Can there be a lower threshold for disqualification than "riders implicated
in a legal procedure or police investigation would not be welcome at this
year's race?" How general is that? Mere investigation as a disqualifier?
Maybe the French police will launch one on Lance in response to the book
just to turn the knife.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/jun04/jun27news
Tour decision provokes reactions
Following an announcement from the Société du Tour de France that riders
implicated in a legal procedure or police investigation would not be welcome
at this year's race, reactions have come from some of those directly
affected. Notably Danilo Di Luca (Saeco), who has himself been placed under
investigation along with a number of other cyclists in Italy. Di Luca, with
the support of his team manager Claudio Corti, has spoken out against
Jean-Marie Leblanc's decision to prevent riders in his position from riding
the Tour.
"What matters is that I have the support of my team, but something
incredible is happening: I may not be able to ride the Tour because Leblanc
doesn't want people under investigation," Di Luca commented in La Gazzetta
dello Sport.
"My house has been searched and nothing was found," he added. "I've never
tested positive, and the phone taps that involve me have not revealed
anything... I'm under investigation because they have nothing else to do.
But at the same time I wonder if those who were targeted in the Sanremo
'blitz' three years ago at the Giro will be kept out of the Tour. That's an
investigation we've heard nothing more about.
"I also wonder if Armstrong will take the start after the revelations in the
book in France, in which it's said that he has used banned substances and
which the French courts allowed to be published."
On the side of Cofidis, whose riders David Millar and Cédric Vasseur have
both been prohibited from taking the start due to their implication in judge
Richard Pallain's ongoing investigation, Vasseur has (through his lawyer)
expressed his own disappointment at the Tour mentality.
"The decision made by [Amaury Sport Organisation] is completely illegal,"
Vasseur's lawyer, Bertrand Wambecke, commented in Saturday's edition of
l'Equipe. "The presumption of innocence, based on the most sacred texts of
democracy, is put in place to prevent this sort of public stoning. If they
do this, it would mean we're in complete anarchy, and I intend to study the
possible recourse."
Vasseur remains under official investigation in Pallain's case although he
has had his team's suspension lifted. His trouble continued Saturday with an
announcement from the French cycling federation (FFC) that he would be
prohibited from starting in the national championship road race on Sunday.
According to l'Equipe, Cofidis has agreed with the FFC's decision, which
came as a result of the Tour's adopted stance issued Friday.