Better dope testing 'gave me a chance', says Nibali
Italian rider says improvements in policing created a level playing field, allowing him to stamp his class and win this year's Tour de France
Vincenzo Nibali said he would never have been in with a chance of winning the Tour de France had it not been for recent improvements in tackling doping.
The 29-year-old Italian is widely regarded as a clean rider and his victory on Sunday in this year's Tour was seen as proof that cyclists can win without resorting to cheating.
The reaction to his success is a far cry from that which greeted Lance Armstrong's seven successive wins during the darkest days of blood doping and use of the banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO).
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When Armstrong won his first Tour - he has since been stripped of all seven - there was no test for EPO while throughout his reign testers were struggling to keep up with the cheats.
But now with random out-of-competition tests and the biological passport, cycling has come a long way.
"Steps have been taken and great progress has been made and with it my results have arrived," said Nibali.
"I have to thank [doping controllers] because without these iron controls maybe I wouldn't be here today."
The final stage was a traditional procession that culminated on the Champs Elysees. Nibali has now joined a select group of six riders to have won all three Grand Tours - after the Vuelta a Espana in 2010 and Giro d'Italia in 2013.