# Franke turns over documents to German Authorities - implicates Contador in Puerto



## PDex (Mar 23, 2004)

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20070801_Germans__Documents_link_Tour_winner_to_doping.html

German authorities said yesterday they have received documents from doping expert Werner Franke that he claims show Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was involved in doping.

Franke said he has documents from last year's Operation Puerto doping investigation in Spain that show that Contador, a Spaniard who won the doping-marred Tour on Sunday, had taken HMG-Lepori as a testosterone booster and an asthma product called TGN.

"We can confirm we have received the documents, and they will be incorporated into procedures of the district attorney's office," Christian Brockert, spokesman for Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, told the Associated Press.

Brockert said the federal office will meet with the district attorney's office deemed to be responsible and assess the documents.

Contador, who rides for the Discovery Channel team, missed the 2006 Tour when his former team, Liberty, was disqualified because he and four other riders - plus the team director and doctor - were allegedly linked to Operation Puerto.

The Spanish doping investigation is one of the largest scandals in cycling history - at least 50 riders are suspected of getting sophisticated drug services, including blood doping, from a Madrid clinic.

Contador, who hasn't failed a doping test, said Saturday his name mistakenly turned up in the Puerto file.

Franke, a molecular biologist, made his reputation by researching the systematic sports doping that turned the former East Germany into an Olympic powerhouse.

In other doping news:

* Cristian Moreni, who tested positive for testosterone at the Tour de France, was called to a hearing before the Italian Olympic Committee.

Moreni will face the committee's anti-doping prosecutor on Aug. 8.

* German cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz was fired by his T-Mobile team and acknowledged he "secretly" used a testosterone gel before failing a doping test in June.

Sinkewitz admitted to "incorrect conduct" just hours after being dismissed by his team for refusing to have his backup sample tested.

T-Mobile had initially suspended Sinkewitz after he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels during training on June 8. *


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## gizzard (Oct 5, 2005)

This is good news. Anyone who believes Contador is clean is either ignorant or in denial.


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## EasyRider47 (Sep 18, 2005)

*The 2007 Tour Isn't Over Yet!*

The 2006 and 2007 Tours are going to turn out to be the longest (and most painful?) Tours ever - and perhaps as I mentioned in another thread - the "Best Moment" of the 2007 Tour is yet to come!


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

EasyRider47 said:


> The 2006 and 2007 Tours are going to turn out to be the longest (and most painful?) Tours ever - and perhaps as I mentioned in another thread - the "Best Moment" of the 2007 Tour is yet to come!


Why do you think this will have any effect on the 2007 TdF? The fact that Contador doped in the past is not a sufficient basis to take his current title away from him in the absence of evidence that he doped during the TdF, is it? Maybe it is, after all, UCI, WADA, and ASO don't appear to feel any obligation to abide by their own procedures. But it's not obvious to me why he should lose his title when he hasn't been charged with a doping offense, much less convicted, when the alleged offense occurred more than a year before the event in question, and when he has--so far as we know today--passed all doping tests administered during the event. I know due process means nothing to doping jihadists, but still.


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## EasyRider47 (Sep 18, 2005)

Maybe you should ask Ullrich, Basso and the others involved in/exposed by Operation Puerto whether Contador should have even been in the Tour?


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## Kestreljr (Jan 10, 2007)

EasyRider47 said:


> The 2006 and 2007 Tours are going to turn out to be the longest (and most painful?) Tours ever - and perhaps as I mentioned in another thread - the "Best Moment" of the 2007 Tour is yet to come!


I don't think they should award the yellow to the second place person.

I think they should just strike the name of the cheaters, and not have a winner for that year. Winning the tour is a lot more then just the fastest accumulative time. It also includes wearing yellow and defending it from attacks, using strategies to protect the rider, etc....


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

EasyRider47 said:


> Maybe you should ask Ullrich, Basso and the others involved in/exposed by Operation Puerto whether Contador should have even been in the Tour?


Is your point that due process should be ridden roughshod over because of what should have been but was not?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Let me get this straight................

Some *German* doctor finds some documents that show up mysteriously. He says he has no idea how they got into his posession. He thinks the documents have something to do with a *Spanish* cyclist racing in *France* so he turns the mysterious documents over to the *German* police.

LOL, you couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.

BTW anyone involved ever heard of "chain of custody"? 

These folks have nothing on the Keystone Kops!


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## giro_man (Oct 29, 2003)

I recalled reading that the UCI had cleared Contador of involvement with Operacion Puerto. 

There is a Velonews article dated July 26 titled: "On the list, off the list - Alberto Contador and Operación Puerto". Among other things the article indicates that:"VeloNews obtained a copy of the original 36-page document sent from the Guardia Civil to authorities in France last July. After a thorough review of the document, VeloNews found only two mentions of Contador. Neither of those two references could be linked to illicit doping products or doping practices, officials later decided."

What is now being reported in other media is that Werner Franke believes that he has the evidence that indicates the clearance of Contador was a mistake. As for why documents would now appear mysteriously in a briefcase, it seems that someone, somewhere believes that Contador requires examination and the same "justice" that has been applied to others. What all of this shows is that the credibility of cycling and its institutions is at a seriously low level of belief.


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## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

What exactly are the German police going to investigate? Even if the documents are real, they have nothing to do with Germany or any citizen or anyone in Germany.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

the 36 page document is a summary, you can find it on cycling4all. There are thousands of pages of docs relating to OP. The bigger scandal is the suppression of OP by Spanish authorities. It is incredible that some country's cycling bodies (Germany and now Italy) are acting on these documents while Spain - where OP is rooted - pretends there is no problem. 

The Contador case could be seen as relevant to ongoing cases in Germany. Besides Contador would have likely signed various code of ethics agreements that any involvement in Fuentes/OP would contradict. Pretty clear Discovery doesn't care about these so the burden is on others to enforce some level of equal treatment among the peloton.


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## Kestreljr (Jan 10, 2007)

MB1 said:


> Let me get this straight................
> 
> Some *German* doctor finds some documents that show up mysteriously. He says he has no idea how they got into his possession. He thinks the documents have something to do with a *Spanish* cyclist racing in *France* so he turns the mysterious documents over to the *German* police.
> 
> ...


Why would this be any different then a NYT reporter doing investigative journalism in Utah? It is a journalist's job to have contacts, find things out, and not reveal their sources, correct? 

After his story breaks, he then gives his evidence up to the local authorities and let the different police departments decide how to exchange things. The interactions between euro countries is in many respects very relaxed. It is not this journalist's job to jump on a plane and go to Spain.


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

MikeBiker said:


> What exactly are the German police going to investigate? Even if the documents are real, they have nothing to do with Germany or any citizen or anyone in Germany.


The one thing I can think of is sporting fraud if they have those laws on the books in Germany now and if Contador raced in Germany at some point.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

scheizer!


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

MikeBiker said:


> What exactly are the German police going to investigate? Even if the documents are real, they have nothing to do with Germany or any citizen or anyone in Germany.


I think it's a publicity stunt more than anything else. Germany as a whole is pretty pissed at cycling right now. Remember how they stopped broadcasting the Tour? Everyone is tripping over themselves to show how much more anti-doping they are than everyone else. There's a lot of that going on right now.


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## terzo rene (Mar 23, 2002)

German could also turn over the documents to other interested parties. France for example, and that one would definitely hurt.


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## BAi9302010 (Mar 7, 2002)

MB1 said:


> Let me get this straight................
> 
> Some *German* doctor


a bit of an understatement, no?.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Franke


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## bonkmiester (Sep 23, 2005)

*Werner Franke............*



BAi9302010 said:


> a bit of an understatement, no?.......
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Franke


from that wiki:

"Together with his wife, Brigitte Berendonk, once an Olympic discus thrower and shot putter, he has fought against drug abuse in sports. He assisted his wife in researching the 1991 book _Doping: From Research to Deceit_, uncovering the systematic use of dope"

she was a "former German Democratic Republic Olympic athlete Brigitte Berendonk" ...source... I wonder if she may have been a victim of their state sponsored doping policies....but her wiki incdicates she escaped to W Germany at around age 16 and doesn't elaborate...

...at any rate she has done much anti doping work and has recieved national awards in Germany..

he has a book coming out:

"Above all, the voice of Franke the whistle-blower will remain clearly audible in the German republic. The most recent revelations about doping in cycle racing and the reactions to it will no doubt become the object of Franke’s satirical skills. What is now being seen as earth-shattering news, Franke has been denouncing for many years. *In the autumn of 2007, the book (“Der verratene Sport/The Betrayed Sport”) that he wrote with SPIEGEL editor, Udo Ludwig, about doping in cycling will be published* and doubtless there are some people who are very worried about this. "

...source for above quote...

...apparently they are very well credentialed & respected...


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## svend (Jul 18, 2003)

harlond said:


> I know due process means nothing to doping jihadists, but still.



best line so far......the integrity if the anti-doping jihadists is just as suspect as the dopers
when protocol is ignored.....


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

MikeBiker said:


> What exactly are the German police going to investigate? Even if the documents are real, they have nothing to do with Germany or any citizen or anyone in Germany.


The Puerto case has several German links, among Dr. Fuentes many clients were Jan Ullrich and Jörg Jackse. Some drugs that Dr. Fuentes clients used, like Synacthen, were only availably in Germany. Also, some of Dr. Fuentes helpers worked in Germany. That is why the German police is working on the Puerto case. 

It seems that somebody in Guardia Civil in Spain is rightly angry about the Spanish cover up of the Alberto Contador case, and therefore send Dr. Franke some of the missing evidence. One wonders if the blood bag marked A.C. is missing too, and if there is more hidden evidence in the Spanish Puerto files.

-- 
Regards


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

harlond said:


> Why do you think this will have any effect on the 2007 TdF? The fact that Contador doped in the past is not a sufficient basis to take his current title away from him in the absence of evidence that he doped during the TdF, is it? Maybe it is, after all, UCI, WADA, and ASO don't appear to feel any obligation to abide by their own procedures. But it's not obvious to me why he should lose his title when he hasn't been charged with a doping offense, much less convicted, when the alleged offense occurred more than a year before the event in question, and when he has--so far as we know today--passed all doping tests administered during the event. I know due process means nothing to doping jihadists, but still.


You forget one thing; Alberto Contador signed a UCI contract before TdF were he solemnly declared he had _nothing_ to do with the Puerto case.

Since "document 31" establishes a link between Contador and Dr. Fuentes (Jörg Jackse has confirmed that it is Dr. Fuentes handwriting on Contadors dopingplan) both ASO and UCI can kick him out of the pro peleton and may even annull his TdF victory. If Contador doesn't like that, then he shouldn't have signed the UCI contract when he was in fact a Dr. Fuentes client.

-- 
Regards


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

Interesting. Gotta link to the UCI contract?


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

harlond said:


> Interesting. Gotta link to the UCI contract?


Here is the actual contract:
http://www.uci.ch/imgArchive/UCIProtour/Engagement des coureurs_EN.pdf

The wording is quite vague in my opinion, and it looks like that the UCI didn't run it through a good lawyer first, if any. 
Basically the UCI would probably loose any trial regarding paying a years salary. The UCI probably won't get far about DNA testing if the rider and his lawyer objects.

The intentions behind the declaration of not being part of the Puerto case is somewhat unclear, since there doesn't seem to be any sanctions for being a Dr. Fuentes client, unless the rider gets a standard doping sentence anyway.
But the fuzziness of the sanctions doesn't mean that there won't be any. UCI can clearly say that there has been a breach of contract if any rider is linked to the Puerto case, and since it isn't a human right to be part of the UCI Pro Tour, they can probably kick the rider out. ASO etc. may also stop inviting teams or individuals that breach the contract, at least ASO claims that they will boycut Puerto riders.

Note however, that the UCI may be part of the Contador coverup, so they may be slow to move on this case unless forced to.

-- 
Regards


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

Well, I agree with you, it is hard to say what this contract accomplishes. The only sanction it specifically mentions is payment to UCI of a year's salary (and that sanction is prospective, not retrospective). Also, the fact that the Spanish legal authorities have officially cleared him might create some serious difficulties in establishing that he is "involved in the Puerto affair" or that he committed any breach in signing this document. Finally I would note that ASO is not a party to this document, so it's not clear whether ASO could rely on an alleged breach of it to take any action. A pretty iffy basis for stripping Contador of his title, but at least it's more to the point than the rumors that many seem willing to act on.


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## terzo rene (Mar 23, 2002)

Cyclingnews has a nice non-denial denial from Contador today. The typical line about being tested often.


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## bonkmiester (Sep 23, 2005)

terzo rene said:


> Cyclingnews has a nice non-denial denial from Contador today. The typical line about being tested often.


...yes and he is tranquil too...


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

bonkmiester said:


> ...yes and he is tranquil too...


Perhaps less so today. Cycling4all says WADA will conduct an investigation of the links between Contador and Fuentes based on the documents Franke turned over.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

Dwayne Barry said:


> Perhaps less so today. Cycling4all says WADA will conduct an investigation of the links between Contador and Fuentes based on the documents Franke turned over.


And and OJ's going to look for the real killers too.


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

Dwayne Barry said:


> The one thing I can think of is sporting fraud if they have those laws on the books in Germany now and if Contador raced in Germany at some point.



"<i>Documents seized at the home of Dr Fuentes by the Guardia Civil are also being studied by German prosecutors, who are weighing up whether they can bring cases of fraudulent behaviour against a number of German nationals involved in the case."</i>

from <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-23406122-details/Now%20the%20man%20they%20hoped%20would%20save%20the%20Tour%20faces%20a%20new%20inquiry%20into%20doping%20allegations/article.do">here</a>

also interesting (or worrisome if your initials are AC and you just "won" TDF) from the same article...

<i>"Pound has confirmed that last month he was contacted by an intermediary representing a German cyclist, who wanted to discover whether he would have the chance of a reduced ban if he provided information on doping."


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

It's not so worrisome if your initials are AC and the documents indicate that your program was "nothing or the same as JJ." For anyone with an open mind, that introduces a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not Contador has anything to answer for.


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

mohair_chair said:


> It's not so worrisome if your initials are AC and the documents indicate that your program was "nothing or the same as JJ." For anyone with an open mind, that introduces a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not Contador has anything to answer for.


It appears that the Doc. #31 is not the only time Contador is identified and that he is mentioned in additional documents.


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

mohair_chair said:


> It's not so worrisome if your initials are AC and the documents indicate that your program was "nothing or the same as JJ." For anyone with an open mind, that introduces a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not Contador has anything to answer for.



only if you're assuming that he always received "nothing" and never "same as JJ", which seems unlikely. Now that JJ is talking he can presumably clear up just what "same as JJ" would/did include.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

blackhat said:


> only if you're assuming that he always received "nothing" and never "same as JJ", which seems unlikely. Now that JJ is talking he can presumably clear up just what "same as JJ" would/did include.


Why does it seem unlikely? Given the wording in the documents, it looks like even odds, either way. 

JJ is on record as saying he didn't know what anyone else was doing. Now, suddenly, he knows? And he will tell all in exchange for a lighter sentence? Again, with an open mind, ask yourself: was he lying then, or is he lying now?


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

mohair_chair said:


> Why does it seem unlikely? Given the wording in the documents, it looks like even odds, either way.
> 
> JJ is on record as saying he didn't know what anyone else was doing. Now, suddenly, he knows? And he will tell all in exchange for a lighter sentence? Again, with an open mind, ask yourself: was he lying then, or is he lying now?


if AC was to receive nothing across the board it would seem more practical to either not list him on the documents, list him only as receiving nothing or if you believe AC list him as receiving his array of vitamins he claims he got while everyone else got the hot sauce. there's no need to believe JJ regarding other's regimens, only his own. If he testifies what "same as JJ" is, you can logically conclude AC got that at some point.


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

mohair_chair said:


> Why does it seem unlikely? Given the wording in the documents, it looks like even odds, either way.
> 
> JJ is on record as saying he didn't know what anyone else was doing. Now, suddenly, he knows? And he will tell all in exchange for a lighter sentence? Again, with an open mind, ask yourself: was he lying then, or is he lying now?


I'm not sure that is accurate regarding Jaksche's comments. I believe he said he wasn't aware that some other riders were using Fuentes not that he was totally ignorant regarding the doping practices of other riders. Also there is a quote in reference to Contador specifically that some interpretations have as meaning he didn't know about Contador doping or not, but other translations have as he didn't know if Contador was doping now or not.

I agree so far what we know regarding OP is hardly damning but placed in context of the team and DS Contador was riding for it certainly doesn't look good. Regardless, it once again looks like the UCI is taking it's typical wait & see approach (or wait & ignore approach) while others do something about the doping problem.


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

Dwayne Barry said:


> I'm not sure that is accurate regarding Jaksche's comments. I believe he said he wasn't aware that some other riders were using Fuentes not that he was totally ignorant regarding the doping practices of other riders. Also there is a quote in reference to Contador specifically that some interpretations have as meaning he didn't know about Contador doping or not, but other translations have as he didn't know if Contador was doping now or not.
> 
> I agree so far what we know regarding OP is hardly damning but placed in context of the team and DS Contador was riding for it certainly doesn't look good. Regardless, it once again looks like the UCI is taking it's typical wait & see approach (or wait & ignore approach) while others do something about the doping problem.


I have read articles in which Jaksche said, straight out according to the article, he did not know what AC got or did.



cyclingnews.com said:


> But Jaksche added that Contador is the only person who knows about his own situation. "He is the only one who knows," he said.


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/jul07/jul31news2


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

blackhat said:


> if AC was to receive nothing across the board it would seem more practical to either not list him on the documents, list him only as receiving nothing or if you believe AC list him as receiving his array of vitamins he claims he got while everyone else got the hot sauce. there's no need to believe JJ regarding other's regimens, only his own. If he testifies what "same as JJ" is, you can logically conclude AC got that at some point.


Well, it's not exactly logical to discount the option represented by "nothing" on the ground that people seldom do anything impractical. Practicality is not, in fact, the most consistent aspect of human behavior.


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

harlond said:


> I have read articles in which Jaksche said, straight out according to the article, he did not know what AC got or did.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/jul07/jul31news2


FWIW, the latter quote from cyclingnews is the one that I saw comments regarding being taken out of context or not interpreted as accurately as could be. But if Jaksche says explicitly that he doesn't know than I guess he doesn't know.


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