Luxembourg rider undergoes third disciplinary hearing, final decision still pending
Having faced a lengthy hearing in Luxembourg yesterday evening, Frank Schleck must wait another month and a half before he knows what the final outcome will be in relation to his doping case for the diuretic Xipamide.
He will find out on January 30th what sanction he will face in relation to the positive test, which happened during this year’s Tour de France and which could draw a punishment ranging from a warning to a two year ban.
Schleck said that he was satisfied with how yesterday’s hearing went. “I could explain myself once again,” he told AFP. “I didn’t do anything wrong. The investigation continues but is not over.”
The RadioShack Nissan rider appeared for two hours before the Luxembourg Anti-Doping Agency (ALAD), having previously being heard on August 29th and October 15th. A representative of the UCI was also present.
The ALAD did not comment after the latest hearing.
In October Schleck told Wort.lu that he was optimistic at that point, likely expecting that the case would have been resolved before now. “I am very happy and I have a good feeling,” he stated then. “We put a lot of time and energy into preparing our defence. I have every confidence that the disciplinary commission will come to the correct result after our statements.”
The Luxembourg rider failed a test for the banned diuretic Xipamide after giving a sample on July 14th. His first reaction was to blame a conspiracy, stating that a third party may have been to blame. “If this analysis confirm the initial result, complaints will be filed against an unknown person for poisoning,” he stated then.
It was unclear if he was referring to a deliberate act of sabotage or the contamination of a supplement.
By the time his B sample confirmed the initial reading on July 20th, his stance had changed somewhat. “We are analysing, minute by minute, what exactly I have been doing, eating, drinking on the days before the control and on the 14th of July itself, whom I met, what materials I came in contact with, what nutritional supplements I took,” he said.
Schleck has not raced since the Tour de France and will hope that the time missed will be taken into account if he is given a suspension on January 30th.