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Tour chaos

Germany's Jan Ullrich has been sent home. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
The Spokesman-Review
Germany's Jan Ullrich has been sent home. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

The backdrop: The first Tour de France after the Lance Armstrong era starts today after a doping scandal knocks out a group of cyclists including two favorites — German star Jan Ullrich and 2005 runner-up Ivan Basso.

U.S. riders to watch: Levi Leipheimer and Floyd Landis, both former teammates of Armstrong, are contenders.

Quotable: “I could cry going home in such good shape.”

Jan Ullrich