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Wow TimC in that case maybe we should give Floyd Landis­ back his title instead of errrr Oscar inhaler Pereiro.

What about Anquetil? He wasn't riding on just­ water.

It gets very messy stripping past titles. I­ think that if they survive the tests of the time, the­ records should stand, for simplicities sake.

if WWII would not have happened Coppi would have had­ few more tour wins. He was a great rider as well as a­ great doper. Then again, back then there weren't­ any rules so he was not technically cheating. It is­ funny to read the story of Bartali and Coppi rivalry.­ bartali said in an interview that, during various­ races, used to raid Coppi's hotel room once he went­ out for dinner and check out which drugs he used in­ order to figure out how Coppi would ride and where e­ will attack!!

... I do admit, Tim, that the alternative suggested­ below could get very messy and as a result undermine­ TdF credibility even more than an inconsistency­ does.
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Just noticed- three cyclists had near death­ experiences to then go on to win the Tour- Armstrong,­ Lemond (shooting accident) and Contador (brain­ haemorrhage?).

@TimC- By confessing, Riis gave us an irrefutable fact,­ stronger than any test, that he should not be classed­ as the winner.
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So it is awarded to 2nd place- Jan­ Ullrich. Now, Riis confessed only after a few Telekom­ teammates did. This would likely have the same effect­ on Ullrich to confess, if he also cheated. The shame­ of accepting the 1996 title would be too great. But if­ Ullrich did cheat in 1996, there's a high­ probability that he also did in 1997.
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Worst­ outcome= Ullrich did cheat in both 1996 and 1997. But­ this would place Virenque as winner in both years...­ and he wrote a book titled "The Truth" in­ reply to drug allegations, which he later confessed was­ a book of lies. So both 1996 and 1997 are left blank­ like a modern day 2nd World War hiatus for the­ TdF.
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Best outcome= Ullrich is crowned twice and­ the record books are conclusively set straight. No­ reliance on "common opinion" but instead on­ logic, facts and trust (in Ullrich).
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To have one­ rule in 2006 and another in 1996 is inconsistent and so­ undermines TdF credibility.

@p: yes, Riis confessed. Do you propose to give his­ title to someone who hasn't confessed? I have no­ good plan for how to deal with this, beyond suggesting­ the asterisk on his title (which may be what you are­ suggesting). But common opinion is that in the late­ 1990's, most of the peloton was way doped up.

* Bjarne Riis' confessed taking of EPO, growth­ hormone and cortisone between 1993 to 1998 clearly­ worked wonders in securing his 1996 TdF title.