Bradley Wiggins became the first British winner of a Grand Tour when he claimed the Tour de France in 2012 but he may soon lose that status.
The previous year Wiggins had been 3rd in the Vuelta and
his then Team Sky team mate Chris Froome was 2nd overall.
However, with Vuelta 2011 winner Juan Jose Cobo now in
the middle of a doping controversy, his race win may be nullified.
That would see Froome promoted to 1st overall, Wiggins 2nd and Bauke Mollema to 3rd in the official results.
And it would mean Froome’s 2011 Vuelta would become the first Grand Tour victory by a British rider rather than Wiggins winning the 2012 Tour.
The UCI confirmed reports out of Spain today that the now retired Cobo had been found "guilty of an anti-doping rule violation (use of a prohibited substance) based on abnormalities from 2009 and 2011 detected in his biological passport".
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A "three-year period of ineligibility on the rider" was imposed, the UCI added in its statement.
Cobo can appeal the ruling and it is not until after any
appeal, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, that a decision would be taken
on awarding the 2011 Vuelta crown to Froome.
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However, a decision could be made soon as Cobo has just one month to lodge his appeal if he decides to go down that route.
The now 38-year-old Cobo had a mixed career in terms of results. His overall win in the Vuelta far exceeded anything he had ever done before that race or since.
He turned professional in 2004 with Saunier Duval-Prodir
and rode for that team for four years. When he won the Vuelta he did so in the
colours of Geox-TMC Transformers.
After that victory he joined Movistar for two years,
failing to win any races or achieve any results of note.
He ended his career in 2014 with Turkish Continental team Torku Şekerspor, riding just two stage races for it during that final season.
Froome is currently in intensive care in a French hospital having crashed and broken his leg, elbow and ribs while warming up for yesterday's TT at Criterium du Dauphine.
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