Tour drug test results: 13 positives, 12 had medical exemptions

Reuters | 13 riders tested positive during Tour de France, 12 exempted

Final doping results are in form this year's Tour, and 13 riders actually tested positive for one banned substance or another during 19 tests.

Twelve of those riders won't be disciplined because they had “Therapeutic Use Exemptions,” representing medical permission to use a substance that would otherwise be on the banned list. Phonak's Floyd Landis, who won the Tour, faces suspension and loss of his title as the 13th rider.

The results point up how many riders have exemptions (Landis also had one during this year's Tour, for cortisone, used to treat his decaying hip), and the possibility that at least some of them are not strictly necessary. Out of 105 riders tested at some point during the Tour, 60 percent had a medical exemption for at least one banned substance.

Speaking of Landis, Trust but Verify is keeping up with almost all the news about his case, and doing a great job of it. You'll also pick up facts like “Billiards is the dirtiest of all sports” from it.