Following a protracted period and a much publicized delay, today the French Senate released the names of riders who returned traces of EPO in doping controls during the highly controversial 1998 Tour de France.

Originally scheduled to be released Thursday July 18, on the day of the stage to the L’Alpe d’Huez in this year’s Tour de France, the release was postponed after riders protested about the timing of the release.

Earlier today the Senate met to confer about their report, which had collected statements from 83 sportsmen and officials since February, including UCI President Pat McQuaid and former rider and French national coach Laurent Jalabert, who resigned as tv-pundit shortly before the beginning of the Tour de France when rumours surfaced that his name would appear on the list. During the 1998 Jalabert was among the riders protesting most strongly against the treatment that riders were given by the police and anti-doping authorities at the time. Jalabert is one of the 18 riders that tested positive for the use of EPO in the retrograde testing.

Besides naming riders who had tested positive, the anti-doping commission of the French Senate also put forward suggestions to reinforce the fight against drugs.

Although taken in 1998, the tests were part of a retroactive testing programme carried out by the French Anti-Doping Agency AFLD in 2004. The list contains 18 riders with traces of EPO and 12 riders that the Senate reported as suspicious.

The finding of the report will not lead to any riders being stripped of their results: "Nobody will face sanctions. We aren’t policemen. We aren’t magistrates. We haven’t noted absolute lies but put-offs and self-censorship," the report concluded.

Riders who tested positive for the use of EPO:

Andrea Tafi, Erik Zabel, Nicola Minali, Mario Cipollini, Fabio Sacchi, Eddy Mazzoleni, Jacky Durand, Abraham Olano, Laurent Desbiens, Marco Pantani, Manuel Beltran, Bo Hamburger (twice), Laurent Jalabert, Marcos Serrano, Jens Heppner, Jeroen Blijlevens, Jan Ullrich (twice), Kevin Livingston (twice)

List of riders whose tests were suspicious according to the report: 
Ermanno Brignoli, Alain Turicchia,  Eddy Mazzoleni, Stephane Barthe, Stuart O'Grady, Axel Merckx, Pascal Chanteur, Frederic Moncassin, Bobby Julich, Roland Meier, Giuseppe Calcaterra, Stefano Zanini.