Newsgroup: it.sport.ciclismo
Titolo: Basso and Ullrich accused of paying €70,000 each

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=features/2006/spanish_mag
Spanish magazine prints more details from Operación Puerto investigation
Alleges Fuentes earned €150,000; Basso and Ullrich accused of paying 
€70,000 each
By Shane Stokes
Both Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich may have insisted upon their innocence 
and are making plans for their return to racing, but more details of 
their alleged involvement with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes - the 
centre of the Operacion Puerto storm - have been published this week in 
a Spanish magazine.
According to Interviú*, Basso and Ullrich were both to be charged 
€70,000 for Fuentes’ services during the 2006 season, the riders 
appearing as ‘2 Bírilo’ and ‘1 Nibelungo’ on a document bearing the 
headers D/161 Presupuesto [budget/estimate] 2006 Ingresos.
‘5 Sevilla’, ‘17 Porras’, ‘4 Botero’ and ‘14 Hrs’ are listed opposite 
the charge of €50, 000, while ‘12 Gutí’ and ‘19 Oso’ are down to pay 
€25,000. The magazine alleges that these codenames refer to Oscar 
Sevilla, Francisco Mancebo, Santiago Botero, Roberto Heras and José 
Enrique Gutiérrez, with the identity of ‘19 Oso’ not being clarified.
These details reveal almost a parallel universe in cycling: one the one 
hand, 2006 Giro d'Italia champion Basso has been cleared to race by the 
Italian federation and has recently signed on with Discovery Channel, 
one of the world's leading pro teams. Ullrich, meanwhile, is still in a 
career limbo but he has vowed to return to racing as soon as he can. At 
the same time, leaked details alleging their involvement with Dr Fuentes 
continue to emerge, as Operacion Puerto remains an open wound for 
cycling that seemingly has no cure. Whether these details are fodder for 
sensational articles, or the documents do provide concrete evidence that 
can lead to suspensions, remains to be seen.
However, the details in the Spanish magazine article make for 
interesting reading. So far there has been no comment from any of the 
named riders, or the UCI.
Heras missed the 2006 season due to his suspension for EPO use. It is 
not specified if investigators believe this document was written prior 
to his ban.
The sheet also detailed the arrangement for 'primas', which the magazine 
said are for extra doping products. The article states that 'one of the 
cyclists of this list has explained to Interviú that the epígrafe 
"Primas" signifies that if one of them pays more money, they can receive 
even more special treatments with prohibited products created 
specifically for each sportsman."
The sheet notes the words negociar individualmente (to negotiate 
individually) opposite '17 Porras', '2 Bírilo' and '1 Nibelungo', sin 
prímas (without primes) opposite '12 Gutí' and '19 Oso', and s/modelo 
after '5 Sevilla', '4 Botero' and '14 Hrs'.
In addition, at the bottom of the list there is a question mark in the 
space for names. The second column lists a price of €110,000 and the 
third column of primas lists the words opciones: 18; Azules; Checo; Ivan 
May.
Another document pictured in the magazine is a blood test analysis from 
the 3rd of November 2005, listing the name Birillo (spelt slightly 
differently than the previous list). The magazine alleges this refers to 
a blood test taken by Basso and showing a hematocrit reading of 39%. It 
is not made clear if the investigators feel this was taken after a 
possible donation, but the level is a full 11 points off that needed to 
fail the UCI health checks.
Interviú says that Birillo was to return to Madrid in April of 2006 in 
order to receive transfusions of blood.
A third sheet is entitled gastos (costs) and includes what Interviú says 
are what Fuentes and the others earned from the treatments. Astérix 
(Fuentes, states the magazine) is down to get €150,000, MRN (the doctor 
Merino Batres) €84,000 and M-Pñas (Manos Pequeñas/small hands, who it 
says the Guardia Civil believe is Alessandro Kalc) €50,000.
Macario (allegedly Kelme-Communidad Valenciana's Ignacio Labarta) is 
also listed for €50,000, while Ali-Baba (Alberto León) €30,000 and 
Jandro (real name not given) €12,000. In a column entitled Observaciones 
(observations), the space opposite Ali-Baba €30,000 lists the words (or 
codenames) + Catalan + Dichicata.
Other expenses are also included, including Siberia (the stored blood) 
at €18,000, transp. Delicados (delicate/sensitive transport) €30,000, 
centrifuga €18,000 and viajes (travel) €10,000.
Listed on the bottom of this sheet is, once again, Primas, followed by 
the word Tour and then arrows going to 50,000 and 30,000. Giro + VTA 
(Vuelta) have arrows pointing to 30,000 and 20,000, while Mundial (world 
championships) has another arrow, followed by Ruta (road) 30,000.
In this instance the magazine says that these are extra monies the 
riders must pay if they are successful in these races. The world 
championship time trial is also listed, although this appears off the 
bottom of the photograph of the document in question. If the winner here 
is a Fuentes patient, he will pay €15,000.
Finally, the article also touches on the alleged admissions of Fuentes 
that he has treated footballers - as documented recently by Le Monde - 
and those from the world of athletics. It says that investigators have 
been unable to link either documents or phone records to the former, but 
suggests that another, unnamed doctor who was part of this network, 
dealt with the athletes.
The Le Monde article, which alleged clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, 
Valencia and Betis had worked with Fuentes, said that the document it 
had obtained had not been amongst those seized by the Spanish 
investigators. Following publication, it's understood that Real Madrid 
initiated legal proceedings again the newspaper, vehemently denying any 
involvement. That case continues.
This latest leak is likely to frustrate the UCI, which has already 
expressed its dissatisfaction with the leaking of documents from the 
investigation while it is unable to take any disciplinary action against 
those who are allegedly implicated.
* Interviú is perhaps best described as a Spanish equivalent of Playboy. 
However, although it features several pages of underdressed models, the 
news coverage is regarded as being as serious as that of other sectors 
of the press.
-- 
http://modesta.biciticino.ch
Il sito dedicato alla giovane ciclista lituana Modesta Vzesniauskaite

a Spanish magazine.
Interviů č l'equivalente spagnolo di Novella2000...
-- 
'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

 According to Interviú*, 
interviù. Andiamo. Interviù

 Cominciamo bene...
Per la verità non hai ben capito a cosa si riferisse quel 150'000.
