Biological Passport case set for summer conclusion
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Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Roman Kreuziger claims he passed a lie-detector test(Image credit: roman kreuziger)
Ivan Basso, Roman Kreuziger and Alberto Contador.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Roman Kreuziger joins the team after being cleared to race again(Image credit: Twitter / Radsport)
Despite being embroiled in a legal battle with the UCI about his Biological Passport, Roman Kreuziger was out training with Tinkoff-Saxo(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Roman Kreuziger and Jesus Hernandez (Tinkoff-Saxo)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed in an announcement on its website that Roman Kreuziger's appeal hearing will take place on June 10.
The Tinkoff-Saxo rider was cleared by the Czech Federation of a Biological Passport violation last September after a 15-month case but the UCI decided to appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, convinced that a clear violation exists.
Kreuziger has been able to race since being cleared but has often vented his anger at the delays in setting a date for the hearing. He could ride the Giro d'Italia before the CAS hearing, with a final verdict likely to come close to the start of the Tour de France.
He has always maintained he is innocent, with his explanation for his unusual blood values centred around a claim that he used the substitute hormone L-Thyroxine as treatment for an under-active thyroid. L-Thyroxine is not on the WADA banned list and does not require a therapeutic use exemption.
Kreuziger was provisionally suspended by the UCI during the long and drawn out affair relating to what the UCI called "very serious anomalies" in his blood values from the 2011 and 2012 Giro d'Italia, when he was part of the Astana team.
He was made aware of the UCI's Biological Passport violation investigation back in June and was promptly kept out of the Tour de France by his team. However they reinstated his race status in August with the view of him taking part in the Tour de Pologne and the Vuelta a Espana. This pushed the UCI into action with a provisional suspension quickly put in place. He was cleared on September 22 and rode for Tinkoff-Saxo at the Milan-Turin and Il Lombardia races.
The UCI's move to appeal at CAS isn't the first time a biological case has ventured to the Swiss-based sporting court. In 2011 CAS heard the case of Franco Pellizotti with the Italian rider eventually handed a two-year ban. The UCI has never lost an appeal to CAS concerning the Biological Passport.
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When asked how important the CAS case could be for the UCI and its Biological Passport, UCI president Brian Cookson dismissed some recent doubts about its validity.
"The biological passport is a wonderful tool. The only ones that seem to challenge it are the ones that fall foul of it," he said.
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