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Cofidis doping trial begins in France
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British cyclist David Millar and nine others, including six current or former Cofidis riders, went on trial Monday for their alleged role in a doping scandal.
The seven cyclists are charged with "acquiring and possessing banned substances."
The other three defendants — a mechanic, a pharmacist and a former Cofidis soigneur — are accused of encouraging the riders to use drugs and supplying them with performance-enhancing drugs.
The trial, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, is expected to last a week. The defendants each face up to five years in prison and fines of 75,000 euros if convicted.
Three of the cyclists — Poland's Marek Rutkiewicz and Daniel Majewski and Massimiliano Lelli of Italy — did not show up for the hearings Monday. Lelli cited "financial reasons" for his absence, presiding judge Ghislaine Polge said. No explanation was provided for Rutkiewicz and Majewski.
The case centres on Cofidis' former soigneur, Boguslaw Madejak, a Pole who joined the team in 1997. French investigators intercepted phone calls between Madejak and two Polish Cofidis riders in which they appeared to speak in code about trafficking substances used in doping.
In January 2004, French authorities found seven vials of the performance-enhancer EPO on Rutkiewicz, who was returning from a trip to Poland. Under questioning, Rutkiewicz said Madejak's father had supplied him with the drug.
Other riders standing trial are Frenchmen Robert Sassone, Mederic Clain and Philippe Gaumont.
Investigators falsified two testimonials from another rider, Cedric Vasseur, leading to a court giving one police captain a 10-month suspended prison sentence in May.
Millar, a Scot, was banned for two years and stripped of his 2003 world-time trial title after admitting to a French judge that he used the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO. He returned to competition earlier this year after completing his suspension.
Millar admitted he had used EPO three times: once in 2001 and twice in 2003 — including at the 2003 Tour de France.
