I have to disagree, guys. Pereiro gets exactly the sort of treatment you'd expect for a classic anonymous Top-10 Tour finisher--which, at heart, is what he is. Another supremely talented and accomplished rider like Haimar Zubeldia who, nonetheless, has clearly never been as good as the sport's biggest stars. He has also never pretended to be as good as them, and I respect that.
Given his performances pre- and post-Tour 'victory,' it shouldn't come as a surprise that, for most fans, Pereiro just doesn't feel like a Tour winner. In some ways, it's even been unfortunate that he's had to ride under that tag since 2006. He's a great rider, and simply continuing his pre-2006 performances might have gotten a lot more respect if he hadn't fallen ***-backwards into the weirdest Tour victory in recent memory.