In what is shaping up to be the worst doping scandal in cycling history (at least since the '98 Festina affair), a number of big names are likely to be tagged in
Operacion Puerto.
Here is the latest from cyclingnews.com:
June 29/06: Cyclingnews sources say that Spanish authorities have obtained blood tests from last year's Tour and compared them to the names on this list in order to confirm the matches to the blood found in the blood bags.
El Pais has alleged that Jan Ullrich, Roberto Heras, Oscar Sevilla, Joseba Beloki, Santiago Botero, Santi Pérez, Tyler Hamilton, Quique Gutierrez and Angel Edo are all mentioned in the 500 page report that will be delivered to the Spanish Secretary of State for Sport, Jaime Lissavetsky. In addition, Spanish radio Cadena Ser mentions that Ivan Basso, Francisco Mancebo, and Rabobank riders Denis Menchov and Juan-Antonio Flecha are on the list. ...
Lissavetsky will fly to Strasbourg on Friday to meet French counterpart Jean-François Lamour to discuss the affair before the start of the Tour.
If Basso and Ulrich are both ensnared, that will leave Armstrong as the lone "dope-free" winner/leading contender of the Tour in the past decade.
Is that believable, especially in the context of L'Equipe revelations from August 2005, Greg LeMond's recent interview, and WADA's rebuttal (available on wada-ama.org, excerpt below) to the much maligned UCI-sponsored Vrijman report?
The laboratory has indicated publicly that it has no doubt whatsoever in the results of its analysis, and that no sample used for the research project was contaminated, manipulated or interfered with. There may be appropriately
stored residue still available for DNA and other further analysis.
