Director General of Spain’s Sports Council, Albert Soler, has revealed that two Spanish cyclists are about to be sanctioned for doping offences while a further five are under investigation for “abnormal haematocrit levels.”
In what is widely being seen - outside Spain at least - as a blitz against an endemic doping culture, Soler said the move is part of a new strategy to deal with the problem.
“These are shock tactics to counter what’s happening in the world of cycling,” Soler is reported as saying by Bloomberg News. “The seven were targeted with surprise drug tests after they had unusual readings in their biological passports, which monitor blood parameters like haemoglobin," he added.
Alberto Contador is not among the seven riders concerned but Soler says he will not reveal the identities of the athletes. Soler made the announcement at a conference in Madrid entitled “Do We Have a Doping Problem in Spain?” where he claimed the answer to that question was effectively yes, but that it was no worse or better than the average problem.
“The statistics tell us that Spain is about average in terms of positive doping results,” he said. “According to data from Madrid’s antidoping laboratory, in 2009 the percentage of Spaniards with adverse test results was 1.2% compared to WADA’s global figure of 1.11% meaning we are 0.09% above average."
Meanwhile Reuters reports that funding for the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (AEA) will be reduced next year as part of a series of national austerity measures being proposed by the government.
Spain's Sports Council which is responsible for the AEA, is due to lose around 8% of its funding compared to the 2010 budget, which amounts to a loss of around 14.5 million euros, the agency reports.
My 6KU, replaced everything but the front chainring over the past 5 years.
This was a very good listing of bikes for under 1,000....
Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
£4.
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
My bet is that all these tires popping off are from people with bad pressure gauges or they're simply just putting too much air in on purpose. ...