More on the New Operacion Puerto Info

By Jessica | Permalink |

No Comments | May 7th, 2007 | Trackback

In yet another example of a case that will get a helluva lot uglier before it gets prettier, Alejandro Valverde is once again being tied to Operacion Puerto. According to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), Ivan Basso has admitted his involvement with OP’s Doctor Fuentes (although there isn’t a statement from Basso himself yet, as far as I can tell), and La Gazzetta dello Sport is bringing up a bunch of names from Fuentes’ lists that we’d conveniently forgotten about in the last few months - including Valverde’s.

From CyclingNews:

Ivan Basso and Alejandro Valverde are both allegedly linked to the blood bags through code names, but following examination of the bags, only Valverde’s showed traces of EPO, according to the newspaper. However, even if there were no doping products found, blood transfusion is still considered an illegal sporting practice.

And from Podium Cafe, an analysis only a lawyer could give (and I mean that in a nice way):

After sleeping on it, it occurs to me that this all shows how horribly stupid ASO are. To repeat one of my winter rants, you can’t use “under suspicion” as a legal standard. Due process exists because there isn’t any workable alternative. So now a newspaper has placed Valverde (back) under suspicion. Is he out? What if the Podium Cafe says we don’t like the looks of that Pereiro guy… is he out? Or does Dick Pound have to pronounce you guilty in an interview first?

In America and presumably a few other civilized nations, if they can’t get nine or so people locked in a secret room to agree you should be hauled into court, then they have to leave you alone. For any sort of skilled prosecutor armed with a modicum of evidence, that’s not a lot of process… but at least it’s something we can get our minds around. At the Tour, “under suspicion” is going to be whatever Christian Prudhomme says it is, and it’s a short, slippery ride from a newspaper investigation to “let’s throw out all the furriners”. But then, as Les Woodland reports in CN, being an asshole has long been part of Le Tour’s director’s job description.

Well said, Chris.

I don’t understand the science behind doping well enough to understand why Basso would be dealing with transfusions at all if he wasn’t getting EPO in the process. I’m also wary of the way the Italian press (and CONI) are saying what Basso did was so laudable, coming forward and admitting his involvement like that. I agree, it’s good that he admitted it - but he also denied it for, what, a year? How laudable is that? Believe me, I adore Ivan and I want him to come back from this a clean and strong rider - but it seems like the Italian press, which appears pretty biased to me, is doing a disservice to him by glossing over what he allegedly did. And does anyone else find it interesting that it’s clear that the Italian cycling federation still thinks Marco Pantani was doping and lying about it?

Like I said, uglier before it gets prettier.