. Smaller% were still taking epo after police raids started. Names in report? Meaningless" he tweeted.

Vaughters followed up by claiming that 100 percent of the peloton would have tested positive for EPO if tested three-to-four days before the start of the 1998 Tour.

The French Senate ordered that no results would be stripped as a result of their report: "Nobody will face sanctions. We aren't policemen. We aren't magistrates. We haven't noted absolute lies but put-offs and self-censorship," it said.

The results of the tests cannot be used for disciplinary action because they were not done following an anti-doping protocol. However the publication of the names would highlight the rife EPO abuse of EPO during the 90s.

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