- HOT TOPICS:
- An American start for the Giro? •
- 2010 Routes: Giro | California | TdF •
- LA doc guilty on all counts
New doping investigation in Belgium
Pot Belge charge prompts Thierry Marichal to pull from Paris-Nice
The former directeur sportif of the old Belgian Lotto team is one of 19 connected with the now disbanded outfit due in court later this month on charges ranging from fraud to doping.
Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke and his wife, Lotto's secretary in 1997, could face fraud charges in connection with “irregularities” in accounts detailing the distribution of sponsorship monies from the Belgian national lottery, a judicial source revealed on Thursday.
Frederique Barbich, spokesman for the local magistrate's court, confirmed that several may be facing criminal charges in the case. "The 19 people, some linked to doping in cycling, others to embezzlement, were summoned to a private courts hearing in Tournai on March 30 and should eventually be referred to the criminal courts," Barbich said.
The team was under a cloud of suspicion the Lotto team after rider Djamolidine Abdoujaparov tested positive for the banned bronchodilator Clenbuterol during the 1997 Tour de France.
Though Abdoujaparov is not among the 19 scheduled to be questioned, seven other riders have been subpoenaed. Among them, Belgian Thierry Marichal, who now rides for Francaise des Jeux. Marichal missed the morning start at Paris-Nice Thursday after learning of the investigation. His compatriot, former Cofidis rider Peter Farazijn, has also been summoned.
Marichal is due to questioned about his involvement in the use and sale of Pot Belge, a mix of amphetamine and heroin, while Farazijn will be challenged over his possession of banned substances.
The team's doctor, trainer and pharmacist will also be investigated for having supported doping at the time. Barbich however said that he would be looking to dismiss several of the cases due to a lack of evidence.
Vandenbroucke cleared... sort of
Meanwhile, another Belgian court acquitted another Vandenbroucke. The Belgian Supreme court ordered doping charges to be dropped against Frank Vandenbroucke, because the one-time classics star had already been punished for the same offense by the UCI.
Police raided Vandenbroucke home and confiscated EPO and other drugs in 2002. He was initially sentenced to 200 hours of community service by a Belgian court but took his case all the way to Belgium's supreme court. That court ordered Belgium's court of appeals to reverse its earlier verdict.
The 32-year-old Belgian, who won the 1999 edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as well as two stages in that year's Vuelta a Espana, served a six-month suspension from the sport in 2002.
"He was acquitted on the basis that you cannot be punished for the same offense twice," a prosecution spokesman said.
