Yahtzee! 2008 Tour de France racks up cyclist quatro, actually cinquième, on final day: Dmitri Fofonov fluffs up

The headlines scream 'Doping  Scarred 2008 Tour"  So what's so different about this year's pinnacle race of pro cycling?  Dopers caught?  Not different.

On the final day of the 2008 Tour de France, Dmitri Fofonov tested positive for a stimulant according in media information (ABC News)...heptaminol.  That would be #4 doper and #5 lost to drugs overall.

Kazakhstan's Dmitri Fofonov has tested positive for a banned stimulant, his Credit Agricole team said on the final day of the Tour de France

The 31-year-old, who learned of his positive test after finishing 19th overall in the race on Sunday, explained to his team he bought a product over the internet to fight cramps.

He has been suspended and is now facing the sack.

"He has failed to respect our basic team rules," Credit Agricole manager Roger Legeay said.

"No products can be taken by any riders unless they have prior authorisation from the team doctor.

"He has made a mistake, which can happen, but it's not good news for us or for him."

Fofonov is the fourth rider from the Tour to have tested positive for a banned substance.

Italian Riccardo Ricco, and Spanish duo Manuel Beltran and Moises Duenas all tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) and were thrown out of the race.

The 31-year-old Fofonov, from Almaty, turned professional in 1998. Since 2000 he has competed with only French teams, picking up just three wins: the national time trial title (2000), a stage on the Tour of Catalonia (2002) and a stage on the Dauphine Libere earlier this year.

Oh yeah, Carlos Sastre won a very existential 2008 Tour.   (from the AP)

The final act Sunday was supposed to be a champagne-sipping, idyllic run to the Champs-Elysees for winner Carlos Sastre of Spain. Instead, it was yet another announcement of a positive drug test.

That the bust involved a Kazakh rider who was never in contention didn't matter. Once again, drugs left their mark at cycling's premier event.

Until Sunday's finale, the race had gone 10 days without a doping scandal — three others had already marred the three-week race.

This time, Dmitriy Fofonov tested positive for a "very heavy dose" of heptaminol after Thursday's 18th stage, said Pierre Bordry, the head of France's anti-doping agency. Fofonov was immediately fired by his Credit Agricole team. French police said he was detained for questioning

Race director Christian Prudhomme thought that the Tour persevered over dopers.