A civil suit will be brought before the Brugge court of first instance in Belgium on Monday, February 5. Belgian papers reported on Friday that Quick.Step manager Patrick Lefevere' company Esperanza, as well as the association of ProTour teams IPCT and the management company of Tom Boonen, Celio, have decided to sue Belgian politician Jean-Marie Dedecker for damages, after he alleged on Belgian television that three of the country's top cyclists underwent doping cures in Italy in February 2006. The show broadcast on September 12, 2006, set off an investigation by the Belgian cycling federation, yet inconclusive.
Even though Dedecker did not name the cyclists, Lefevere felt that Dedecker had addressed him personally since virtually all Belgian top elite riders race for Quick.Step.
