Tour de France - Boonen case to be examined

Eurosport - Wed, 01 Jul 21:06:00 2009

Former world champion Tom Boonen's appeal to take part in the Tour de France will be examined on Thursday, the French Court of Arbitration for Sport has announced.

CYCLING 2009 Boonen - 0

The Belgian launched a court case against organiser Amaury Sport Organisation when it decided he could not start the Tour after testing positive for cocaine, but a judge said she could not rule on the matter, sending it before an arbitration panel of the French Olympic Committee.

"The file will be examined on Thursday and everything will be done so that we can make a decision before the start of the Tour," said a spokesperson for the French Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 28-year-old Boonen, who won the world championship in 2005, failed an out-of-competition test for cocaine in April, his second offence in 12 months after testing positive for the same substance last year. He missed last year's Tour following his first failed test.

This year, he was suspended by his Quick Step team before returning to racing last month.

An out-of-competition positive test for cocaine does not carry an automatic sanction, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

TDF LIVE at 2.30pm on Saturday on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521); Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe

Reuters

Comment 1 - 7 of 7

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. The guy done this in his leisure time ,not to enhance­ his cycling ability..OK.you shouldn,t do­ "coke",but lots of young people (and older as­ well) do ..he also likes his beer ..being a Belgian­ that is automatic!! Let Tom ride the Tour he is a great­ rider ,and all the best to him..

    From john m, on Thu 2 Jul 5:54PM

  2. It is not performance enhancing, almost to the contrary­ it will be making his job more difficult. However if­ this athlete, at the sharp end, chooses to take a drug­ not on the banned list during his own recreation then­ that is his choice, smoking and drinking are just as­ bad but although i would like them banned, they are­ also not on the banned list. I dont condone drug­ taking, but when it is flaunted and excepted as­ 'the norm' by so many 'Stars" why­ should we punish an athlete. He has served penance with­ his team in the form of suspension, let him ride the­ tour and if the officials, who i am sure, never do­ anything wrong, feel it necessary, then investigate and­ impose a penalty at a later stage, not the tour, let­ all the top men ride together and then we can truly see­ who is champ.

    From Gary, on Thu 2 Jul 4:55PM

  3. boonen should be banned then he can go get help. riders­ get banned for doping, he didnt dope but broke law by­ taking drugs and letting him ride tour sends out a­ mixed message, you cant dope but you can take drugs!!

    From veloboy22, on Thu 2 Jul 2:59PM

  4. i wish they'd just make up their minds already!
    its­ clear though! he should be banned. i hope he is.

    From noni, on Thu 2 Jul 10:08AM

  5. Ban the coke head!!!!!!! Kids watch the TDF, they are­ the future and message does it send out? once is­ stupid, but twice is blatant coke head.

    From p.lacy818, on Thu 2 Jul 9:17AM

  6. As it clearly states, "An out-of-competition­ positive test for cocaine does not carry an automatic­ sanction" so with all due respect how can ASO­ impose a ban when UCI/Belgian federation cannot and the­ only group authorised to do so (his team) has suspended­ him(which he has served). I can never condone the use­ of narcotics either on or off the banned list but the­ simple truth is as stated before. This guy has a­ problem and needs to seek help but giving him 3 weeks­ off to think about it is not the answer.

    I for one­ believe the tour will be a poorer place without Boonens­ and I cannot believe that Cavendish etc. would not­ relish the tussle in the sprint. Let sanity prevail and­ let the fun and games begin.

    From obriendonal, on Thu 2 Jul 8:10AM

  7. Hes not wanted still four omission surely before­ saturday. Liquigas and astana favourites?

    From iancampbell11, on Wed 1 Jul 11:27PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account