Orica-GreenEdge asks Weening to confirm anti-doping statement
Australian team reacts to allegations made by Rasmussen
The Orica-GreenEdge team has asked its Dutch rider Pieter Weening to re-confirm the anti-doping statement he signed prior to joining the team in light of allegations made by his former teammate Michael Rasmussen, that all nine Rabobank riders, including Weening, doped prior to the 2007 Tour de France.
"We have been made aware of certain allegations put forward regarding Pieter Weening," an Orica-GreenEdge statement read, according to the Courier Mail.
"We have asked Pieter to fully re-confirm his legally binding written statement to the team regarding his career and these issues before and after joining the team, specifically with regards to the current allegations."
Weening and the rest of the team were required to disclose any past doping activities to the team during an external review done by Nicki Vance.
If Weening failed to disclose doping in 2007, he would not be the first Orica member to do so. Stuart O'Grady retired and admitted to using EPO when a French Senate report naming riders from the 1998 Tour de France who had positive or suspicious samples was released. Following his admission, Vance stated that she had no knowledge of O'Grady's prior doping.
The team added that Weening has "made himself fully available to any formal inquiry by the Dutch Federation and will follow up when these have been concluded, should there be a relevant reason to."
Weening raced for Rabobank for eight seasons from 2004-2011 before joining Orica-GreenEdge in 2012. A stage win in the 2005 Tour de France was his only major victory until the 2011 Giro d'Italia, when he won stage 5 to Orvieto and led the race for four stages. He won the Tour de Pologne this year.
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