Quote:
From the AP:
Ullrich, Sevilla Suspended From Tour
By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer
21 minutes ago
STRASBOURG, France - Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich was suspended by his racing team Friday amid a doping scandal in Spain, forcing him out of cycling's premier race. Oscar Sevilla, Ullrich's teammate, also was suspended by the T-Mobile team.
"They will not ride in the Tour" that starts Saturday, T-Mobile spokesman Luuc Eisenga said.
The team also suspended sporting director Rudi Pevenage, he said.
Ullrich and Sevilla were among 56 cyclists named in a Spanish probe as having contact with a doctor charged in connection with alleged doping, a Spanish radio station reported Thursday.
Ullrich won the 1997 Tour de France and was a five-time runner-up. With Lance Armstrong's retirement, the German rider was considered one of the favorites for this year's race.
Tour organizers decided Tuesday that evidence against Ullrich was too limited to ask him to withdraw. On Friday, Eisenga said the team was acting on "very concrete information."
Eisenga said the team received information implicating Ullrich, Sevilla and Pevenage from Tour de France organizers, including documents from the Spanish government.
"The only thing I can tell you is that the information is clear enough and didn't leave any doubt," Eisenga said.
T-Mobile will discuss whether it would include two replacement riders on the team in place of Sevilla and Ullrich, Eisenga said. The team would also be willing to ride with only seven riders if necessary.
Spanish station Cadena SER said the Civil Guard decoded the names from notes taken by Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Other names included Italian rider Ivan Basso, American Tyler Hamilton, Spaniards Francisco Mancebo, Joseba Beloki, Roberto Heras, Santi Perez, Jose Enrique Gutierrez and Colombian Santiago Botero, the station reported. It wasn't immediately clear what Fuentes' relationship was with the cyclists.
Two Spanish cycling teams _ Astana-Wurth and Comunidad Valenciana _ have been implicated. Comunidad Valenciana had its invitation to compete in the Tour rescinded, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Thursday that the Astana-Wurth team couldn't be excluded from the race.
Hamilton said on his Web site this week that he was never been treated by the Spanish doctor, and that he had never been contacted by Spanish authorities about the case.
Currently serving a two-year ban for testing positive for blood doping at the Spanish Vuelta in September 2004, Hamilton had his gold medal from the Athens Olympics upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this week.
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