Fuentes' code names athlete's dogs

Valverde named, but not implicated heavily

In the ongoing doping network investigation in Spain, several clues have been used to link the now suspended riders like Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo to the accused doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. In the case of Basso, for example, investigators found the codename "Birillo" on the lists of the haematologist, accompanied by abbreviations and symbols signifying various doping practices. "Birillo" is reportedly the name of Basso's dog. Further to this, Basso was named in several telephone calls.

El País today noted that the Guardia Civil has also identified existing ties between the doctor and a person referred to as "Piti", which date back to 2004. This codename is believed to refer to Alejandro Valverde, who was riding for Kelme at the time, whose team doctor was Fuentes. But the involvement of Valverde could not be verified by other means such as notes, training plans, films of the various observation cameras, phone calls, etc. "These are insufficient elements to include them in the official report," said a Guardia Civil source.