Cyclingnews.com reports that there is evidence that Frank Schleck was a client of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, the notorious Spanish sports doctor that offered blood doping services to a seemingly large swathe of the pro peleton (and a bunch of other sports - but that seems to have been swept neatly under the carpet). Frank Schleck is implicated as "Amigo di Birillo", Birillo being the code name for Ivan Basso. Basso of course denied involvement until sufficient evidence piled up, then accepted a ban.
The Fuentes case seems to have gone a bit cold, but the bags of blood - each labeled with a puerile codename - are still being held. It's about time these cheats got identified for once and all by DNA testing.
I'm saddened by this news - the Schleck brothers are supposed to be part of the new face of professional cycling. DNA testing would soon clear up Frank Schleck's innocence or guilt in this respect. But I bet that we see some stonewalling and evasion under the guise of personal freedom.
Frank Schleck rides for Bjarne Riis' CSC team. Bjarne "Mr 60%" Riis of course is famous for winning the tour while juiced on EPO. It's reported by cyclingnews.com that witnesses report Frank Schleck and Byarne Riis visiting Fuentes together in 2005.
In a separate move, apparently Tour de France samples from around 30 riders are being retested, principally for CERA (a form of EPO), and that this may be responsible for several withdrawals from the World Championships this weekend.
Ho hum - business as usual, I guess!