Amongst these three riders, before the disqualifications came in, were nine Tour de France titles and between all of these were several battles for the Grand Tours. They are some of the riders who are also the most heavily criticized when it comes to the theme of doping, but currently several of the figures of the past continue to have a big voice within the sport and use it.
“While the other doped cyclists were able to continue working, Jan Ullrich,
Marco Pantani and myself were treated differently," Armstrong believes. "This is the price to pay when you are the best in a sport, you are a symbol. It took me ten years of struggle to get out of that hole. It was difficult. And that's why I didn't leave Jan alone when he felt bad."