Race officials rule that RadioShack team cannot race Tour's final stage in special "cancer awareness" jersey
In an incident that almost seemed to sum up Lance Armstrong’s 2010 Tour de France, the RadioShack team was prevented from wearing a special commemorative jersey for the final stage. Race commissaires ruled that the black jerseys, featuring a large number “28” to commemorate the 28 million people living with cancer around the World, were against regulations; all nine riders on the team were forced to change back into their standard red and grey ones.
The race’s depart fictif, the neutral roll out of town, was delayed as Armstrong debated the issue with race officials. They finally agreed that the special jerseys could be worn in the 5.2km neutral zone, but not in the race itself.
The race was then delayed even further as the peloton reached the départ réel, at kilometre zero, as the RadioShack riders stopped, dismounted and changed their jerseys; it took a long time to complete the operation as they sat down at the side of the road and moved their race numbers from one jersey to another.
Armstrong preferred to change his jersey while on the bike, his numbers flapped in the wind for a while until he had them pinned down by a mechanic in the RadioShack team car. Reflecting the way the rest of the American seven-time winner’s race has gone, both dossards were decidedly crooked.
Armstrong’s team donning special jerseys for the Tour de France’s final stage is not without precedent. In 2003 the US Postal Service team wore a special, retro “US Mail” jersey as a tribute to the race’s centenary; while in 2005, on the occasion of Armstrong’s seventh victory, the Discovery channel team wore a special version of its jersey featuring seven yellow stars.
The main difference between those years and this though, is that in 2003 and 2005 Armstrong was the winner of the race. Astana’s Alberto Contador is the winner this year and, presumably, the race officials have ruled that the day belongs to him.