WielerFlits.nl, het laatste wielernieuws

Quote:
Lausanne, 16 March 2010 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal
filed by the Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde against the decision of the National Olympic
Committee of Italy (CONI) suspending him for two years from all sports events organized on
Italian soil. As a consequence, the suspension remains in force until 10 May 2011.
On 11 May 2009, the CONI Anti-Doping Tribunal suspended Alejandro Valverde for a period of
two years from all sports events organized in Italy. The CONI ordered the suspension based on
evidence found by the Italian judicial authorities. In particular, it was established that a blood
sample obtained from the athlete on 21 July 2008 at an anti-doping control organized by the
CONI on the occasion of a stage of the Tour de France 2008 (in Chiusa di Pesio) contained the
same DNA as the blood contained in a bag seized by the Spanish Guardia civil at the premises of
Dr. Fuentes in proceedings known as "Operation Puerto". The Italian judicial authorities had,
indeed, obtained, on 30 January 2009, a sample from this bag which, according to an analysis
performed by the Barcelona laboratory in 2006, contained EPO. The CONI Anti-Doping
Tribunal then stated that its anti-doping regulations had been breached on the grounds of the use
of a banned substance as well as the attempted use of a prohibited method.
On 17 June 2009, Alejandro Valverde filed an appeal with the CAS in order to request the
annulment of the CONI decision. The case was submitted to a Panel of CAS arbitrators
composed of Mr Romano Subiotto QC, United Kingdom (President), Professor Ulrich Haas,
Germany and Mr Ruggero Stincardini, Italy. A hearing took place in Lausanne on 12, 13 and 14
January 2010 during which the parties, their counsels, witnesses and experts were heard.
The CAS Panel considered that the CONI had jurisdiction to render the decision under appeal
before the CAS and that the evidence analyzed by the judicial authorities and used in the CONI
proceedings was not only admissible but also relevant and could reasonably lead to the outcome
determined by the CONI Anti-Doping Tribunal. Finally, the CAS Panel ruled that the sanction
was proportionate to the violation of the CONI regulations by Alejandro Valverde.