Fernando Escartín
Fernando Escartín Coti (born 24 January 1968) is a Spanish former road racing cyclist. Between 1995 and 2000 he came in the top 10 of the Tour de France five times and in that same time period finished on the podium in 2nd place at the Vuelta a España, twice. Biography. Escartín was born in Biescas, Aragon. Tour de France. Escartín won a stage and finished third overall in the 1999 Tour de France. Of the cyclists who finished on the podium in the era in which Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times (1999-2005 ), Escartín is the sole rider not to be implicated in a doping scandal. In response to the Armstrong doping scandal, Escartin stated, "Lance Armstrong remains the 1999 Tour winner, second Zulle and third, me... It's 13 years now since this all happened. It seems completely illogical and unreal. I don't want to even think about it." Escartín was, however, one of the names involved with the Giardini Margherita Raid where prescriptions for banned substances were found, handwritten by sports doctors. Retirement. Escartín rode his last race at a criterium in Llobregat on 4 November 2002, before retiring from  professional cycling. He has worked as a race co-designer for the Vuelta a España since retirement. Career achievements. Grand Tour general classification results timeline. DNF=Did not finish