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UCI reinstates Zorzoli

By Agence France Presse
Published: Mar. 27, 2006

Cycling's world governing body has reinstated the doctor who admitted supplyingdocuments to a journalist who used them in anarticle to accuse Lance Armstrong of doping.Doctor Mario Zorzoli, who works as a manager at the medical serviceof the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), was reinstated in his postMonday. Zorzoli had been provisionally suspended at the end of Februaryafter admitting he had unwittingly given the results of doping controlsto a journalist from the French sports daily L'Equipe.The journalist used them to illustrate a damning article in August 2005which alleged that seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong had testedpositive for the banned blood booster EPO six times in 1999, an accusationthat Armstrong has vehemently denied.”After an internal inquest following the episode which allowed a journalistfrom L'Equipe to obtain copies of anti-doping forms from the 1999 Tourde France, we have decided to reinstate Doctor Zorzoli," a UCI spokesmantold AFP.The UCI noted that after his suspension the widely-respected Zorzoliwas sent numerous messages of support, and even one from Armstrong himself.The now-retired American, who fought off cancer to win the first ofseven yellow jerseys in 1999, said he had no problem with Zorzoli handingover documents because he had "nothing to hide."Armstrong and the test results from 1999 are still being investigatedindependently of the UCI, by Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman, is ongoing. TheWorld Anti Doping Agency has stated however that it too could carry outits own investigation.