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Quick Step may sue to get Boonen in Tour
The Belgian Quick Step team announced Friday that it is reviewing its legal options in a final-hour bid to overturn a decision by Tour de France race organizers to ban classics specialists Tom Boonen from the 2009 edition.
Tour officials announced Thursday that Boonen would not be allowed to start the 2009 Tour on July 4, citing Boonen’s recent troubles with a second out-of-competition test for cocaine.
On Friday, Quick Step officials said they are organizing legal action, along with Boonen’s lawyers, to try to force Tour organizers to allow Boonen to race. Quick Step officials said more details would be released once a legal strategy has been mapped out.
The Tour’s announcement Thursday came somewhat as a surprise because it came on the heels of an announcement by the UCI that cycling’s governing body would not be opening disciplinary proceedings against the Belgian classics specialist.
“The UCI Management Committee has decided not to institute disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Tom Boonen for having allegedly taken cocaine out of competition, after the Belgian rider supplied a number of elements in his defense,” the statement from the UCI noted.
Another report released this week by toxicologists revealed that Boonen had only traces of cocaine in analysis of hair samples, indicating that Boonen “was not a chronic user” of cocaine.
Nonetheless, Tour organizers said it would not reflect well on the race to have Boonen competing this year.
"In the wake of Tom Boonen's recent drug test, which followed a previous positive test in 2008, the Tour de France, having spoken to representatives from his Quick Step team, can only note that the image and the behavior of Tom Boonen are incompatible with the image of the Tour de France and the image that such an exceptional champion should try to display," said ASO in a statement issued Thursday.
"In these circumstances and in order to preserve his reputation, his image and those of the Tour de France, the ASO group has decided not to accept the presence of Tom Boonen in its event."
