Maybe Festina should have pulled out of the Tour de France before they were thrown out and saved themselves any more adverse publicity in the face of drugs allegations and charges?

Well, considering that their budget, according to the official Tour de France programme, is £3.5 million, of which 50 per cent is spent on the Tour, pulling out would have meant choosing to take a loss of around £1.7 to £2 million. Of course there's no turning the clock back now the Tour directors have made the decision for them.

Festina spend 25 per cent of their budget on the five pre-Tour classic races, Baston-Liege and the Amstel Gold, 50 per cent on the Tour and 25 per cent on all of the other races in the cycling season.

Adding to the cost, many of their 11 riders have two-year contracts, creating another nightmare for the Festina set-up.