But only two "winners" in the 108-year history of the Tour - Floyd Landis in 2006 and Alberto Contador in 2010 - subsequently lost their yellow jerseys due to proven doping.
Cadel Evans (Australia), Tour winner 2011: Evans has never been accused of doping, nor does he want to talk about it. His BMC entourage at last year's victory, on the other hand, can hardly be described as blameless: Team owner Andy Rihs and sporting director John Lelangue were responsible for the Phonak racing team in 2006, in which Floyd Landis was proven to have doped his way to yellow. In retrospect, neither official claimed to have known anything about the manipulation. Team manager Jim Ochowicz was also a close confidant of the controversial Lance Armstrong.
Andy Schleck (Luxembourg), 2010: Unlike his brother and team-mate Frank Schleck - who had to admit contact with doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes but was not penalised due to a lack of evidence of manipulation - the 27-year-old has never been linked to doping. He was awarded the overall victory in 2010 retrospectively due to Contador's conviction.
Alberto Contador (Spain), 2007, 2009: In February 2012, the Madrilenean was sentenced by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for testing positive for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour. He was stripped of his overall victory. Contador, who attributes the doping test to the consumption of contaminated meat, is banned until 5 August. His name had already appeared on a Funtes customer list in 2006 - but then disappeared under unexplained circumstances.
Carlos Sastre (Spain), 2008: He began his career in 1997 with the Spanish team Once. The team was led by Manolo Saiz, who, along with Fuentes, was the main culprit in the adulterated blood scandal of the same name. Sastre was never investigated.
Oscar Pereiro (Spain), 2006: He received his yellow jersey at the green table after Landis was convicted of testosterone doping and eventually confessed. Pereiro had also tested positive at that Tour, but was able to produce a certificate for the asthma drug Salbutamol at a later trial.
Lance Armstrong (USA), 1999 to 2005: The Texan has been under investigation for a long time, but it was only a few days ago that the US Anti-Doping Agency USADA formulated its serious accusations. Armstrong is alleged to have doped for years and used unauthorised substances. He has been provisionally banned from all triathlon competitions - Armstrong's new field of activity. His long-time team manager Johan Bruyneel, who is also accused, will not be riding in the Tour in 2012. It has been scientifically proven that Armstrong used EPO at least in 1999 during his first Tour victory. A retrospective analysis proves this. Nevertheless, there were no sanctions because there was no B sample.
Marco Pantani (Italy), 1998: The "Pirate", who died of a cocaine overdose in 2004, had to answer for his actions in several doping trials. In 1999, he was taken out of the Giro d'Italia as the leader in the pink jersey after EPO was detected in him.
Jan Ullrich (Germany), 1997: The first and only German Tour winner was linked to Fuentes in 2006 and was not allowed to take part in the Tour by Team T-Mobile. The public prosecutor's office in Bonn subsequently proved that the Rostock-born cyclist had stored blood with Fuentes and paid for it. He avoided a trial by paying a six-figure sum. It was only when the CAS convicted Ullrich of doping in February - five years after his retirement - that he admitted contact with Fuentes ("big mistake").
Bjarne Riis (Denmark), 1996: The first Scandinavian Tour winner confessed in 2007 to having used EPO, growth hormones and cortisone during his success eleven years earlier. The world cycling organisation UCI ruled that the current team boss of Saxo Bank-Tinkoff could no longer be stripped of his victory due to an eight-year statute of limitations.
Miguel Indurain (Spain), 1991 to 1995: The elegant Spaniard tested positive for salbutamol at the Tour de L'Oise in 1994. The drug is only permitted as a spray for medical reasons. The Navarra University Hospital confirmed the prescription.
Greg LeMond (USA), 1986, 1989, 1990: LeMond did not make any doping headlines. In 1989, he won by eight seconds ahead of the Frenchman Laurent Fignon. This is the smallest lead in Tour history to date. In 1987, LeMond was critically injured by his brother-in-law in a hunting accident. Nevertheless, he still won twice.
Pedro Delgado (Spain), 1988: He was only allowed to keep his yellow jersey because the concealing agent probenicid was blacklisted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but not yet by the UCI. This was changed shortly afterwards.
