BRUSSELS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke was charged with possession of
drugs and banned performance-enhancing substances on Tuesday and ordered by a judge to stand
trial in March.
Vandenbroucke faces up to five years in prison and a fine if found guilty, Public Prosecutor
Christian Dufour said.
The cyclist has two weeks to appeal the ruling before going to trial in the Belgian town of
Termonde, said Dufour, who will prosecute the case.
Vandenbroucke's lawyer Johnny Maeschalck said his client would decide by next week whether
to appeal.
"It is too early to make a decision...(but an appeal) is not excluded," he told Reuters.
A spokesman for Vandenbroucke's current team, Fassa Bortolo, said it was too early to decide what
actions they would take.
The ruling comes nearly two years after police found morphine, the blood-boosting drug
erythropoietin (EPO) and the steroid clenbuterol in the 29-year-old's home.
Vandenbroucke's lawyers have argued that the drugs and other substances found in his home had been
decriminalised for years.
The discovery led to Vandenbroucke being fired by his Domo Farm-Frites team and banned from
competing in races in Belgium's Flanders region for six months in 2002.
The ban was lifted last March, with Vandenbroucke eventually finishing 12th on the World Cup circuit
while riding for Quick Step.