A sting operation in Spain aimed at a cycling physician who possessed mass quantities of blood samples and performance enhancing drugs has caused the Tour de France to exclude its two biggest stars -- Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso -- and two dozen other riders from this year's race.
This is the biggest shock wave in recent cycling history, if not ever. We've been blogging like mad at the Podium Cafe (www.podiumcafe.com), but I'll post the skinny below.
Over a month ago, Eufemiano Fuentes, a doctor with ties to numerous top-level pro cyclists, was busted in Spain possessing drugs and blood that indicated he was running a doping ring, along with Manolo Saiz, the director of Liberty Seguros. There's been rumors of 53 "names" linked to Fuentes, with cryptic nicknames in a notebook. What happened this week is that the Spanish authorities conducting the investigation identified the names and turned them over to Tour and Cycling officials.
From what I gather, the Tour itself did not take action -- rather, the teams got together and implemented an 18-month-old pact they all took whereby no rider under suspicion of doping would be allowed to start a race. So, Ivan Basso wasn't kicked out of the Tour; his boss Bjarne Riis withdrew him. And so forth.
Some more serious cases: Jan Ullrich has not only been excluded but suspended by his team, along with his lieutenant Oscar Sevilla and boss Rudy Pevenage, with the T-Mobile team indicating they have irrefutable evidence of his guilt. Francisco Mancebo, fourth overall last year and a threat to win this year, was kicked out and has announced his retirement altogether -- he knew where this was headed, apparently.
31 riders have been identified so far, with rumors of more on the way. Stay tuned to cyclingnews.com, or come by the Podium Cafe.