VALVERDE BACK UNDER ANTI-DOPING SPOTLIGHT?
Spanish newspapers have claimed that Alejandro Valverde's legal woes are far from over - at least if the World Anti-Doping Authority [WADA] is anything to do with it.
A preliminary case is apparently expected to be heard on Monday in the Court of Sports Arbitration [CAS] in Switzerland, in which WADA will demand a two-year sanction for the Spanish cyclist.
Less than a day after their Anti-Doping Congress finished in Madrid, the reports of WADA's new challenge to Valverde come hot on the heels of the UCI's failed attempt to prevent the Spaniard from racing in the World Championships.
In fact Valverde will apparently be using the same lawyers that defended him against the UCI - amongst them former Spanish Cyclist Association President, Jose Rodriguez. Just as before, legal technicalities rather than solid facts - or the lack of them - are expected to dominate proceedings.
The Spanish are expected to argue initially that there are no legal grounds for involving CAS, given that Valverde has already repeatedly been cleared of all implication in the anti-doping probe Operacion Puerto - the issue at the centre of all the controversy surrounding Valverde - by the Spanish authorities.
Should the case finally go ahead, it is expected to last well into next season.
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