Óscar Pereiro Sío (; born 3 August 1977) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Pereiro was declared the winner of the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the United ...

, after the original winner Floyd Landis was disqualified for failing a doping test after his stage 17 victory. Pereiro is a former member of Porta da Ravessa (2000 to 2001), Phonak Hearing Systems (2002 to 2005), (2006 to 2009), and the cycling team (2010). After retiring from cycling in 2010, Pereiro joined his local part-time football club

Coruxo FC Coruxo Fútbol Club, is a Spanish football club based in the parish of Coruxo, Vigo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1930 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding home matches at '' O Vao'', with a capacity of ...

of the Segunda División B.

Early career

Pereiro placed tenth in the 2004 Tour de France, 22 minutes 54 seconds behind original winner

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...

, who was subsequently disqualified. He was awarded the Most Aggressive Rider Award in the 2005 Tour de France after powering the winning breakaways in Stages 15, 16 and 19. He was the Stage 16 winner - just edging out Spain's Xabier Zandio,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Eddy Mazzoleni Eddy Mazzoleni (born 29 July 1973) is a former Italian professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI ProTour Astana Team. Biography He currently lives in Almenno San Bartolomeo, Italy. Mazzoleni is a talented climber and was a ...

and Australia's

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along wi ...

. His efforts on Stage 15, the toughest stage of the Tour, were highly admired by the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

. He finished second that day to Discovery Channel's

George Hincapie George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 a ...

after "pulling" for most of the final climb up the Pla D'Adet. In January 2014, Pereiro confessed on a radio show he sold this stage to Hincapie, making the deal some kilometers before arriving to the finish line. Pereiro was considered a leader on Phonak along with Landis and

Santiago Botero Santiago Botero Echeverry (born October 27, 1972) is a Colombian former professional road bicycle racer. He was a pro from 1996 to 2010, during which time he raced in three editions of the Tour de France and four editions of the Vuelta a Españ ...

in 2005 - his last year riding for the team.

2006 Tour de France

His breakaway

Stage 13 ''Stage 13'' is a 30-minute American anthology television series produced and directed and hosted by Wyllis Cooper Wyllis Oswald Cooper (January 26, 1899 – June 22, 1955) was an American writer and producer. He is best remembered for cre ...

second-place finish (just behind

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Jens Voigt Jens Voigt (; born 17 September 1971) is a German former professional road bicycle racer and, upon retirement, became a cycling sports broadcast commentator. During his cycling career, Voigt raced for several teams, the last one being UCI ProTe ...

) gained him almost 30 minutes on most of the

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

leaders and propelled him into an unexpected

yellow jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

. He traded the overall lead back and forth with Floyd Landis over the next few days before finally losing it to him for good on the second to last day of the Tour. After hearing of Landis' positive "A" test, Pereiro stated that it was only an initial, unconfirmed result and he would not yet consider Landis guilty or himself the Tour winner. "I have too much respect for Landis to do otherwise", he said. After hearing that the Landis "B" test also came back positive, Pereiro stated that he now considers himself Tour champion and the Landis scandal should not diminish his own achievement. "Right now I feel like the winner of the Tour de France", Pereiro said. "It's a victory for the whole team." On 20 September 2007 Landis was found guilty of doping and ordered that he forfeit his 2006 Tour de France victory, making Pereiro the official winner, but not before Pereiro had his own small doping issue (see the next section for more details).

Doping investigation

On 18 January 2007 French newspaper

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

reported that Pereiro had returned an "Adverse Analytical Finding" (AAF) during the 2006 Tour de France. It is alleged that a concentration of salbutamol in excess of the threshold of the allowed therapeutic use was found in two urine samples, produced after stages 14 (

Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...

- Gap, in which Pereiro finished 26th) and 16 ( Bourg-d'Oisans -

La Toussuire Les Sybelles () is a French linked ski area, located in the Savoie department in the Alps. It is one of the largest skiable domains in France. The resort was the home base of Jean-Pierre Vidal, winner of the gold medal in slalom at the 2002 Wint ...

, 3rd place). In the latter stage, Pereiro retook the yellow jersey from Landis. Salbutamol is commonly used to treat

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

symptoms, and is allowed to be used in cycle racing if the cyclist can provide a medical prescription for the substance. It is alleged that the

International Cycling Union The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

gave Pereiro retroactive permission to use the substance on medical grounds after the positive tests. The French anti-doping agency questions the veracity of the medical grounds. It demanded that Pereiro verify the grounds for the use of salbutamol within a week. On 25 January 2007 France's anti-doping agency dropped its investigation, saying Pereiro provided sufficient justification for use of the asthma medication. MaillotAmarilloPereiro

Crash in 2008 Tour de France

On 20 July, during the 15th stage of

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its reg ...

, Pereiro crashed at the 89 kilometre mark over a guardrail just prior to a hairpin turn during the descent of the

Col Agnel Col Agnel ( it, Colle dell'Agnello) is a mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, west of Monte Viso between France and Italy which links the Queyras valley (Hautes-Alpes) with Pontechianale in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont. At 2,744 m (9,003&nb ...

landing on the other side of the turn, which meant the end of the Tour for him. Initially, he was thought to have broken his femur and arm, but later it was learned that this was not the case. He suffered a broken arm but never lost consciousness and was taken to a nearby hospital in Cuneo. During this Tour, Pereiro was working for team captain

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . Valverde's biggest wins have been the Vuelta a España in 2009, Critérium du Dauphiné in 2008 and 2009, ...

but when it became clear in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

that Valverde had lost too much time, he and Valverde managed to maintain placings in the top 20 riders.

Football career

In December 2010 Pereiro announced that he signed with Segunda División B club

. He said that it was his childhood dream to become a professional footballer. He made two appearances for the team that season, scoring twice.

Career achievements

Major results

;1998 : 1st U23 Cyclo-Cross Champion ;1999 : 1st U23 Cyclo-Cross Champion ;2001 : 1st Stage 3 Grande Premio ;2002 : 1st Stage 5

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March ...

;2003 : 1st Stage 6

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

;2004 : 1st

Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of the ...

: 10th Overall

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

;2005 : 1st Prologue

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 10th Overall

::1st Stage 16 :: Jersey red number

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider. References {{cycling-stub Cycling jerseys ...

Overall ;2006 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

;2007 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT) Volta Ciclista a Catalunya : 2nd Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

: 10th Overall

;2008 : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

* After the disqualification of Floyd Landis

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereiro, Oscar 1977 births Living people Cyclists from Galicia (Spain) Footballers from Galicia (Spain) People from Vigo (comarca) Sportspeople from the Province of Pontevedra Spanish Tour de France stage winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Spanish male cyclists Association footballers not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality