Next Tuesday June 30th the judge will decide whether the Amaury Sports Organization (ASO) can keep Belgian Tom Boonen out of this year’s Tour de France.
Boonen was caught with cocaine in his system during an out of competition doping test just after he won Paris-Roubaix for the third time. The ASO argued that the presence of Boonen in their race could damage the race’s image based on his positive drug test.
Quick-Step team manager Patrick Lefevere along with the sponsor himself, Frans De Cock, attended the hearing. Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme was also present for the arguments. The judge said the decision would be provided to the lawyers next week in writing.
The 2009 Tour de France starts on Saturday July 4th in Monaco.