Doping case against Tour runner-up dropped
Pereiro was second in the original Tour standings
Also In The News
|
Julio Baptista scored at both ends as Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Tottenham in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. |  |
Thursday, 25, Jan 2007 10:40
Oscar Pereiro, who finished runner-up behind American Floyd Landis in last year's Tour de France, has been cleared of doping charges by French authorities.
The decision comes after the sports governing body, the International Cycling Union, declared themselves satisfied that the Spaniard's use of salbutamol was used as part of his therapy for an asthma condition.
Pereiro had however failed to provide the documentation to prove his exemption despite the French Anti-Doping Authority (AFID) requesting them on three separate occasions since August 2006.
"It's a pity it took such a long time to receive the clearance asked for," Pierre Bordry, the organisation's president said.
Pereiro though went on the counter-attack, accusing the AFID of ruining his reputation.
"The whole thing was pathetic. I want them to apologise for the mistake and try to rectify the damage they have done," he told Spanish television channel Antena 3.
With Landis facing a two-year ban from the sport and being stripped of his title should his on-going appeal against a guilty verdict in his own doping case fail, Pereiro could yet be crowned the Tour's 2006 winner nearly nine months after the finish.