WADA Wants Authorities To Reveal Names Of Cyclists Linked To Operation Puerto

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency "has called on Spanish authorities to ensure the names of athletes across all sports linked to the 2006 Operation Puerto doping scandal are revealed," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. Seven years ago, dramatic raids on laboratories, offices and apartments in the Spanish cities of Madrid, Zaragoza and El Escorial were brought forward. Lance Armstrong's former teammate, Tyler Hamilton, called it a "treasure trove" of evidence that "astonished the world." The case is now set to "reach court on Monday." The Puerto case "implicated more than 50 cyclists including Alberto Contador, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Alejandro Valverde in the use of performance-enhancing substances or practices." Valverde is the only Spanish rider who has been punished based on Puerto evidence -- he was banned for two years in '10. The German cyclist Ullrich "chose retirement in the face of the police discoveries and Italian cyclist Basso's implication led to a two-year ban" (GUARDIAN, 1/27).