Spanish federation president wants it to end

In the wake of the doping scandal that has hit Spanish cycling this week, the Spanish federation's president, José Griñán, said that he hopes that this will be the last affair of its kind. But in the near future, "We will offer our collaboration with the police and judicial authorities in order to fight the damage done by doping."

Griñán added that out of 1,800 anti-doping controls that his federation carried out in 2005, only 12 were positive, which shows that "not all cyclists are contaminated by doping." At the same time, he recognised that, "Doping is a deeply rooted practice and very difficult to eradicate". Griñán wants to see "fewer controls, but more effective ones, that is, doping controls should take place more frequently outside competition.

"We are going to fight all the negative consequences of doping; this cannot be the end of cycling, but it's true that it will be very hard for cycling, although this sport will survive."

Although Griñán admitted that "Operacion Puerto" - the anti-doping operation that caught Manolo Saiz, among others - will be hard, "I believe that it will end these practices in cycling, although we will pay very dearly."

Finally, Griñán welcomed the introduction of a new anti-doping law in Spain: "This law will make the doping paradise in Spain disappear; enabling us to present an image completely free of doubt."

Courtesy of Antonio J. Salmerón