Spain's Oscar Pereiro was finally declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France on Thursday after Floyd Landis failed to get a drugs ban overturned.
American Landis finished first in the 2006 race but failed a dope test after the 17th stage, and his appeal against a two-year ban has been rejected.
Pereiro finished the 2006 race in second place, 57 seconds behind Landis.
"You never want to win a competition like that but after a year and a half I'm just glad it's over," said Pereiro.
But the 30-year-old admitted that he felt he had missed out on being able to celebrate his win in public - and that he would be given the chance to do so.
"I hope there will be a public act of recognition," he said. "I could not leave Paris with the yellow jersey.
"We can now say that Pereiro is the winner of the Tour without waiting for a possible appeal by Landis"
Pereiro refused to comment on Landis, saying: "I don't want to make any mistake or say something I might regret."
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said: "According to the rules, the second-placed rider will be promoted to first place.
"We have waited a long time, too long. We said since the beginning that we were confident in the laboratory (AFLD) at Chatenay-Malabry.
606: DEBATE
"Now it is proven and confirmed that Landis cheated. As far as the Tour de France is concerned, Landis was no longer the winner after the positive test of the second sample."
Pat McQuaid, president of cycling's governing body the UCI, added: "We can now say that Pereiro is the winner of the Tour without waiting for a possible appeal by Landis to the Court of Arbitration for Sport."
Pereiro himself was cleared of doping charges by the French Anti-Doping Authority in January.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~15~RS~)