The man who tried to blackmail Phonak team manager Urs Freuler over the team's doping cases this season has been sentenced to 12 months prison. The man, whose name was not released, was a former amateur cycling colleague of Freuler's. He allegedly sent Freuler numerous anonymous messages threatening to make another doping case public if he did not receive 20,000 Swiss Francs.
Freuler pretended to go along with the demands, and the would-be blackmailer was arrested at the agreed-upon "handover" at the Zürich Airport. Before the police were able to arrest him, he nearly drove down a policeman, who was able to jump out of the way at the last minute. The 49 year-old was subsequently found guilty of attempted blackmail, violence and threats against the police, and major traffic violations.
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