UCI welcomes decision to provide access to Operation Puerto blood bags

The UCI have said that they welcome the Madrid court decision to provide access to “Operation Puerto” athlete blood bags.

It was announced earlier this week that the 211 blood bags at the centre of the 2006 anti-doping investigation would not be destroyed.

The investigation centred around the doping network established by Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes which resulted in a scandal that involved several of the world’s most famous cyclists at the time. However sportspeople from other disciplines including football and tennis have also been connected with the scandal.

Prior to the Tour de France in 2006, a number of riders including the two favourites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were expelled from the Tour prior to the start due to their link with the Operación Puerto doping case.

The ruling means that the 211 blood bags, currently stored in an anti-doping lab in Barcelona, can now be delivered to the relevant authorities for analysis and this raises the potential for the identities of additional athletes to be revealed.

The statement from the UCI is as follows:

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today welcomed the decision taken by the Madrid Court of Appeal to provide the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC), Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and the UCI with access to stored “Operation Puerto” blood and plasma bags of athletes from cycling and other sports.

UCI President Brian Cookson said: “The UCI applauds this decision. Although it is regrettable that we had to wait this long, in the end the message sent is clear.”

The UCI will now partner with WADA, the RFEC, Agencia Española de Protección de la Salud en el Deporte (AEPSAD) and CONI, to determine the legal options available with regards to analysing the blood and plasma bags; and, where applicable, pursuing anti-doping rule violations.