News this morning
BERN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Switzerland’s only professional cycling team, Phonak, has been denied a place on next year’s Pro Tour after losing an appeal to the International Cycling Union (UCI). The UCI’s licences commission said on Tuesday three recent doping cases involving Phonak riders had been central to the decision. Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton, involved in one of the cases, has now been sacked by Phonak, it said.
In its written judgement, the commission added that “the attitude of this team’s management to these revelations… arouses serious reservations.”
Phonak dismissed Swiss former world champion Oscar Camenzind immediately after his positive test for the banned blood booster EPO in August.
However, the team was slower to act after American Hamilton and Spain’s Santiago Perez failed a newly introduced test for blood doping, in which riders take a blood transfusion to boost their red blood cell count.
Initially saying that it would stand by both riders, Phonak questioned the validity of the new test and gathered a panel of scientists to investigate its accuracy.
The licences commission said it had been told by Phonak last week that Hamilton had now been fired, confirming weekend reports in the Swiss media.
Hamilton has twice tested positive for a blood transfusion - in Athens in August after winning the time trial gold and then after a time trial stage victory in September’s Tour of Spain.
The International Olympic Committee decided his B sample in Athens was “non-conclusive” because it had been damaged by being deep-frozen and the American kept his Olympic title.
Hamilton has also questioned the reliability of the test for blood doping and continues to express his innocence.
Perez’s contract was already due to expire in December and is not being renewed.
However, the sackings came too late for the commission which said it was only allowed to consider the evidence included in the initial licence application.
The commission added that a new draft anti-doping policy presented by Phonak during last week’s appeal was “a step in the right direction” but was also not admissible as grounds for a licence application.
Aside from the concerns over doping, the commission said that Phonak remained in violation of UCI regulations concerning image contracts.
Phonak said it would be responding to the UCI decision in a media conference scheduled later on Tuesday.
Although the UCI’s decision is now definite, the team could still appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.