Lars Boom, one of the reigning Tour de France champion Vicenzo Nibali’s most experienced lieutenants on the Astana team, was revealed to have posted an abnormally low cortisol level after tests by the governing body, the UCI. But the Dutch rider has been given the green light by his team Astana to race in the Tour de France unlike the MPCC rules.

Roger Legeay, the MPCC president, hinted that Astana would be ejected from the group at its next meeting in September. "It seems clear to me that if you don’t respect the rules, you’re excluding yourself from the family."

Boom told: "I didn’t expect to not start. I was relaxed before this Tour. What happened yesterday was not perfect preparation before the Tour but according to the UCI, it’s ok to start and I’m happy that we have started now."

"I trained really hard for the last few weeks and I’ve already had an asthmatic inhaler for the past 10 years. After the Dauphiné I was a little bit sick. When I’m sick I have problems with the lungs and I do a little bit more of the inhaler. It’s allowed by the doctors but I have to do a test now and again tomorrow to see how it is."