George Hincapie (US Postal) leads team captain Lance Armstrong during the 2002 Tour de France.(Image credit: AFP)
It's all about blood - performance-enhancing methods abound in pro cycling(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Expect to see Lance Armstrong in suit and tie this fall if his case goes to arbitration(Image credit: AFP Photo)
Spanish prosecutors are currently weighing up whether to open criminal proceedings against Lance Armstrong and his associates after explicit details of the group's activities were revealed in the USADA Reasoned Decision documentation.
El Pais reports that the Spanish anti-doping agency (AEA) is currently examining USADA's extensive report into "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen," with many of the illicit activities taking place in Spain.
The Spanish government did not pass anti-doping law until 2006 and so given the timing of the activities within the U.S. Postal case, the Attorney General will need to decide if there were any crimes committed against public health.
Armstrong moved from Nice, France to Girona, Spain in 2000 joining a number of his teammates including George Hincapie and Tyler Hamilton who had been there since 1997.
Two of the doctors implicated in the case, Pedro Celaya and Luis Garcia del Moral are Spanish nationals with the latter hit with a lifetime ban. Celaya chose to fight his case in arbitration. Team trainer Jose 'Pepe' Marti, another Spanish national is also contesting the charges. U.S Postal team director also lived in Valencia.
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