Cycling: The world cycling association UCI has announced that anti-doping samples from 2016 and 2017 will be checked again. Due to new findings from Operation Aderlass, the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) is commissioned to do this.
The UCI responds to Operation Bloodletting documents
Operation Aderlass shook parts of the sports world in February 2019. Since then, five cross-country skiers and seven cyclists have been convicted, including the Austrians Stefan Denifl and Georg Preidler, as well as the German ex-pro Danilo Hondo. The UCI would now like to conduct further investigations based on the available documents and has commissioned the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) to do so.
UCI Notice:
“During the bloodletting investigation, and thanks to the close cooperation between the UCI and the Austrian authorities, several investigations into doping violations were launched. Several people, most of them active at the highest level, have now been penalized. The UCI would like to thank all the authorities working on the investigation and will continue to work closely with the parties concerned to protect honest athletes and guarantee clean sport.”
Who else is involved?
In addition to the three German-speaking athletes, the UCI banned the Italian Alessandro Petacchi and the Slovenians Kristijan Durasek, Kristijan Koren and Boruz Bozic. Their careers – in the case of Danilo Hondo also the coaching career with the Swiss national team – are likely to be over. Operation bloodletting was set in motion by ARD editors. A successful raid was then carried out at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, as well as at the former Milram team doctor Mark Schmidt in Erfurt. The loot: More than 40 blood bags. At least 21 athletes from five different sports should be involved. But as is so often the case, the names of the fraudsters – apart from cross-country skiing and cycling – remained secret.
The UCI asks the CADF to reanalyze samples taken in 2016 and 2017 https://t.co/YBaCzI6lNo pic.twitter.com/G9ov30RSaa
— UCI_media (@UCI_media) November 27, 2019