In an official communiqué Swiss team Phonak hearing Systems has taken a stand against Swiss newspaper's allegations against the squad, which stated that two of its riders, namely Tomasz Nose and Santos Gonzalez, have been suspended from racing because of illegal substances or too high hematocrit values. Whether or not Nose is still part of the team, remains uncertain as Cyclingnews reported previously. As to Gonzalez, Phonak announced last week that Steve Zampieri would replace him in the Team's Tour de France roster, as directeur sportif René Savary explained that the Spaniard did not "stick to the rules".
In an effort to elucidate what exactly the team's rules are, Phonak issued a statement firmly negating all of the allegations and explaining that the team's medical staff applied "an internal code of medical control" to its riders, in order to "be informed, with the biggest possible certainty, about the state of health, fitness and physical condition of the riders." The Swiss ProTeam explains that "the established parameters within the team also serve as a basis to decided whether or not a rider takes part in a race or is imposed a break in his program."
