Chris Horner (RadioShack)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Chris Horner (RadioShack) crosses the finish line in Madrid(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Chris Horner's email(Image credit: radioshack)
Luca Guercilena and Christopher Horner (RadioShack - Leopard)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The RadioShack-Leopard team has criticised the Spanish anti-doping inspectors and intends to seek compensation after they apparently leaked information to the Spanish media, claiming that Vuelta a Espana winner Chris Horner had missed an early morning out of competition test requested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
The team claims that Horner did not miss the test but the problem occurred because the Spanish anti-doping inspectors had the wrong hotel address. They arrived at the team address, while Horner stayed a different hotel with his wife. It seems that by the time the correct hotel was located, the testing window had already been missed and Horner was on the way to the airport.
The team issued a screenshot copy of an apparent email exchange between Horner and USADA that shows Horner correctly updated his ADAMS whereabouts information on Sunday morning before the start of the final stage of the Vuelta, detailing the name, address and even room number of the hotel where he would stay.
It indicates that Horner wouldl travel home to Bend, Oregon in the USA, where he will be available for testing from September 17.
The statement said the communication between the Spanish Anti-doping Agency and the media violated Horner's privacy and said they will seek compensation for this matter with the responsible anti-doping agencies.
"The anti-doping inspectors from the Spanish Anti-doping Agency that were asked to do the test by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) showed up at the wrong hotel in Madrid, where the team was staying but Horner was obviously not to be found," the statement reads.
"The team believes the communication between the Spanish Anti-doping Agency and the media is a violation of the privacy of Chris Horner, especially since it comes down to a clear mistake by the tester."
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"The team asks the media to report correctly on this matter and will seek compensation for this matter with the responsible anti-doping agencies."
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
