Basso case long from over
Ivan Basso could be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if he is cleared of suspected doping at ahearing in Italy due to a lack of evidence.

A top Italian federation official told AFP Sunday at the world road cycling championships there was no concrete evidence against Basso, one of a reported 58 riders alleged to be implicated in Operación Puerto in Spain.

The Giro d’Italia winner was suspended by his CSC team a day prior to the start of the Tour de France because of supposed evidence linking him to the Spanish affair. Basso has not turned a pedal in anger since, and is facing being sacked by his team who are keen to keep their distance with the Italian as the sport launches a raft of new, ambitious anti-doping measures.

However Basso may be given fresh hope of getting back to competition. He will attend a second hearing at the Italian Olympic Committee's disciplinary board on September 29. And if Italian sports authorities do not find enough evidence to sanction the 29-year-old; the UCI would have to decide whether the evidence is strong enough for them to then seek a sanction through the Court of Aritration for Sport (CAS).

Italian official Silvio Martinello, the national federation's technical director, said the evidence on Basso from Operación Puerto amounts to very little.

"There is no real proof against Basso. I have seen the dossier that has been sent from Spain, and the only link to Basso is when his name comes up in a telephone conversation," Martinello told AFP. "In all likelihood, I think Ivan will end up going to the CAS."

UCI president Pat McQuaid said midweek the Italian authorities, and other national federations who have riders allegedly implicated in the Spanish investigation, should study the evidence well before deciding to hand downsanctions.

On Monday the UCI chief said Martinello had been wrong to comment on the case, but that if Basso were to be cleared this week in Italy the UCI would start to look at the evidence and decide on whether or not to pursue the matter.

"If Basso is not sanctioned by the authorities in Italy, then it would be up to us to study the evidence against him and decide whether or not to take the case to the CAS," McQuaid told AFP. "But the Italian federation official was wrong to comment on this dossier before the hearing has taken place. It is not his responsibility, and should not be done at this time."

McQuaid said the UCI, which has been busy launching a wide range of new anti-doping measures, was not currently in a position to say how strong the evidence against Basso was. As a result, the UCI chief could not give an indication on the possibility of taking Basso to the CAS in order to obtain a ban.

Basso's future is uncertain, as is that of Germany's Jan Ullrich. The former Tour de France winner was sacked by T-Mobile after evidence linking him to the affair, which erupted in May and revealed an alleged blood doping and doping network run by a doctor, Eufemiano Fuentes.

If the Italian is banned, he risks losing all chance of riding for a ProTour team again. Martinello said he fully supports the UCI's anti-doping measures, but stressed that "people in Italy and elsewhere don't understand what's happening in this case. Basso and Ullrich have not tested positive, but it's still not fair that they cannot compete either. You can't condemn someone if the proof does not exist."
Agence France Presse

McQuaid: Puerto is more than just cycling
UCI president Pat McQuaid has repeated his claim that the Spanish blood-doping scandal that rocked cycling this summer concerns other sports.

The investigation centered on an alleged doping network run by a Madrid doctor, Eufemiano Fuentes, who told Spanish radio Cadena Ser in July that not all the names had been revealed and that other sports were concerned such as athletics, tennis and football.

McQuaid, quoted by Monday's El Pais newspaper, said that cycling has taken a lot of unnecessary heat.

"Officially no one has told me anything but from a personal point of view I don't believe that what Fuentes did only concerns cyclists,” McQuaid said. “There must be other sports involved."

Spanish police uncovered the blood-doping network in May during their Operación Puerto inquiries but only cyclists names, such as Italy's Ivan Basso and Germany's Jan Ullrich, were revealed.

Many riders, though they had not tested positive, were barred from riding in the Tour de France in July after being named in the inquiry.
Agence France Presse

Manzano agrees
Former professional cyclist Jesus Manzano claims an international footballer was also connected with the Spanish doctor under investigation for supplying performance enhancing drugs tocyclists.

Manzano is helping investigators unravel the Operación Puerto doping scandal involving controversial Madrid-based physician Eufemiano Fuentes.

And on Monday he told German television channel ZDF that as well as dealing with top cyclists Fuentes also had as a client a high-profile footballer.

"It is a player who I do not meet that much because he is traveling a lot with his club and the national team. He is now afraid like everyone else," Manzano claimed.

Sepp Blatter, the president of football's governing body FIFA, has insisted that doping has not infiltrated football, but if Manzano's allegations are true, it could lead to an extensive investigation.

Manzano also said he knew of several top stars from athletics who had contact with Fuentes.

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich is said to have been one of Fuentes' clients allegedly receiving blood-booster EPO, steroids and human growth hormones from the physician. Ullrich, 33, was fired by T-Mobile prior to the Tour and recently had his house raided by police as the investigation continues.
Agence France Presse