MCQUAID REVEALS HOW THE UCI CAUGHT SELLA

UCI president Pat McQuaid has revealed that the doping investigators went after Emanuele Sella, specifically targeting him for the new 3G form of EPO called CERA.

?It?s a painful process and some riders still haven?t realised they can?t get away with doping anymore but they?re getting caught and now we?ve got another one,? McQuaid told Cycling Weekly before travelling to Beijing.

?This was a targeted control that was done on July 23 just a few days after the positives in the Tour de France. We sent the sample to Paris for testing for CERA. The decision to do the test was based on specific information. I don?t know exactly what but it could include anomalies with whereabouts information, suspicious performances and information from other people. It wasn?t rocket science after seeing Sella?s performances in the mountains that something wasn?t right.?

McQuaid, tried to see the long-term good of yet another high-profile Italian rider being caught.

?This is another annoying and disappointing moment for cycling but it?s also good for long-term future of the sport,? he said.

?Sadly there?s still a culture of doping in some countries but that has to change. There are riders who have been told by pseudo-doctors and chemists that this new drugs CERA isn?t detectible but they?ve been proved wrong.?

McQuaid admitted that further positive tests could emerge in the future as other samples are tested for CERA. McQuaid revealed that Sella?s urine samples from the Giro d?Italia could now be sent to Paris for testing for CERA.

If they turn out to be positive, Sella would then lose his three stage victories, his best climber?s prize and sixth overall. The Giro tests could also be considered a separate doping offence and so he could be banned for a total of four years.

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