Hamilton, Jaksche suspended by cycling team
Hamilton, Jaksche suspended by cycling team
By ANDREW ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
May 9, 2007
MILAN, Italy (AP) -- Cyclists Tyler Hamilton of the U.S. and
Joerg Jaksche of Germany were suspended by their team Wednesday from
competing in the Giro d'Italia following pressure to ban riders implicated
in the Spanish doping scandal.
Hamilton, the 2004 Olympic road race champion, recently returned
to competition after serving a two-year ban for blood doping.
"The management of Tinkoff Credit Systems, as a precaution, has
decided to suspend the two riders until the relevant authorities clarify the
position of the two riders in connection with Operation Puerto," the
Italian-Russian team said in a statement.
The move came three days before the start of the Giro, one of
the world's three premier multistage tours. Hamilton and Jaksche were left
off the team because of "new circumstances and decisions made public in the
last few days," the team said.
"The decision aims to relieve the pressure that has built up
over the last few days around the Giro and the team itself, following recent
events and the position taken by some other teams," Tinkoff said.
Hamilton's and Jaksche's names turned up on a list of cyclists
who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who is
accused of running a blood-doping clinic in Madrid and is at the center of
the Spanish case.
Last year's Giro champion, Ivan Basso, and fellow Italian rider
Michele Scarponi withdrew from the race last week. Both have admitted
involvement in the Spanish scandal but deny doping. On Tuesday, Basso said
he had confessed to "attempted doping" only.
Spanish riders Costantino Zaballa and Ruben Plaza, who have also
been linked to Fuentes, were not included in Caisse d'Epargne's team for the
Giro, despite appearing on a preliminary list of racers.
Giro president Angelo Zomegnan does not want riders implicated
in the case to compete in Italy's top cycling event and has asked the
sport's governing body to provide a list of suspects ahead of Saturday's
start.
Zomegnan twice wrote to International Cycling Union president
Pat McQuaid, asking for the names of riders considered "undesirable by UCI
at the Giro, in connection with any list linked to Operation Puerto,"
Gazzetta dello Sport reported Wednesday.
"The institution has to provide the means ... (of determining)
who cannot be considered admissible at the Giro," Zomegnan said.
All riders at the Giro are expected to undergo blood tests
Thursday. The 90th edition of the race begins Saturday in Caprera, Sardinia,
and finishes in Milan on June 3.
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