Valverde may be suspended

[rich p]

from Cyclingnews


The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) requested a two-year suspension on Wednesday in Rome for Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde. CONI reportedly used DNA evidence to connect the 28-year-old Caisse d'Epargne rider to the Operación Puerto investigation.

Head anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri linked DNA samples taken during last year's Tour de France – from the rest day in Italy on July 21 – to blood seized in the Operación Puerto investigation. In May 2006, Spanish Guardia Civil had seized coded blood bags during its raid on the offices of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. (Read EPO blood bags attributed to code names.)

A few months ago, Torri summonsed Valverde to appear in Rome based on the evidence. Valverde, with Italian lawyer Frederico Cecconi, met Torri on February 19.

CONI sent its recommended suspension to the Italian anti-doping tribunal. The tribunal should make its ruling in the coming weeks. Valverde will likely appeal any ruling to the Court of Arbitration

 

[Will1985]

No surprises - nice to see somebody taking action even if it isn't the Spanish authorities. Their lack of action is cause enough for me to be suspicious of any sportsman ever associated with the list....mostly Spanish of course.

Not quite sure where the jurisdiction lies here though.

 

[rich p]

Not quite sure where the jurisdiction lies here though.

No, I wondered that but if the sample was taken on Italian soil then maybe the UCI rules allow CONI to act. It'll get messy no doubt.

 

[Skip Madness]

Yes, there still is not much being clarified here. For what offence are they actually asking that he be suspended and do they have the authority to rule on it?

 

[Will1985]

If you think back to Basso, the DNA evidence linked him to bags of blood found at the clinic which implicated him with the intent to dope although he said he never got round to it. From the report it sounds like Valverde could be done for the same thing.

I'd like to see more of the 200 names investigated by CONI as they seem to be the only ones interested, including those outside of cycling. If athletes got wind that the Italians were systematically cross-matching DNA with Puerto samples, it would be interesting to see who might drop out of events to avoid being tested.

 

[rich p]

If you think back to Basso, the DNA evidence linked him to bags of blood found at the clinic which implicated him with the intent to dope although he said he never got round to it. From the report it sounds like Valverde could be done for the same thing.

I'd like to see more of the 200 names investigated by CONI as they seem to be the only ones interested, including those outside of cycling. If athletes got wind that the Italians were systematically cross-matching DNA with Puerto samples, it would be interesting to see who might drop out of events to avoid being tested.

How do they get the DNA though?

 

[Will1985]

You mean how have CONI got the results from the blood bags? Good question.
One might assume there is some collaboration with the Spanish authorities given the matching of Ullrich's DNA to bags when he retired.

 

[Keith Oates]

I Valverde's case they got the DNA sample last year when the TdF went into Italy (they took the sample on a rest day) and they carried out a "random" blood sample check!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rich p]

I know Keith but they had to match it with the DNA from Puerto somehow.

Also, Will, the problem in other sports would be matching the DNA from footballers etc if the cryptic names weren't decipherable.

 

[yello]

the problem in other sports would be matching the DNA from footballers etc if the cryptic names weren't decipherable.

I can't see that they'd be any more or less decipherable than cyclists' names. I'd dearly love to see someone other than a cyclist named. Nadal for instance, the rumours have been flying for years. Even our very own Paula Radcliffe has been suggested. The entire Spanish football team! Now I am getting fanciful! But seriously, other sports were implicated and I'd like for all to see that it's not just cycling.

 

[Steve B]

Intersting one this. DNA is only present in white blood cells, not in red blood cells. There will always be some contamination even if you spin down and extract the plasma from a blood sample however, so as soon as it becomes common practice to DNA profile samples/riders coding of doped samples in doping labs becomes obsolete. All the authorities have to do is type a 'known sample' and compare DNA profile to a coded sample to get an unambigouos match. Its gonig to be hard to explain why bags of your blood are stored even if doping cannot be proved. As to other sources of DNA - hair follicles are a good source (LA recently underwent a hair sample test I believe, although not for DNA profiling). How CONI got the known sample is not clear, but there must be some form of agreement between anti-doping groups to share info/sample results I guess.

Steve.

 

[andy_wrx]

How CONI got the known sample is not clear, but there must be some form of agreement between anti-doping groups to share info/sample results I guess.

CONI were responsible for the sampling at the Tour last year, on the couple of days it went across into Italy, hence how they got the known sample.

More interesting perhaps is how they got hold of the unknown sample, i.e. the blood bag from Puerto, from Fuentes' fridge !

The Spanish courts won't do anything about it because they've decided it's not a criminal matter, but they decided the Puerto evidence was property of the Spanish court and could not be released, didn't they ?

As for an "agreement between different anti-doping groups", maybe, but it's very patchy and in some places not very deep : it's good to see the Italians doing something about it because the Spanish federation won't do anything about it, nor UCI as usual.

There are a number of other Spanish riders implicated too of course - AC, at least one of the Sanchez...

And of course there are supposed to be quite a number of athletes/sportsmen from other sports, tennis and football specifically, but this is all rumour whilst the Puerto evidence is withheld : there certainly seems no anti-doping agreement with the authorities in those sports - after all, they're all clean, it's just cycling which has the drugs problem...

 

[rich p]

I can't see that they'd be any more or less decipherable than cyclists' names. I'd dearly love to see someone other than a cyclist named. Nadal for instance, the rumours have been flying for years. Even our very own Paula Radcliffe has been suggested. The entire Spanish football team! Now I am getting fanciful! But seriously, other sports were implicated and I'd like for all to see that it's not just cycling.

Me too but it's a bit random hoping they used easily discernible nicknames.

Rougha Nadgers pretty obvious but who is Loos Lover?

 

[Dayvo]

Really!? Wonder what Speicher's got to say about that!

She should have points deducted from last year's fantasy TdeF and the Vuelta!

And not be allowed in this year's big three, either!

 

[dellzeqq]

it would be really interesting to see this investigation reach in to Italian football. Or am I dreaming?