Museeuw, others face trial in doping scandal
(By Agence France Presse, photo credit: Graham Watson) :: Belgium's former world champion cyclist Johan Museeuw and 10 others implicated in a doping scandal are to face trial, prosecutors said Friday.Museeuw, the 1996 world road race champion, stands accused of possessing the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoeitin) and two other illegal performance-enhancers.
He was suspected of being part of a ring of drug traffickers including a veterinary surgeon, three-time world cyclo-cross champion Mario De Clerqc and eight other riders and go-betweens.
They are suspected of supplying human growth hormones, stimulants, steroids and testosterone to riders. All will now face trial after Belgian authorities decided there was enough evidence to prosecute the men.
Museeuw was given a two-year ban by the Belgian cycling federation in 2004 for being implicated in the doping affair even though the 38-year-old, who won the World Cup in 1995 and 1996, had already retired from the sport.
He was suspected of being part of a ring of drug traffickers including a veterinary surgeon, three-time world cyclo-cross champion Mario De Clerqc and eight other riders and go-betweens.
They are suspected of supplying human growth hormones, stimulants, steroids and testosterone to riders. All will now face trial after Belgian authorities decided there was enough evidence to prosecute the men.
Museeuw was given a two-year ban by the Belgian cycling federation in 2004 for being implicated in the doping affair even though the 38-year-old, who won the World Cup in 1995 and 1996, had already retired from the sport.
posted by Ryan Amirault at Friday, March 17, 2006
