Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and Amaury Sports Organisation president Patrice Clerc held a hastily assembled press conference in Pau Tuesday in reaction to the news that Astana’s Alexander Vinokourov had tested positive for homologous blood doping.

Clerc began the press conference by explaining that he had spoken with Astana general manager Marc Biver by phone earlier Tuesday, and requested that Biver and the Astana team leave the race. Biver accepted the request without hesitation, Clerc said.

Clerc was asked if the news of Vinokourov’s positive, combined with the cloud of suspicion hanging over yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen, had prompted ASO to consider canceling the Tour. The ASO president replied that the thought had “never crossed my mind.”

“We have started a war on doping, and unfortunately in war there are losses, but it is out of the question to quit,” Clerc said. “There was never a question the Tour would stop. Then the cheaters would win.”

Clerc later said cycling needed an “an ethical revolution,” adding that he now regretted inviting Astana to the race.

“We have to be careful of the reputations within a team,” Clerc said, likely referring to the suspensions of Astana riders Eddy Mazzoleni and Mattias Kessler in the weeks prior to the Tour. “Astana had some of best riders in the world. We told Astana about the risks. We thought they had a place. Yes I regret inviting them. I regret being cheated.”

Prudhomme said he had told the riders in London that this Tour was “a fantastic opportunity to start over again,” adding, “The riders are playing Russian roulette. They have to get this through their heads. They need to understand that their determination is total It doesn’t make me happy, but in a certain way it shows that the system is working.”

Clerc was also asked about Rasmussen’s participation, given his warnings from the UCI for repeatedly failing to record his whereabouts for anti-doping purposes. Clerc said Rasmussen should not have been allowed to race in the Tour, saying the Dane “did not serve as a good example.”

“In a period of crisis such as we are living in at the moment, a champion must be a good example," said Clerc. “His attitude, his lack of respect shown to the administrative rules, which is unacceptable, should be made known to us and we would have refused his participation, because he is not a good role model for the others in the peloton.”