Mountain-bike racer Jose Antonio Hermida has been ordered home by the Spanish cycling federation just four days before the elite men’s world cross-country championships race, after documents emerged linking his name to the ongoing Operación Puerto doping investigation.

As a result of the order, Hermida left Rotorua, New Zealand, site of the 2006 World Mountain-Bike Championships, on Tuesday.

According to a statement released by Hermida, the federation made the decision after concluding that a nickname found in documents related to the doping investigation referred to Hermida.

The Spanish federation has yet to comment on the situation, and Hermida has not been sanctioned by the UCI, his national federation or his Multivan-Merida team.

Hermida earned a silver medal from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and was a favorite to challenge reigning world champ Julien Absalon of France at this year’s rainbow jersey.

This is not the first time Hermida has left a world championship race prematurely because of suspected doping. The Spaniard was forced out of the 2004 world’s in Lugano, Switzerland, after registering a 52 percent hematocrit level, which is above the allowed 50 percent level. The Spaniard claimed that he had notified the UCI of his naturally high hematocrit as early as 1997, but UCI medical officials concluded that his red-blood-cell count was not consistently above 50 percent and denied the exception.

Since a registering a high hematocrit is not considered to be a doping violation, but rather a “safety” issue, Hermida was simply ordered to take a 15-day “rest break” and was handed any additional sanction.

A Statement From Jose Antonio Hermida

On August 18th the RFEC sent me a fax requesting me to leave the National Team in New Zealand, following direct instructions given by the CSD. The main reason given by the RFEC, on behalf of the CSD, was none other but the supposed appearance of a nickname on a paper belonging to someone involved in the so-called “Operación Puerto”, a name which has been falsely and artificially attributed to me, without any consideration or certainty. The argument indicated by the CSD and the RFEC in order to suspend my participation in the MTB World Championship in New Zealand, is so absurd and beyond any sports regulation, and at the same time so harmful to me, that it has led to the initiation of the appropriate penal and civil proceedings. These legal proceedings will be undertaken against both the Secretary General of the RFEC, Mr BERMUDEZ GONZALEZ, and the RFEC itself, as well as against the responsible parties of the CSD which have participated in this political decision, given that in this case:1. There are no existing legal charges against me.
2. There are no current sanctions against me.As such, there is no data available which could place in doubt my professionalism, and even less force me to abandon an international competition. This issue has, however, initiated a series of doubts, questions and rumours regarding myself, taking advantage of the World MBT Championships and the imminent beginning of the Spanish Cycling Tour (Vuelta a España) with a clear and manifest intention of obtaining the media advantage that the communication of this decision has for both the CSD and the RFEC.