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Pereiro, Valverde field tough questions
Doping questions dominate pre-Tour media opportunity
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Spanish riders Oscar Pereiro and Alejandro Valverde outright refused to answer questions about Operación Puerto in face of heated queries from journalists during a tense press conference Friday.
Despite a request from team manager Eusebio Unzue that journalists only ask queries about sport, one German journalist directly challenged Valverde to comment on a document from the Puerto files that allegedly made inferences to “Piti,” a code name that some insist could link Valverde to the Spanish doping scandal.
When Valverde stoically refused, journalists yelled out, “Answer the question – it’s a press conference!” Another journalist stood up and asked, “Why not answer such important questions in a press conference?”
For the past several months, both riders have fended off rumors and allegations that they might be implicated in the seemingly endless Puerto doping investigation in Spain.
“We are tired of all the accusations,” Valverde finally said. “What are the proofs? First, you have to have proof and then show them. We are at the end of our patience.”
Pereiro – who stands to inherit the 2006 Tour crown if beleaguered champ Floyd Landis loses his bid to fend off doping charges – said he’s weary of answering questions he characterized as “rumors.”
“I don’t understand why they keep asking the same questions. The moment that we have something official, we can respond. We cannot be denying rumors every day,” Pereiro said. “Tomorrow they might say I have four children – do I have to prove that I don’t? I would like to remind people that before being cyclists, we are humans.”
Both admitted that intense media scrutiny on both riders has been distracting at best.
“It’s difficult with this situation. It gets old to hear the same questions over and over again. All the questions are never about the Tour. I’ve responded to them all,” Pereiro said. “I’m a rider who can make a good Tour de France. It’s hard to concentrate when it’s the same questions every day, every day, ever day. Maybe we have an advantage over the other riders because we received the same questions for a long time and now it won’t be a distraction for us.”
Things finally calmed down and there were a few “sporting” questions.
Pereiro said he’s satisfied that he’s starting last in Saturday’s prologue despite not having the honor of wearing the No. 1 start bib. Tour officials refused to issue the number one bib that traditionally belongs to the defending champion because the Landis case is still unresolved.
“It’s not a problem for me not to be No. 1. I can be number 18, 23, whatever, it’s more anecdotal than anything else. For me, the most important thing is to start last in the prologue,” he said. “Besides, I am number 11. That’s twice the number one, so maybe that’s even better.”
Repeating what he’s been saying since last year, Pereiro said he refuses to act and feel like the winner of last year’s Tour until the arbitration process with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is completed. A decision is expected to come in the coming weeks.
“We’re still in the bureaucratic process. Until it’s official, I am still second,” Pereiro said. “Of course, it changed my life completely. Before what happened last year, I was a pretty unknown rider. Now I’ve gone to become more famous, to be a rider who the media wants to talk to. But at home, they still call me ‘Oscar.’”
Both picked Alexandre Vinokourov and his powerful Astana lineup as their biggest concern. Denis Menchov, Cadel Evans, Levi Leipheimer and Carlos Sastre were also cited as potential challengers.
Pereiro said he’s ready to “fight for victory” while Valverde – who’s never finished a Tour in two starts – wants first to make it to Paris.
“The last week of this Tour is the hardest. The most important thing for me is to arrive in Paris. If it’s in a good place, even better,” Valverde said. “Despite my bad luck with my health at the Dauphiné, my stomach problems have cleared up and I hope to make a strong Tour.”
What’s sure is that Valverde and Pereiro probably haven’t heard the last of the tough questions.
