July 24, 2007 (Pau, France) — The organizers of the Tour de France were informed by Marc Biver, manager of Astana, that Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive at the individual time trial stage in Albi (Saturday, July 13). At the request of Patrice Clerc, President of the ASO (Amaury Sports Organization), the group that owns the TdF, the Astana Team has agreed to pull out of the 2007 Tour de France.

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France and Clerc reaffirmed their position in Pau, concerning the fight against doping and assured the public of their determination to continue with the battle.

“The London start was a great occasion to re-conquer (the sport in a dope-free way). But it’s failed. Cyclists are going to have to understand that they are playing Russian roulette if they are doping. They are also going to have to understand that we will never abandon the war against doping that we have embarked upon. Doping breaks our childhood dreams. Vinokourov cheated and the only possible reaction was to dismiss him from the race. It is an absolute failure of the system; it must change immediately. The re-conquering of cycling must be achieved by the Tour de France. I started this job thinking that we could reform the system. But it’s not enough; we need a revolution.”

The Tour de France organizers also said the race would continue.