By Antonio J. Salmerón
Alejandro Valverde will fight the UCI in an attempt to be allowed to ride the World Championships and to throw off suspicion of his involvement in the doping scandal Operación Puerto, his manager told Cyclingnews on Sunday. Francisco Sánchez Sabater, the Caisse d'Epargne rider's representative, said that Valverde will send a letter to the UCI demanding that they retract the "false accusations" which have befallen the rider after cycling's governing body placed him under formal investigation at the end of August.
The UCI claims to have additional information culled from the 6,000 page dossier from the Spanish Guardia Civil on Operación Puerto which warranted his formal investigation. However, the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) declined to open an investigation when asked by the UCI, stating that there is no new evidence.
Sabater promised that Valverde will inform the UCI of legal action claiming that the organisation is wrongly preventing him from his right to work as a professional cyclist by denying him participation at the World Championships. Valverde has already threatened to sue the UCI after it sent him an e-mail warning him of a whereabouts violation.
