Now Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles, thanks to the persistent doping allegations against him. It's a sad day for the sport, but at least it vindicates all of the clean-riding cyclists who finished behind Armstrong. Right? So here are the runners-up who stand to inherit the yellow jerseys from the disgraced champ:


1999: Alex Zülle (confessed to EPO use)

2000: Jan Ullrich (suspended from 2006 Tour; banned this year and stripped of all results from 2005 on)

2001: Jan Ullrich

2002: Joseba Beloki (kept out of 2006 Tour while under doping investigation, later cleared)

2003: Jan Ullrich

2004: Andreas Klöden (accused of illegal blood transfusion in the 2006 Tour)

2005: Ivan Basso (confessed to attempted doping, suspended)