Time line of Operacion Puerto

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One of the blood bags from Fuentes' clinic(Image credit: AFP)

Lessons learned from a decade of Operación Puerto

Spanish anti-doping to appeal for Puerto evidence

WADA left reeling after Operacion Puerto verdict

Fuentes to reveal doping secrets for a price

Nine appeals launched against Operación Puerto verdict

Manolo Saiz: I could return to cycling

Time running out on Operación Puerto blood bags

WADA, UCI await decision in Operación Puerto appeal

Expected resolution to Operación Puerto appeals this week

UCI and WADA welcome Operacion Puerto verdict

Fuentes recognizes 'some top sports names' could be owners of Puerto blood bags

WADA, UCI in possession of Operacion Puerto blood samples

Oscar Sevilla: If it wasn't for Operacion Puerto I'd never have been as happy as I am now

WADA struggling over legality of naming Operacion Puerto athletes

The Operación Puerto case broke in the month leading up to the 2006 Tour de France with Liberty Seguros manager Manolo Saiz the first name to hit the headlines when he was arrested outside a Madrid clinic while carrying large sums of cash. A new name suddenly arose from the chatter, that of Eufemiano Fuentes. The Spaniard would eventually be outed as a major player in helping cyclists to blood dope, and was convicted on charges of crimes against public health seven years later.

Operación Puerto was as significant, if not more so, than the 1998 Festina Affair, in that it uncovered a pervasive culture of sophisticated doping going on in professional cycling, one that would only be fully revealed when the US Anti-Doping Agency looked into Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service team.Only a few athletes have been punished in the Puerto case, even though Fuentes had dozens of clients.

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June 14, 2016 marked an important date in the course of the whole affair as a judge in Spain ruled that the 211 blood bags relating to the scandal would not, as had previously been ruled, be destroyed. They are to be handed over to the authorities, including the UCI and WADA, to be analysed with the possible identification of who they belonged to, though sanctions are highly unlikely given the ten-year statute of limitations in the WADA code.

May 23, 2006: Liberty Seguros director Manolo Saiz arrested on doping charges
May 24, 2006: Spanish federation denies involvement in Saiz arrest
May 25, 2006: Liberty Seguros terminates contract
May 26, 2006: Saiz' team to continue racing, Fuentes says it was old blood, Comunidad Valenciana stays calm
May 26, 2006: Ullrich and Basso deny involvement with Fuentes
May 28, 2006: Fuentes released on bail
May 29, 2006: Ullrich talks, Jaksche unsure as to future
May 30, 2006: Sevilla admits to visiting the lab
June 1, 2006: Comunidad Valenciana DS resigns
June 2, 2006: Phonak sidelines Botero and Gutierrez
June 2, 2006: AIGCP asks Saiz and Labarta to resign
June 3, 2006: Sevilla declares his innocence, Sáiz's team becomes Astana-Würth
June 7, 2006: Interviú publishes Fuentes' drug list
June 9, 2006: Saiz steps aside
June 13, 2006: Comunidad Valenciana's Tour invite withdrawn
June 22, 2006: Astana-Würth OK for ProTour licence
June 26, 2006: Hamilton and Ullrich linked to Operación Puerto
June 26, 2006: Spanish media uncover Operación Puerto investigation details, Spanish championships not ridden after rider protest
June 27, 2006: Tour organisers confirm Astana withdrawal request
June 28, 2006: Ullrich Tour okay
June 29, 2006: More names released in Operación Puerto, Astana-Würth OK to race Tour
June 30, 2006: Ullrich, Sevilla and Pevenage suspended, The list gets longer, ASO rejects CAS decision,
June 30, 2006: Astana-Würth leaves the Tour
June 30, 2006: More riders named by UCI
June 30, 2006: More riders suspended: Basso and Mancebo out
June 30, 2006: Mancebo ends career
July 1, 2006: Fuentes' code names athlete's dogs
July 2, 2006: 38 pages of circumstantial evidence
July 7, 2006: Saiz questioned
July 9, 2006: Pevenage fired
July 21, 2006: Ullrich, Sevilla fired
July 26, 2006: National federations to receive Operación Puerto dossier
August 13, 2006: Comunidad Valenciana to stop August 20
August 15, 2006: Ullrich gets injunction, Swiss federation has papers
August 17, 2006: Former Liberty five: 2/5 cleared, others still in limbo
August 17, 2006: Swiss Cycling to hold Ullrich proceedings, AIGCP wants Phonak and Astana out now
August 19, 2006: German investigators raid doctor's office and home
August 22, 2006: Extensive doping alleged for Hamilton
August 26, 2006: Cipollini denies link to Fuentes
August 29, 2006: Basso case to be heard
August 30, 2006: Basso hearing adjourned
September 14, 2006: Ullrich's house searched in fraud investigation
September 15, 2006: USA Cycling informed about Hamilton, Austrian federation waiting on Jaksche papers
October 8, 2006: Puerto court orders Spanish federation not to act
October 27, 2006: Basso's Operación Puerto case officially shelved
October 28, 2006: Spanish federation drops Operación Puerto cases
October 29, 2006: UCI disappointed at legal limbo, vow to reopen investigation
November 3, 2006: Spanish anti-doping law passed
November 9, 2006: Discovery formally announces Basso signing
November 13, 2006: Botero cleared by federation
November 24, 2006: Swiss federation opens Ullrich disciplinary hearings
November 25, 2006: EPO found in eight bags of blood, Jaksche cleared to ride
November 26, 2006: EPO blood bags identified?, Manzano accuses Saiz attorney
November 28, 2006: Blood bags seized in Operación Puerto do not add up
November 29, 2006: Zaballa returns with Caisse d'Epargne
November 30, 2006: UCI asks for Spanish help
December 1, 2006: Sevilla and T-mobile agree to part
December 2, 2006: Operación Puerto riders called to testify
December 13, 2006: First witnesses testify in Operación Puerto
December 16, 2006: Saiz out, Unibet in ProTour
December 18, 2006: Allan Davis case closed
December 23, 2006: Polygraph confirms Manzano's claims

January 9, 2007: Spanish paper suggests link between Valverde and Fuentes
January 20, 2007: Davis on his way to ProTour team contract
March 4, 2007: Javier Pascual unemployed in Puerto fallout
March 13, 2007: Operación Puerto dismissed but UCI and riders want resolution
March 15, 2007: Puerto: prosecutors file appeal
March 21, 2007: WADA & UCI: Operación Puerto investigation not complete
April 4, 2007: Puerto blood confirmed to be Ullrich's
April 16, 2007: McQuaid says Fuentes active again
April 24, 2007: Italy collects Basso-related blood bags
April 25, 2007: ASO pushes for Puerto-related suspensions
April 29, 2007: Race orgs exclude Puerto riders, Riders sue Guardia Civil and Spanish federation head
May 1, 2007: New dossier reveals more evidence
May 1, 2007: Basso's request to leave Team Discovery Channel is granted
May 3, 2007: CONI adjourns Basso hearing, McQuaid laments lack of time to resolve Operación Puerto before Grand Tours
May 7, 2007: Basso admits involvement in Operación Puerto
May 7, 2007: No EPO in Basso's blood bags but different for Valverde
May 8, 2007: Basso: "It was only attempted doping"
May 8, 2007: Basso: "I am Birillo"
May 9, 2007: Scarponi: "I am Zapatero"
May 9, 2007: Caisse d'Epargne pulls Zaballa and Plaza from Giro
May 10, 2007: Tinkoff suspends Hamilton and Jaksche
May 15, 2007: WADA granted access to Operación Puerto case
May 15, 2007: CONI asks for Basso and Scarponi suspension
May 15, 2007: Caisse d'Epargne to investigate its Puerto suspects
May 16, 2007: Basso and Scarponi suspended
May 25, 2007: Italian paper reports Bartoli is 'Sansone'
June 16, 2007: Basso receives maximum suspension
June 19, 2007: UCI demands ProTour riders' signatures on anti-doping agreement for Tour participation
July 1, 2007: Jaksche admits taking banned substances & blood doping
July 14, 2007: Scarponi banned for 18 months
August 30, 2007: UCI says no Valverde for Worlds & initiates proceedings
September 14, 2007: Records said to show Ullrich payments to Fuentes
September 19, 2007: Spanish Federation confirms Operación Puerto dossier as unusable
September 20, 2007: Jaksche suspended for one year
September 26, 2007: Valverde cleared by Puerto judge
December 1, 2007: German court orders Fuentes testimony
December 6, 2007: Fuentes: "I am the famous cycling criminal"

January 10, 2008: CONI to hear Puerto witnesses, Austrian lab investigated
February 15, 2008: Operación Puerto reopened in Spain
April 14, 2008: Germans close Ullrich investigation, Spanish judge refuses to turn over blood to CAS
June 26, 2008: CONI drops interrogation threats for foreign riders allegedly implicated in Puerto
July 11, 2008: Valverde case: CAS suspends procedure
September 27, 2008: Schleck named as Fuentes customer
October 2, 2008: Puerto dropped by Spanish judge, again
October 2, 2008: Schleck admits Fuentes payment
October 4, 2008: Puerto dismissal appealed, again
October 17, 2008: Basso ends suspension and is back with Liquigas

January 18, 2009: Operación Puerto opened again
January 23, 2009: Caruso acquitted of Puerto involvement
February 8, 2009: Eight charged in Operación Puerto
February 19, 2009: Valverde under criminal investigation
February 20, 2009: CONI considers Valverde case while UCI awaits verdict
February 24, 2009: Spanish federation seeks access to Puerto blood bags
March 2, 2009: WADA president Fahey asks for Puerto evidence
March 13, 2009: Le Monde newspaper hit with fine over Puerto allegations
April 1, 2009: Valverde: Italy requests two-year suspension
May 1, 2009: International Cycling Union joins in on Valverde's hearing in Italy
May 5, 2009: WADA and Spanish federation join CONI and UCI on Valverde
May 11, 2009: Italian tribunal delivers Valverde two-year suspension
July 7, 2009: Swiss open proceedings against Jan Ullrich
August 2, 2009: Ullrich investigated for lying under oath
September 9, 2009: Valverde free to race until end of 2009 season
October 16, 2009: Operación Puerto delay scandalous, says McQuaid
October 17, 2009: Ullrich visited doctor Fuentes 24 times
December 3, 2009: WADA frustrated by delays in Valverde CAS cases
December 11, 2009: Operacion Puerto: case closed
December 12, 2009: WADA frustrated by Spanish courts in Puerto case

February 17, 2010: Swiss drop Ullrich doping investigation
March 26, 2010: UCI appeals Swiss decision to close Ullrich investigation
May 31, 2010: Valverde suspended for two years world-wide, keeps results
May 31, 2010: UCI welcomes Valverde suspension, says justice has been done
May 31, 2010: Valverde to fight suspension
July 8, 2010: Pévenage confesses to Operación Puerto involvement
September 27, 2010: Operacion Puerto court cases facing an end?
December 13, 2010: Fuentes indicted in Spain but out of jail

January 28, 2013: Delays mark start of Operación Puerto hearing
January 29, 2013: Ivan Basso testifies: "I've regained my dignity"
January 29, 2013: Fuentes testifies: we gave transfusions for health reasons
January 30, 2013: Operación Puerto trial: Fuentes goes on the attack
February 1, 2013: Saiz plays down his links with Fuentes in Operación Puerto
February 2, 2013: Team Blanco suspend Luis Leon Sanchez
February 5, 2013: Doubts over health standards used by Puerto defendants
February 8, 2013: Cancellara denies Dr. Fuentes links
February 9, 2013: Report: Mario Cipollini was a client of Fuentes
February 9, 2013: Cecchini denies sending Cipollini to Dr. Fuentes
February 9, 2013: Cipollini denies fresh links to Fuentes
February 11, 2013: Jaksche provides damning testimony against Fuentes and Saiz
February 12, 2013: CONI to investigate Cipollini following doping allegations
February 12, 2013: Beloki, Etxebarria and Osa deny links with Fuentes
February 12, 2013: Riis stays reticent on Operación Puerto
February 12, 2013: Report: Basso agreed to pay Fuentes $94,000 for doping
February 13, 2013: Manzano delivers shocking evidence at Puerto trial
February 15, 2013: Transfusions “could have led to deaths” says expert
February 19, 2013: Hamilton outlines doping and blood transfusion program
February 19, 2013: Contador excused from Operacion Puerto testimony
February 20, 2013: Katusha provisionally suspends Vicioso for failure to appear in Operación Puerto trial
February 20, 2013: 51 Puerto blood bags remain unlocated
March 4, 2013: Fuentes' own witness harms defence
March 12, 2013: Puerto prosecutor insists on two-year sentences for Fuentes and associates
March 15, 2013: Operación Puerto prosecutor dismantles Fuentes defense in final arguments
March 20, 2013: Report: All Operación Puerto blood bags located
March 21, 2013: Fuentes willing to give up client list
April 2, 2013: Puerto: Defense says Fuentes acted inside Spanish law
April 30, 2013: Fuentes found guilty in Operación Puerto trial
April 30, 2013: Saiz, Belda satisfied with Puerto acquittal
April 30, 2013: Spanish anti-doping to appeal for Puerto evidence
May 1, 2013: WADA left reeling after Operación Puerto verdict
May 10, 2013: UCI to appeal Puerto decision not to release blood bags for analysis
May 17, 2013: Madrid prosecutor to appeal Puerto verdict
August 1, 2013: Nine appeals launched against Operación Puerto verdict

January 12, 2016: Expected resolution to Operación Puerto appeals this week
February 8, 2016: Destruction of Puerto blood bags ‘would be a hard blow’ says Spain’s anti-doping head
June 14, 2016: Operación Puerto blood bags to be handed over to anti-doping authorities
June 14, 2016: UCI and WADA welcome Operación Puerto verdict
June 16, 2016: Fuentes recognizes 'some top sports names' could be owners of Puerto blood bags
June 17, 2016: Spain's Anti-Doping Head denies Puerto verdict narrowly missed WADA statute of limitations deadline
July 6, 2016: WADA, UCI in possession of Operacion Puerto blood samples
December 23, 2016: More Operacion Puerto athletes could be officially named in weeks

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