Italy Pushing for Doping Ban for Entire Cycling Family

The Italian Olympic Committee is attempting to ban an entire cycling family for doping.

CONI anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri recommended Thursday that cyclist Lorenzo Bernucci; his wife, Valentina Borgioli; brother, Alessio Bernucci: mother, Antonella Rossi; and father-in-law, Fabrizio Borgioli, be banned after being linked to blood doping by a prosecutor in Padua.

Bernucci's former teammate with Lampre, Alessandro Petacchi, also is being investigated after police raided both riders' houses in April.

A six-year ban has been requested for Bernucci, who is facing his second offense after testing positive for a non-amphetamine appetite suppressant and getting fired by the T-Mobile team in 2007.

Four-year bans have been recommended for each of the other family members, which would prevent them from involvement in any sporting events in Italy.

The case will be decided by CONI's internal anti-doping court.

"I wasn't expecting the prosecutor Torri to request such a severe penalty," Bernucci told the ANSA news agency. "When I'm called before the anti-doping court, I will clear up my position, and then the judges will decide. I don't think the family has anything to do with this. My relatives didn't do anything."

The announcement came just a few hours after a gathering of cyclists at CONI attended by Italy's health minister Ferruccio Fazio, who announced new measures to combat doping at the amateur level.

"Out of 500 tests in the first semester of 2010, 15.9 percent came back positive among males," Fazio said. "I am about to sign off on a new anti-doping commission that will work very closely with CONI that will produce informative campaigns and collaborate with other anti-doping institutions, starting with the NAS [an elite police force]."

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Lawyers Use Cocaine Defense in Alberto Contador Doping Case

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Lawyers Use Cocaine Defense in Alberto Contador Doping Case

By AP and Roadcycling.com
Dec 7, 2010 - 8:02:30 AM

Alberto Contador's lawyers are using tennis player Richard Gasquet's successful appeal against cocaine use as part of their own defense for a failed Tour de France doping test.

Earlier today Alberto Contador's lawyer Andy Ramos?said a decision in cycling's biggest case could come "any day" as the Spanish cycling federation's disciplinary committee determines whether Contador merits a two-year ban after testing positive for clenbuterol.

The three-time Tour de France champion's defense is he ingested the muscle-building, weight-loss steroid inadvertently through contaminated meat.

Contador's lawyers are using several cases relating to other athletes to highlight that Contador did not voluntarily take the steroid. He will also lose his Tour title if he is found guilty.

French player Gasquet avoided a lengthy ban last year after proving he inadvertently ingested cocaine after kissing a woman at a nightclub.

"Not one of the scientists we have worked with has said it couldn't have been anything but contamination," Ramos commented in a telephone interview. "The levels are ridiculous - it couldn't be anything else."

Contador's lawyers are also using the case of Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who was cleared of doping by the German table tennis federation in October. The Ukrainian-born Ovtcharov successfully argued that tainted meat consumed in China was the reason for his positive test for clenbuterol.

Ovtcharov turned up an "extremely low" concentration of 75 picograms per milliliter in his sample compared to 50 picograms for Contador. A picogram is one trillionth of a gram.

The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Tennis Federation attempt to ban Gasquet for two years was overturned after the Court for Arbitration for Sport accepted his claim that he inadvertently consumed cocaine by kissing the woman in a Miami club hours after withdrawing injured from a tournament last year.

Gasquet did not deny cocaine was in his system but proved it was not intentionally taken while showing no negligence on his own part. He served a 2?-month suspension.

Contador is at the Playitas in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, training with his Saxo Bank-SunGard team, which is preparing for the 2011 season. Contador also won the Tour de France in 2007 and 2009.

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Alberto Contador Submits Official Defense Documents in Doping Case - Nov 26, 2010 - 2:40:12 PM
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Alberto Contador Submits Official Defense Documents in Doping Case

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Alberto Contador Submits Official Defense Documents in Doping Case

By AP and Roadcycling.com
Nov 26, 2010 - 2:40:12 PM

Alberto Contador has submitted his official defense for a failed 2010 Tour de France doping test, giving the Spanish Cycling Federation documents he claims will show clenbuterol contaminated meat is to blame.

Alberto Contador spokesman Jacinto Vidarte earlier today said that Contador accompanied his lawyers to the federation's headquarters to hand over the necessary documentation.

The 27-year-old Spanish cyclist risks losing this year's Tour de France title and could face a two-year ban from pro road cycling if found guilty of using clenbuterol, a banned muscle-building and weight-loss steroid.

Contador says beef bought from Spanish border town Irun caused the failed July 21 test.

The Spanish Cycling Federation's disciplinary committee had opened the case earlier this month.

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Lance Armstrong Doping Investigators Travel to France

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Lance Armstrong Doping Investigators Travel to France

By AP, with additional commentary by Roadcycling.com
Nov 16, 2010 - 8:58:32 AM

A USA investigation into allegations of doping in professional cycling has shifted its focus to France, and talks are scheduled with the French agency that has stored some of Lance Armstrong's urine samples.

The agency plans to share everything it knows with the Americans, a French official said. The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the meeting with France's anti-doping agency, which he said is scheduled for this week.

The official said the American delegation is in France and he believes it is comprised of U.S. Food and Drug Administration Agent Jeff Novitzky, as well as U.S.A. federal prosecutor Doug Miller and U.S.A. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart.

Novitzky was booked Tuesday into a hotel in the south-central French city of Lyon, headquarters of the international police agency Interpol. Miller had also been booked in at the same hotel but then canceled the reservation.

Calls to Tygart's cell phone went unanswered Tuesday morning. In a recorded message, Tygart said he was out of the office on business.

The official told the AP that France's anti-doping agency would share everything it knows and has with U.S. investigators and is prepared to answer all questions.

The former head of the French agency, Pierre Bordry, previously promised to hand over Armstrong's samples from the 1999 Tour de France to Novitzky if the agent made an official request. Bordry announced his resignation this September after tussling with French authorities over the budget for the doping agency, known by its French initials AFLD.

The French official said he doesn't know whether U.S. investigators have formally requested the samples.

The French sports daily L'Equipe reported in 2005 that Armstrong's samples from 1999 contained traces of the banned performance-enhancer EPO.

An investigator mandated by cycling's international governing body, the UCI, later cleared Armstrong. The seven-time Tour de France winner has repeatedly denied allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs.

U.S. federal prosecutors have been taking a look at cheating in cycling for months, aided by Novitzky, who played a key role in the BALCO scandal that implicated athletes such as Barry Bonds and Marion Jones and opened a window into doping methods.

Lance Armstrong became a more important figure in the probe this spring after disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 title after failing a doping test, dropped long-standing denials and acknowledged he used performance-enhancing drugs. In doing so, he accused Armstrong and others of systematic drug use.

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UCI Wants Spain to Initiate Case Against Alberto Contador - Nov 8, 2010 - 1:42:37 PM
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WADA: No Tour de France Doping Tests at Nighttime

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WADA: No Tour de France Doping Tests at Nighttime

By AP
Nov 12, 2010 - 10:53:19 AM

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has denied proposing that Tour de France riders be tested in the middle of the night.

A report issued by WADA observers last month said cycling's governing body should be more aggressive when it conducts tests and that riders should be tested at night.

That prompted criticism from Pascal Chanteur, the head of the French professional cyclists union (UNCP).

Chanteur said riders would be treated like "guinea pigs" if doping controls were carried out in early morning hours.

But WADA Director General David Howman told L'Equipe newspaper that WADA observers sent to the Tour this year only recommended "to test the riders more often with controls early in the morning or late at night, at less predictable times, and not in the middle of the night as the UNCP claims."

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UCI Boss Pat McQuaid Wants Four-Year Bans for Dopers - Nov 1, 2010 - 2:23:29 PM
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Team Saxo Bank Owner Bjarne Riis Says Alberto Contador Will be Cleared of Doping Suspicion

Team Saxo Bank owner and manager and former top cyclist Bjarne Riis says he believes Alberto Contador will be cleared of any doping suspicion.

Riis, who has hired the three-time Tour de France champion for next season, came to the defense of Contador, who has been provisionally suspended after a small concentration of the banned substance clenbuterol was found in a urine sample taken in July.

Riis says he believes Contador "is a clean rider" and that he trusted Contador's explanation that the drug came from a contaminated steak.

Contador signed a deal in August to compete for the Saxo Bank-SunGard team in 2011 after deciding to leave Astana.

The Spanish rider is in "good spirits," Riis said in an interview with the Politiken newspaper on Sunday.

"He has started to train again so we'll have something to work with, although the charge has hit hard."

In another interview, Riis unfortunately denied being in talks to sign blacklisted former Tour de France yellow jersey holder Michael Rasmussen of Denmark.

Rasmussen led cycling's showcase race in 2007 until he was kicked off his Dutch Rabobank team for lying about his training whereabouts when he missed pre-race doping tests. He eventually received a two-year ban and is still blacklisted in pro cycling despite having served his sentence and despite never having tested positive for doping. Meanwhile, we are witnessing many formerly doped riders being welcomed back into pro cycling, but still Rasmussen appears unwanted.

Rasmussen, whose main appearance in Denmark in recent months has been in a televised dancing contest, has been linked several times to the team.

"There's been almost no contact [with him] and I will not sign Michael Rasmussen for Saxo Bank-SunGard," Riis told the Ekstra Bladet daily. "I want to reiterate that I hope Michael gets an opportunity to race again."

The interviews were published two days before Riis' official autobiography titled RIIS hits the shelves.

Although team rider Andy Schleck came second in this year's Tour de France behind Contador, Riis suffered a series of setbacks in 2010 with several of his key riders leaving the team.

The Schleck brothers quit to join a new Luxembourg outfit created by Riis' former longtime press assistant, Brian Nygaard, and his then-aide Kim Andersen. Teammates Fabian Cancellara, Jakob Fuglsang, Jens Voigt and Stuart O'Grady followed suit.

He signed Contador in August only to learn about the doping allegations weeks later.

Riis became a national hero in 1996 after winning the Tour de France.

Since his retirement from racing in 2000, he set up a team with some of cycling's big names: Laurent Jalabert, Carlos Sastre, Tyler Hamilton, Ivan Basso and Voigt, among others.

The Dane admitted in 2007 that he had used the performance-enhancing drug EPO from 1993-1998, including when he won the Tour de France in 1996.

That prompted sponsor Computer Sciences Corp. to end its eight-year relationship after several doping scandals. Danish Internet-based bank and Web trading platform Saxo Bank stepped replaced CSC in 2008.

"The book is telling my story, my truth," Riis was quoted as saying by Politiken.

"Nobody forced me, there were no requirements, I was not put under any pressure," Riis said about taking doping. "It was my own choice."

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Team Saxo Bank Owner Bjarne Riis Says Alberto Contador Will be Cleared of Doping Suspicion

Team Saxo Bank owner and manager and former top cyclist Bjarne Riis says he believes Alberto Contador will be cleared of any doping suspicion.

Riis, who has hired the three-time Tour de France champion for next season, came to the defense of Contador, who has been provisionally suspended after a small concentration of the banned substance clenbuterol was found in a urine sample taken in July.

Riis says he believes Contador "is a clean rider" and that he trusted Contador's explanation that the drug came from a contaminated steak.

Contador signed a deal in August to compete for the Saxo Bank-SunGard team in 2011 after deciding to leave Astana.

The Spanish rider is in "good spirits," Riis said in an interview with the Politiken newspaper on Sunday.

"He has started to train again so we'll have something to work with, although the charge has hit hard."

In another interview, Riis unfortunately denied being in talks to sign blacklisted former Tour de France yellow jersey holder Michael Rasmussen of Denmark.

Rasmussen led cycling's showcase race in 2007 until he was kicked off his Dutch Rabobank team for lying about his training whereabouts when he missed pre-race doping tests. He eventually received a two-year ban and is still blacklisted in pro cycling despite having served his sentence and despite never having tested positive for doping. Meanwhile, we are witnessing many formerly doped riders being welcomed back into pro cycling, but still Rasmussen appears unwanted.

Rasmussen, whose main appearance in Denmark in recent months has been in a televised dancing contest, has been linked several times to the team.

"There's been almost no contact [with him] and I will not sign Michael Rasmussen for Saxo Bank-SunGard," Riis told the Ekstra Bladet daily. "I want to reiterate that I hope Michael gets an opportunity to race again."

The interviews were published two days before Riis' official autobiography titled RIIS hits the shelves.

Although team rider Andy Schleck came second in this year's Tour de France behind Contador, Riis suffered a series of setbacks in 2010 with several of his key riders leaving the team.

The Schleck brothers quit to join a new Luxembourg outfit created by Riis' former longtime press assistant, Brian Nygaard, and his then-aide Kim Andersen. Teammates Fabian Cancellara, Jakob Fuglsang, Jens Voigt and Stuart O'Grady followed suit.

He signed Contador in August only to learn about the doping allegations weeks later.

Riis became a national hero in 1996 after winning the Tour de France.

Since his retirement from racing in 2000, he set up a team with some of cycling's big names: Laurent Jalabert, Carlos Sastre, Tyler Hamilton, Ivan Basso and Voigt, among others.

The Dane admitted in 2007 that he had used the performance-enhancing drug EPO from 1993-1998, including when he won the Tour de France in 1996.

That prompted sponsor Computer Sciences Corp. to end its eight-year relationship after several doping scandals. Danish Internet-based bank and Web trading platform Saxo Bank stepped replaced CSC in 2008.

"The book is telling my story, my truth," Riis was quoted as saying by Politiken.

"Nobody forced me, there were no requirements, I was not put under any pressure," Riis said about taking doping. "It was my own choice."

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UCI Still Investigating Mosquera for Doping

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UCI Still Investigating Mosquera for Doping

By AP and Roadcycling.com
Nov 6, 2010 - 10:15:39 AM

Spaniard tested positive for masking agent during 2010 Vuelta a Espana.

The International Cycling Union says a backup sample belonging to Spanish Vuelta runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera has not yet been tested, countering reports in Spain that he was cleared in a doping case.

UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani says the investigation continues because analysis of Mosquera's B-sample is "still in preparation."

Mosquera's urine sample taken Sept. 16 during the Vuelta had traces of hydroxyethyl starch, a banned masking agent which can hide the effects of endurance-boosting hormone EPO.

The UCI announced Mosquera's case on September 30, along with his Xacobeo-Galicia teammate David Garcia's positive test for HES.

Garcia has been provisionally suspended after also testing positive for EPO.

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Lab Rejects Contador's Call for Threshold Limit - Oct 12, 2010 - 1:31:47 PM
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Court Upholds Alejandro Valverde's Doping Ban

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Court Upholds Alejandro Valverde's Doping Ban

By AP and Roadcycling.com
Nov 5, 2010 - 1:26:17 AM

Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde suffered another legal defeat when Switzerland's supreme court upheld his doping bans for using the blood-boosting hormone EPO.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected Valverde's request to overturn suspensions imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

The CAS banned the 30-year-old rider until January 2012 when it ruled in favor of the International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency in May. However, the court allowed Valverde to keep his 2009 Spanish Vuelta title and other victories gained before this year.

The two organizations asked CAS to extend Valverde's ban worldwide after he was first suspended by CONI from riding in Italy.

The Italian body pursued Valverde using evidence gathered in 2006 during the Operation Puerto case after Spanish authorities refused to prosecute him.

Federal judges ordered Valverde to pay 4,000 Swiss francs ($4,130) in court costs, plus 5,000 Swiss francs ($5,160) each toward the legal costs of the UCI, WADA and CONI.

Despite the Swiss rulings published Thursday, Valverde's appeals may not be over.

His advisers said in May that any federal decision could be appealed at the European Court of Human Rights.

Valverde is the only Spanish rider who has been punished using Puerto evidence, which drove Germany's Jan Ullrich into retirement and led to a two-year ban for Italy's Ivan Basso.

Valverde never tested positive for a banned drug, but was linked to a doping ring by DNA evidence seized by police in raids on the Madrid clinic of doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

Spanish authorities frustrated the UCI by arguing that national laws left them powerless to investigate riders.

Italy's Olympic authority then matched Valverde's DNA from a Puerto blood bag containing EPO to his blood sample taken during the 2008 Tour de France when riders had a rest day in Italy.

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Alberto Contador May Quit Cycling, Mother Says - Oct 24, 2010 - 3:42:33 AM
USADA Cases Add More Layers to Cycling's Troubles - Oct 13, 2010 - 6:43:02 AM
Lab Rejects Contador's Call for Threshold Limit - Oct 12, 2010 - 1:31:47 PM
Johan Bruyneel Backs Contador's Bad Meat Defense - Oct 8, 2010 - 3:09:41 AM

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Court Upholds Alejandro Valverde's Doping Ban

Cycling News

Court Upholds Alejandro Valverde's Doping Ban

By AP and Roadcycling.com
Nov 5, 2010 - 1:26:17 AM

Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde suffered another legal defeat when Switzerland's supreme court upheld his doping bans for using the blood-boosting hormone EPO.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected Valverde's request to overturn suspensions imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

The CAS banned the 30-year-old rider until January 2012 when it ruled in favor of the International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency in May. However, the court allowed Valverde to keep his 2009 Spanish Vuelta title and other victories gained before this year.

The two organizations asked CAS to extend Valverde's ban worldwide after he was first suspended by CONI from riding in Italy.

The Italian body pursued Valverde using evidence gathered in 2006 during the Operation Puerto case after Spanish authorities refused to prosecute him.

Federal judges ordered Valverde to pay 4,000 Swiss francs ($4,130) in court costs, plus 5,000 Swiss francs ($5,160) each toward the legal costs of the UCI, WADA and CONI.

Despite the Swiss rulings published Thursday, Valverde's appeals may not be over.

His advisers said in May that any federal decision could be appealed at the European Court of Human Rights.

Valverde is the only Spanish rider who has been punished using Puerto evidence, which drove Germany's Jan Ullrich into retirement and led to a two-year ban for Italy's Ivan Basso.

Valverde never tested positive for a banned drug, but was linked to a doping ring by DNA evidence seized by police in raids on the Madrid clinic of doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

Spanish authorities frustrated the UCI by arguing that national laws left them powerless to investigate riders.

Italy's Olympic authority then matched Valverde's DNA from a Puerto blood bag containing EPO to his blood sample taken during the 2008 Tour de France when riders had a rest day in Italy.

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Court Upholds Alejandro Valverde's Doping Ban - Nov 5, 2010 - 1:26:17 AM
UCI Boss Pat McQuaid Wants Four-Year Bans for Dopers - Nov 1, 2010 - 2:23:29 PM
WADA Proposes Night Tests at Tour de France - Oct 29, 2010 - 2:55:56 AM
Alberto Contador May Quit Cycling, Mother Says - Oct 24, 2010 - 3:42:33 AM
USADA Cases Add More Layers to Cycling's Troubles - Oct 13, 2010 - 6:43:02 AM
Lab Rejects Contador's Call for Threshold Limit - Oct 12, 2010 - 1:31:47 PM
Johan Bruyneel Backs Contador's Bad Meat Defense - Oct 8, 2010 - 3:09:41 AM
Seven Spaniards Under Investigation for Doping - Oct 7, 2010 - 2:48:33 PM

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