Liberty Seguros rider "did not know" that he was administered EPO
Nuno Ribeiro - one of Liberty Seguros' pair of Portuguese rising stars. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
Nuno Ribeiro accused his team doctors of administering him blood booster EPO-CERA without his knowledge. He won this year's Tour of Portugal, but he was later to have shown to have failed an anti-doping control August 3, prior to the event.
"I received injections without knowing what they were," the former Liberty Seguros rider told Portuguese sports newspaper O Jogo. "When you're in a team, you have to trust the persons you work with every day. You have to assume that what they do is for our best. There was no reason to doubt it."
Ribeiro was tested a two days before the beginning of the Tour of Portugal, August 5 to 16, where he won a stage and the overall classification.
"I took what the doctor in charge of the team gave me. I did not know what it was. I trusted that what they gave me was for recovery," Ribeiro, 32, continued. He did not clarify whether the team doctors were involved in organised doping.
Ribeiro also said he was sorry on behalf of his fans and assured that he wanted to come back to pro cycling as soon as possible to clear his name.
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