Suspension for the former World Champion Alessandro Ballan
The International Sport, Cycling, is once again under an alleged controversy with the use of prohibited drugs by a well known sport’s stars. Inevitably, the 2010 Tour de France winner, Alberto Contador, is currently battling his way
to the Court of Arbitration for his blood samples tested positive for the use of Clenbuterol during the event.
Now, another big name of the cycling world has gained heat of the drug abuse as the former World Champion Alessandro Ballan, who currently rides for BMC, has been suspended for his unrelenting involvement to an aging doping probe. The
suspension has resulted in the exit from the team’s roster for this year’s Giro d’Italia.
According to a statement on the BMC’s official website, Ballan’s compatriot and the 2008 World Champion Mauro Santambrogio have also been suspended from the official team-list. Both riders have been under continuous investigation, known
as ‘Mantova affair’ by the Italian authorities for any potential doping links to Lampre, their former team.
The two riders will now be excluded from the competition based on the team’s anti-doping policy, as the Italian doping investigation gains steam. Both Ballan and Santambrogio have supposedly been a part of a wide drug operation based
in the city of Mantova before they turned to BMC. The Mantova affair had been, for quite some time now, centered over various Lampre's riders.
However, both Lampre and the riders have denied any involvement to the controversy and after a short suspension by the BMC team last year. Ballan was allowed to race, ahead of the Tour de Suisse and Santambrogio was also allowed to
race the Giro d’Italia, due to lack of evidence for any wrong-doing.
Any further details are yet to be announced by the respective authorities, but for the moment, the Team's President and the General Manager, Jim Ochowicz, stated that the two shall be held out of the competition, as per the US based
team’s anti-doping policy and in-accordance to the UCI’s Code of Conduct.
A statement read from the team on Monday, "Both riders have been cooperating fully with the investigation, and, as we did last year, we will respect their presumption of innocence and we expect them to continue their full support to
the authorities."
Ballan is suspected for the use of a blood booster commonly known as EPO and a Human Growth Hormone back in the year 2009. There have also been evidences of taped telephonic conversation between the cyclist and a local pharmacist on
the case.
After the Tour de France and Giro d’ Italia are considered the second biggest stage race in the cycling community, which is just around the corner starting in Turin on Saturday, May 7, 2011.
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