Fuentes history

Originally Posted by limerickman

Virens Olympic performance in 1976 was phenomenal : his 5th place in the marathon only came about because better dopers (Cierpinski) managed to beat him.

Originally Posted by Gregers

I would be genuinely interested to know where you heard this about Zatopek as I have never come across any suggestion that he was ever enhanced by anything other than hard work.. The reasons why he was able to dominate in 1952 have always been well understood.

Originally Posted by Bro Deal

Shamelessly stolen from strategy on DP. This explains a lot about why the Spanish authorities are not too eager to go after Fuentes:

ZigZagged was wondering why the Spanish Sports federation would have any interest in protecting Fuentes. It's a good question, and studying Fuentes career gives a good couple of reasons. This is basically an english translation of an article from Wieleruitslagen.be, with a few additional details added. I haven't seen this in English before (seen various versions in Spanish and Swedish), so here it is for your enjoyment:

1970s
Eufemiano Fuentes has a respectable career as a 400m runner (a couple of medals). Cute fact: He was trained by Manual Pascua Piqueras - Manual's brother Luis is the trainer of Oscar Pereiro. He starts studying medicine and works with the Argentine preparatore Guillermo Laig - a known doping doctor known to have provided his athletes with among other things anabolic steroids.

1980-1984
Fuentes gets his doctoral exam (specialized in gynaecology). Manuel Pascua gets Fuentes a job in the Spanish Athletics association, where he quickly gains a reputation. In 1984, he is accused of providing athletes with doping.

1985
Fuentes start working in cycling, where he joins the team Seat-Orbea (again, Manuel Pascua helps). Here Fuentes meets Manolo Saiz.

1988
Fuentes is forced to retire from his position in the Spanish Athletics association. Reason - his girlfriend (now wife) - the athlete Cristina Perez tests positive for doping. His client - Pedro Delgado - also tests positive for probenicid during the Tour de France (which he won - by the way). Delgado is lucky - although probenicid is on IOC's list, it is not on the UCI's doping list at the time. Delgado has subsequently admitted to doping to Jorn Mader.

After two positive doping tests, Fuentes retires from sports for a couple of years and works as a private physician. He specializes in auto-transfusions and blood recovery.

1990
Fuentes returns - and joins Manolo Saiz's ONCE.

1991
Melchior Mauri (ONCE) shockingly wins the Vuelta a Espana. On the eve of one of the critical stages of the Vuelta, Fuentes is on a plane to the start city of the next day's stage and talks to a journalist. Tapping the refrigerator bag on the seat next to him, he answers the question about its contents. "Here is the key to the Vuelta".

1992
Spanish 1500m runner Fermin Cacho wins gold at the Olympics in Barcelona. His doctor... Fuentes. According to the article, Fuentes was preparatore for almost the entire Spanish athletics team during the Olympics '92.

1995-1996
Fuentes starts working with Elche CF - a Spanish second division football team. In 1996, Barcelona try to buy Fuentes into an exclusive contract. He refuses.

1998
Fuentes moves to Kelme. He collaborates there with Nicolas Terrados - a man with his fingers deep in the Festina scandal. Terrados was also the preparatore of Johann Muehlegg - the German-born Spanish cross-country skier who was busted for doping in the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.

2001
Las Palmas FC (Spain) is involved with a scandal involving large numbers of syringes found in their dressing room. Doctor in the club? Fuentes, of course. Fuentes is also alleged to be involved in the doping affairs surrounding Marco Pantani, Dario Frigo, and Giuliano Figueras.

This is the heyday of Fuentes career. Although Fuentes is the official team doctor of Kelme, he will work for anyone willing to pay. It is said in Spanish sports circles that Fuentes not only makes or breaks careers; he also decides who wins the races - especially the Vuelta. This is the year that the Spanish press acuses Fuentes of having rigged the Vuelta win in favor of Angel Casero. Fuentes wins the ensuing defamation lawsuit.

2002
Aitor Gonzalez is the surprise winner of the Vuelta. He was suspected of doping at the time, though it took 2 years before he was caught. Instead, another Kelme rider is busted for doping.

FC Barcelona again try to buy Fuentes into the club. He refuses again.

At this time, La Gazzetta dello Sport alleges that Michele Bartoli regularly travels to the Canary Islands (Fuentes office) to purchase Aranesp.

2003
Jesus Manzano falls unconscious during the Tour de France. In 2004, Manzano explains that he was the victim of a blood transfusion gone wrong and exposes Fuentes.

2004
Fuentes is forced to leave his post at Kelme. His replacement is his sister, Yolanda Fuentes.

Tyler Hamilton and sensation-of-the-year Santiago Perez test positive for blood doping. Both are clients of Eufemanio Fuentes.

2005
Francisco Mancebo tells Patrick Lefevre that he works with Fuentes in a private conversation.

Fuentes goes back to work - this time with Liberty Seguros-Wurth and Manolo Saiz. He got the job through his good friend - and LSW team doctor - Alfredo Cordova. Cordova, of course, was also involved in both the Manzano and O.P. affair. The same year, Nuño Ribeiro och Isidro Nozal get busted for abnormal blood values. Roberto Heras wins the Vuelta - and is busted for doping.

2006
Operation Puerto hits the airwaves. Initial reports suggest that at least two hundred athletes are involved in the doping network - not only Cyclists, but also Basketball (Spain is defending World Champions and was runner-up in the 2007 Euro Championship), Football, athletics, and tennis players. This was initially confirmed by Fuentes in interviews, though he subsequently shut up.

In December, Le Monde publishes an article based on papers showing that Barcelona (winner of the Champions League 2005), Real Madrid, Valencia, and Betis were all clients of Fuentes. That basically takes care of all the top Football teams in Spain. Fuentes latter denied the rumors.

2007
The case against Eufemiano Fuentes is shelved by the Spanish courts. Latter this year, Fuentes is a speaker at a seminar organized by the Spanish Sports federation on the subject of doping.

The Guardia Civil has persistently been refused access to several harddisks seized from Eufemiano Fuentes and his partners. Why? The judge has dictated that they are not a part of the investigation. At the same time, funds to the investigation by the Guardia Civil have been cut off.

Now why would "someone" not want Fuentes brought to justice? Apart from the impact a full disclosure of Fuentes network could have (if even half of what is alleged is true), one may discern other reasons.

Back in 2006, the Guardia Civil raided Fuentes apartments in Spain... but they failed to raid one location: Fuentes apartments in Gran Canaria - his primary office. As a result, the Guardia Civil seized only a fraction of Fuentes customer sheets. No doubt, Fuentes has made sure those papers are now in a very, very safe place... to be released in their entirety to interested media outlets if Fuentes is ever convicted in a trial.

It was no leak in the Spanish Law Enforcement services that allowed Le Monde access to papers indicating doping in Spanish football last year. The Guardia Civil had never seized those particular papers - Le Monde received it from Fuentes himself. I suspect that someone got the message loud and clear...

It was in the same interview, incidentally, that Eufemanio Fuentes replied to a question about his connection with Barcelona and Real Madrid saying:

"I cannot answer that. I have received death threats. I was told that if I revealed certain things, I or my family could have serious problems. I was threatened three times, and I won't be threatened a fourth time."

Originally Posted by cyclingheroes

The UCI is trying to get several op riders out via the backdoor:

Oscar Sevilla:"When I will be forced to retire, I will take action against those who are responsible"
http://www.cyclingheroes.info/id1016.html

Originally Posted by limerickman

I can understand Sevilla's annoyance - the double standard is set and some riders get processsed through the double standard and others don't.

Sevilla's problem is that he was named in OP.
His defence?
"everyone else was doping...........so why pick on me?"

What Sevilla fails to realise is that the two issues are different.


The UCI will offer up any/all riders necessary to keep the focus of their incompetence.
No rider is secure.

Originally Posted by Crankyfeet

It is tough on the pro cyclists that they are being punished ad hoc for crimes that once were condoned. However, despite machiavelian reasons why they are not admitting any blame, if UCI were to publicly admit that they helped foster the drug culture, it would open up a legal quagmire in the courts in PED cases. But maybe that is a fairer scenario for the cyclists?

Originally Posted by limerickman

Fair point :

The entire sport is in a cleft stick on this issue.
And ultimately it's the UCI's doing.

Whatever issues many of us would have about the ethical behaviour of the riders doping - it has to be acknowledged that the UCI allowed the situation to arise where they turned a blind eye to doping.

As the UCI became exposed - and in order for it to protect itself - the UCI started to offer up a few sacrificial lambs in the form of riders.
This expedient attitude of the UCI only causes more problems for itself and the sport in the longrun, in my opinion.

You now have a growing number of riders currently being squealed on by the UCI.
You have a growing number of another set of banned/suspended riders by UCI
- some of who claim that the UCI knew that they were doping all along.
And all the while you have a set of bemused sponsors or who may not know the extent of doping and who are actively considering their own investment in the sport.
And top all of this - you have a general public perception that professional cycling is a haven for dopers/junkies.

if the same situation had arisen in any other sport - the body governing the sport and the people in power would be swept away.
As it is cycling is dying by 1,000 cuts.

Originally Posted by Crankyfeet

Good post Lim.

In an ideal world, this problem would be solved expediently behind closed doors, with the UCI, the event owners, the sponsors, and the cyclists all at the table shaking hands. But unfortunately, the only way it seems that any progress can be made in ridding the sport of drugs, is through the threat of public executions.

Therein lies the dilemna. The disease of doping, that will eventually kill the sport in the long term, requires curative measures that could kill it in the short term.

Originally Posted by limerickman

Thanks :

It was mentioned here a couple of months ago - that perhaps the only viable solution might be to declare an amnesty.
I tend to agree.

Originally Posted by Leafer

Speaking of Oscar, whatever became of those videotapes that were said to be made of him and a few others involved in OP meeting with Fuentes?