Alessandro Petacchi Italy's Plan A(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Paolo Bettini Italy's Plan B(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Marco Velo with Alessandro Petacchi(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Franco Ballerini consults with one of his top men, Paolo Bettini(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Italian chiefs Alfredo Martini and Franco Ballerini(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Gli azzurri(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A fish's view of the Italian national team(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Petacchi and Anna Chiara(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Petacchi and Bugno: future and past world champions?(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Pat McQuaid looking happy(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Pat McQuaid is happy with his new role(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Hein Verbruggen has supported McQuaid from the beginning(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen, future and past UCI presidents(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Pat McQuaid the new UCI president(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The course (in red) is extended just before the start/finish(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Erik Zabel and others test out the final corner on Friday(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
At work on Friday modifying the course(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The parcours is extended just before the start/finish(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The course will now go under this bridge as part of the plan to reduce the severity of the final turn(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Alessandro Petacchi with two time World Champ Gianni Bugno(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Alessandro Petacchi with his wife Anna Chiara(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
La squadra azzurra - the Italian national team(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The UCI delegates vote during the congress on Friday(Image credit: Hernan Alvarez Macias/Cyclingnews.com)
It was all happening at the UCI congress on Friday in Madrid(Image credit: Hernan Alvarez Macias/Cyclingnews.com)
Malaysian Darshan Singh Gill announced his retirement from international cycling management in the wake of the UCI elections today(Image credit: Hernan Alvarez Macias/Cyclingnews.com)
By Shane Stokes in Madrid
Following yesterday's news that two Bulgarians, Ivaïlo Gabrovski and Bogdan Stoytchev, were excluded from the 2005 world road race championship events because they failed the UCI health check, it has been announced today that two riders from the Slovenian squad have also fallen foul of the blood tests.
Simon Spilak and Vladimir Kerkez were amongst 35 riders who underwent examination earlier on Friday, and while the other entrants from France, Italy, Australia, Kazakhstan and Slovenia were pronounced fit for competition, the two have been told they cannot start tomorrow's under 23 road race.
The medical controls test riders to ensure that their hematocrit is not above the 50% threshold. Failing the test is suggestive, rather than being seen as definitive proof, of EPO use or other blood manipulation.
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