How the 2006 Tour de France was lost before it even began

CYCLING: The Tour de France was in turmoil last night after four of the top five riders from last year's race were rocked by the latest doping affair in the sport.

Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Francisco Mancebo were suspended by their teams after details of their involvement in the Operación Puerto police investigation was revealed, while 2005's fifth-placed rider, Alexandre Vinokourov, also looked set to miss the prologue today in Strasbourg because five of his team-mates for the Tour have also been implicated.

Although Vinokourov hasn't been named as one of those under investigation, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules state that a team can only start the Tour providing it has a minimum of six riders.

A decision yesterday by the AIGCP, the organisation of professional teams, to suspend all those linked to the Spanish probe meant the Kazakhstani's only hope lay with a last-minute transfer to another squad. Reports yesterday suggested he and the remaining members of the team would instead miss the race.

Ullrich, mentor Rudy Pevenage and team-mate Oscar Sevilla were suspended by T-Mobile after evidence sent to the team by Tour organisers ASO yesterday seemed to disprove reassurances given that they had not worked with Dr Eufemiano Fuentes. The latter had been accused by former Kelme team rider Jesus Mazano in 2004 of doping riders on the Spanish team.

Fuentes and four others had been arrested in a police raid in Madrid on May 23rd. A search of his clinic led to the seizure of large quantities of doping products, bags of blood and transfusion equipment, thought to be used to boost the level of oxygen-carrying red blood cells for athletes.

"I am in shock. I could cry," 1997 Tour winner Ullrich told German television yesterday. "I have no contact with Fuentes. I don't know him. I arrived at this Tour in perfect condition."