Sky quits Vuelta after ailing assistant succumbs
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TEAM Sky has withdrawn from the Spanish Vuelta and is blood testing its travelling crew following the death of the team's Spanish assistant Txema Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, 43, died on Friday after a severe bacterial infection developed into sepsis.
"We thought about it long and hard and in some instances teams have continued in these sorts of circumstances," the British team's principal Dave Brailsford said yesterday.
"But there are two things, we want to pay our respects to the family and the other thing is making absolutely 100 percent sure there is no connection between the riders and what happened to Txema.
"We're making sure all the riders and staff are blood tested, doctors from a local clinic have been in and we're getting the results this afternoon."
Three Sky riders, including Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha, have withdrawn from the race with illness so far but the team said earlier in a news release that it did not think there was a link with Gonzalez's death.
The team attended the start of stage eight, a 190-kilometer ride from Villena and Xorret de Cati, yesterday, where a minute's silence was held in respect for Gonzalez, before remaining in Spain for his funeral early next week in Pamplona.
Philippe Gilbert of Belgium has the overall lead in the race, which finishes in Madrid on September 19.
Meanwhile, former Lance Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, who has accused the seven-time Tour de France winner of doping while riding for the US Postal Service team, has filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Landis won the Tour de France in 2006 but had the title stripped because of a positive drug test. This spring, he ended years of denials by admitting he took performance-enhancing drugs. He also accused Armstrong and other cyclists of doping.
Citing anonymous sources, the Journal reported in a story posted on its Website on Friday that Landis has filed a lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act. The law allows Americans to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded.
The Journal says the lawsuit is sealed, so it's not known exactly what it claims.
The newspaper said the Justice Department is weighing whether to intervene in the suit. As a whistle-blower, Landis could collect 30 percent of any money the government recovers.
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