Pro Tour 2007 - Valverde implicated in doping scandal

Eurosport - Tue, 09 Jan 16:12:00 2007

Pro Tour 2007 - Caisse d'Epargne leader Alejandro Valverde has been implicated in the Spanish doping scandal, after Madrid daily ABC reported that the cyclists' name was found by investigators in documents owned by Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor at the centre of the scandal.

CYCLING 2006 Tour de Romandie Alejandro Valverde - 0

An entry for Valverde was found in Fuentes' address book, though it had been previously put down to the fact that the pair had both worked for the Kelme team in the past.

However, it is now alleged that the two were in contact after they left the Kelme team, while a quantity of blood was confiscated, marked "Valv(Piti)," Piti being the name of Valverde's dog.

T-Mobile were linked with a move for the 26-year-old in an effort to fill the void left since the departure of Jan Ullrich, though team spokesman Stefan Wagner confirmed the transfer had broken down.

"We have spoken at length about our new team philosophy, of which the fight against doping is of primary importance," he said. "Valverde assured us that had had nothing to do with Fuentes, and then sent him the necessary documents for him to sign.

"We haven't heard anything for the last four weeks now, so that window of opportunity is now closed."

Michael FitzGerald
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