Because of the ongoing rumours in the Spanish and European press, which linked Alejandro Valverde to Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor incriminated in the so-called Operation Puerto doping affair, the Spanish federation RFEC issued a communiqué on Thursday morning at the World Championships, defending the rider and the Spanish squad at the World's.
"Without a doubt, Alejandro Valverde is not implicated in the investigations of the Guardia Civil," the statement read. Furthermore, in response to rumours that there had been positive doping results at the Vuelta a España, the federation declared that it had "no knowledge of any of the participating riders having tested positive at the controls during the Vuelta 2006," and asked the attending media representatives to support the Spanish selection at the event.
