Doping
The book L. A. Confidentiel, by David Walsh and Pierre Ballester, came out shortly before the 2004 Tour, accusing Lance Armstrong of doping. Lance Armstrong and his lawyers asked for an emergency hearing in French court to insert a denial into the book. The French judge denied this request. Armstrong also launched defamation suits against the publisher and the authors, as well as magazine L'Express and UK newspaper The Sunday Times which both referenced it.
The 18th stage saw mistreatment of Filippo Simeoni by Lance Armstrong, after Simeoni had testified about doping and doctor Michele Ferrari.
Read more about this topic: 2004 Tour De France