06/30/2006

Doping Scandal

All Top Stars Banned from Tour de France

An international doping scandal is threatening to turn this year's Tour de France into a complete farce. On Friday, team managers for the 21 teams approved to take part in the world's greatest cycling event announced after a joint meeting that none of the 58 cycling professionals named in a Spanish blood doping investigation would be allowed to start the race on Saturday. No replacement riders will be nominated.

When the 98th Tour de France kicks off on Saturday in Strasbourg, 58 of the world's best cyclists will be absent from their teams. Managers for 21 of the teams registered to take part in the French cycling event declared after a meeting that all of the riders named in a Spanish blood doping investigation would be suspended from their teams. The teams also said they would not appoint replacements, meaning the starting lineups for many would be anemic.

The disturbing waves of news began on Friday morning when Germany's T-Mobile team announced it had suspended Jan Ullrich from its Tour de France cycling team because of allegations and apparent evidence linking the champion cyclist to a blood doping scandal. Ullrich's teammate, Oscar Sevilla, and trainer Rudy Pevenage have also been suspended by T-Mobile.

The T-Mobile team members are among 56 cyclists who have been named in connection with a blood doping investigation by Spanish police that has already resulted in charges against a Spanish doctor. T-Mobile said it made the decision to drop the riders because of the latest developments.

"As a result of the documents we received from the (Tour de France) directors, we are unable to work with Ullrich, Sevilla and Pevenage for the time being," team spokesman Christian Frommert said on Friday morning at a press conference. "The decision," he said, "was made jointly by the sponsor and team director Olaf Ludwig." Frommert said the documents presented by the Spanish judiciary raised doubts about the veracity of statements made by Ullrich and Sevilla.

"We just received the first real pieces of evidence," another T-Mobile spokesman, Stefan Wagner, said. "When the first suspicions arose, we asked to be shown the files. That didn't happen until today and we don't know why. But the facts contradict the assertions of innocence made by Ullrich so strongly that we had to act in order to maintain our principle of clean sports."

T-Mobile said it still intended to take part in the world's most important cycling event, and it is expected to nominate Lorenzo Bernuccia of Italy and Germany's Stephan Schreck to replace Ullrich and Sevilla.

On Thursday, a leading Spanish radio station, Cadena SER, reported that police had succeeded in decoding names on notes that were taken by the doctor. In addition to the T-Mobile cyclists, other stars have also been named including Ivan Bosso, Robert Heras, Francesco Mancebo and former T-Mobile pro Santiago Botero.

The scandal first emerged on Monday, after the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Ullrich had been connected to the blood doping investigation. According to the paper, notes and documents discovered by police in a Madrid apartment referred to six blood bottles which could possibly be tied to Ullrich -- the last dated February 20. But T-Mobile earlier this week called the deduction "highly speculative" and said Ullrich would be able to start the Tour de France's 7.1 km prologue stage in Strasbourg on Saturday.

Ullrich won cycling's most prestigious race in 1997 and has finished as runner-up five times. With seven-time winner and Ullrich spoiler Lance Armstrong in retirement, this year's race could have been Ullrich's to win.

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