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Tour in turmoil as Basso and Ullrich ejected
Mancebo out, too
By staff and wire reports
This report filed June 30, 2006
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Tour de France was thrown into its biggest crisis since the 1998 Festina scandal Friday following the suspensions of the men most favored to take the yellow jersey in this year's edition.[/SIZE][/FONT]
<TABLE height=159 width=240 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD width=240 height=159></TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]photo: AFP[/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]A day before the start of the race, the first since seven-time winner Lance Armstrong retired, organizers said even more riders could follow Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla in being suspended from the race by their teams.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Earlier in the day, T-Mobile suspended 1997 winner Ullrich and his Spanish teammate Sevilla when fresh evidence from the ongoing Operación Puerto doping probe in Spain - which has implicated a reported 58 riders to blood doping - was released late Thursday. (see list below)[/SIZE][/FONT]
<TABLE height=237 width=200 align=right><TBODY><TR><TD width=200 height=237></TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Riis walks to a press conference after reaching his decision...[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]photo: Casey B. Gibson[/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"I feel I'm a victim," Ullrich told ZDF television. "I am in absolute shock. It's the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my career. I can only say again that I have nothing to do with this thing."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The German's suspension was soon followed by Ivan Basso's exclusion from CSC's Tour squad. Team manager Bjarne Riis told reporters here Friday that Basso's link to the doping probe had forced the team's hand. Basso, the recent winner of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France runner-up last year, is also named on a list of 58 riders who Spanish investigators claim have been involved in blood doping.[/SIZE][/FONT]
<TABLE height=133 width=200 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD width=200 height=133></TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]... but didn't make it to the podium.[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]photo: Casey B. Gibson[/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Francisco Mancebo, who finished fourth overall last year, was also suspended by his AG2R team because his name appears on the list. The ouster of the 28-year-old Spaniard, who said to have announced his retirement, means that three of the top five finishers from last year's race would be absent.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]There are also doubts over Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan, whose Astana-Würth team was given the green light to race the Tour by the Court of Arbitration for Sport late on Thursday.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Astana is the team that has the most riders' names on the list.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]After a series of crisis meetings Friday between the recently-installed Tour director Christian Prudhomme and the AIGCP, the body which represents the managers of all the teams taking part, Prudhomme was unequivocal in the race organizers' position.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"We're happy about T-Mobile's decision to suspend Sevilla and Ullrich," said Prudhomme, who is directing his first race in place of the retired Jean-Marie Leblanc. "Last night we received official documents from the Guardia Civil (Spanish police) via the Spanish cycling federation.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"We then had a meeting with the AIGCP. During that meeting it was decided that the race's ethical code will be applied to the letter and that none of the riders suspended will be allowed to be replaced. The sporting directors of each team will now contact the riders concerned."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Tour organizers, who have been keen to avoid any repeat of 1998 when the race almost collapsed due to a major drugs scandal, are putting pressure on teams whose riders are being linked to the probe in Spain.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]CSC team manager Bjarne Riis, a Tour winner in 1996, said he personally made the decision to exclude his top rider. Basso, winner of this year's Giro d'Italia and the Tour runner-up last year, was said to be devastated when Riis told him of the decision on Friday morning.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"He accepted my decision. It's my job to take decisions, but he was very sad. He was here on the Tour because he wanted to do well," said Riis. "That was what the whole team hoped for.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"I have to think about the team, that is now the most important thing. I trust Ivan Basso, but now it is up to him and his lawyers to show he has nothing to do with this affair."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]But in the absence of conclusive proof, he would not condemn the man who has twice finished on the Tour podium.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"We need proof. We have to be careful saying things that are not 100 percent sure," Riis warned. "The investigation is going on, but how can I say he's lied to me when I cannot prove it? It's pretty normal that I have to support my riders."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Riis conceded, however, that it was a huge blow, one that could shape his future as a team manager and the futures of his riders should CSC, the sponsor, decide the negative publicity is unwelcome.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"I think it's a huge blow for everybody. I'd rather be here because Ivan has won the tour. Right now it's not the case. It's a hard situation for all of us, but this is life. But you have to stand up and face it. It's easy to sit down and cry, but you have to be responsible for your own life. The only thing I want to do is be responsible for my team.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"I have no other choice."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]T-Mobile received information implicating Ullrich, Sevilla and Rudi Pevenage from Tour organizers, including documents from the Spanish government, team spokesman Luuc Eisenga said.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]''The only thing I can tell you is that the information is clear enough and didn't leave any doubt,'' he said.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Another T-Mobile spokesman, Stefan Wagner, told Germany's n-tv television that the team was acting on information indicating ''that there was contact between the two riders and Rudi Pevenage and the Spanish doctor ... who is at the center of this doping story.''[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Asked whether T-Mobile would consider cutting ties with Ullrich completely, he replied, ''Certainly ... we are now demanding evidence of his innocence.''[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]''If this evidence can be provided, then we have a completely new situation,'' he said. ''If it cannot be provided, nothing will change about this situation.''[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Prudhomme, meanwhile, reserved special criticism for the Astaná-Würth team of Vinokourov, suggesting organizers could put further pressure on them to pull riders out.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Prudhomme said fresh evidence from Spain which arrived late Thursday was even more damning and would have condemned them in the eyes of the CAS had it been made available earlier.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"Astaná-Würth is a bit more complicated because there are so many names from that team being linked to the doping probe," added the Frenchman. "Some of those implicated are on the Tour, and some are not. To us, it looks like they have been operating a team doping policy."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]<HR>The following riders were named in the ongoing Operación Puerto doping case by Spanish investigators on Thursday
Astaná-WürthCSC
- Michele Scarponi (I)
- Marcos Antonio Serrano (Sp)
- David Etxebarria (Sp)
- Joseba Beloki (Sp)
- Angel Vicioso (Sp)
- Isidro Nozal (Sp)
- Unai Osa (Sp)
- Jaksche Joorg (G)
- Giampaolo Caruso (I)
Caisse D'Epargne-Iles Baleares
- Ivan Basso (I)
Saunier Duval
- Constantino Zaballa (Sp)
Ag2r
- Carlos Zarate (Sp)
T-Mobile
- Francisco Mancebo (Sp)
Phonak
- Jan Ullrich (G)
- Oscar Sevilla (Sp)
Communidad de Valencia
- Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Sp)
- Jose Ignacio Gutierrez (Sp)
Unibet.com
- Vicente Ballester (Sp)
- David Bernabeu (Sp)
- David Rodriguez (Sp)
- Jose Adrian Bonilla (Sp)
- Juan Gomis Lopez (Sp)
- Eladio Jimenez Sanchez (Sp)
- David Latasa (Sp)
- Ruben Plaza (Sp)
- Jose Luis Martinez (Sp)
- Manuel Llorent (Sp)
- Antonio Olmo (Sp)
- David Munoz (Sp)
- Javier Cherro (Sp)
- Javier Pascual (Sp)former rider and now an official
Riders retired or suspended for doping
- Carlos Garcia Quesada (Sp)
[/SIZE][/FONT]
- Roberto Heras (Sp)
- Angel Casero (Sp)
- Santiago Perez (Sp)
- Tyler Hamilton (USA)
- Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Sp)
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]<HR>[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Agence France Presse and The Associated Press contributed to this story.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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