Valverde banned for two years by CAS

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday banned Spain's Alejandro Valverde from cycling competitively for two years after upholding an appeal by theWorld Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI). Valverde had previously been banned from competing in Italy for the same length of time for his alleged involvement in the Operation Puerto doping scandal, which came to light following a Civil Guard investigation in 2006.

The Italian Olympic Committee banned Valverde from competing on its soil in light of a package of blood, found during the investigation, which it alleged belonged to Valverde. Due to that ban, Valverde was prevented from competing in last year's Tour de France, which passed through Italy. The president of the Committee, Gianni Petrucci, yesterday applauded the decision of CAS.

"Victory for ethics"

"My congratulations go to the CONI anti-doping prosecutor, who has always believed in the validity of his own decision and to all the bodies that have brought about this result. It is a victory for ethics and correctness."

Valverde's ban was backdated to January 1, and the Murcian rider will be stripped of his achievements since that date, including winning the Tour del Mediterráneo. CAS did not uphold the request of the UCI and theWADA to strip Valverde of his 2009 titles, but the Spaniard will automatically lose his world number one ranking as a result of the ban.

(Published by El País – June 1, 2010)