Vuelta considers retracting Comunidad Valenciana's invitation

In an interview published in the Spanish sports newspaper AS , Ignacio Ayuso, president of Vuelta a...

In an interview published in the Spanish sports newspaper AS, Ignacio Ayuso, president of Vuelta a España organiser Unipublic, said that 'Operacion Puerto' will clean up the Vuelta. Cycling is losing credibility [with the doping scandals - ed.] but there are also pros like Valverde and Mancebo who do not generate doubt.

"I have the feeling that the investigation has still not finished, that there is still more," he added. "And this increases the problem for the organisers, mainly for the Tour, which is next up." With regard to the Comunidad Valenciana team and their non-participation in the Tour de France, Ayuso said: "The Tour took that decision on the basis of the data it had at the time, but we can hope that once the secret of the investigation is lifted, we'll know the exact implication of Ignacio Labarta in the case, as well as if Comunidad Valenciana has failed to fulfil the ethical code. In this case, we will also retract our invitation."

Hedwig Kröner