‘Thanks, but no thanks’, Danes tell Valverde
COPENHAGEN, May 14, 2009 (AFP) – Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde, who has been banned from racing in Italy after being implicated in the Operation Puerto doping scandal, was on Thursday told that he was also not welcome in Denmark.
Valverde “will not be welcome on the Tour of Denmark if he wished to take part”, race director Jesper Worre told Danish news agency Ritzau.
“His two-year ban from racing in Italy should be applied to the entire world,” he added.
The 29-year-old Valverde was handed the two-year ban by the tribunal of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Monday which prevents him from racing on Italian territory.
He cannot take part in the Tour de France, the 16th stage of which passes through Italy’s Val D’Aosta region on July 21.
On April 1, CONI’s anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri called for Valverde to be suspended for “violating the code of the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA)”.
In February Torri claimed that a blood sample in the bag number 18 taken from the raided laboratory of the infamous doctor Eufemiano Fuentes was that of Valverde.
Valverde, who rides for Caisse d’Epargne, subsequently announced on May 6 that he was launching a lawsuit against Torri.
The rider has the backing of the Spanish justice system which has made it clear it is against any procedure brought by Italian authorities.
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