Report on doping in the Danish Cycling 1998-2015 1998-2015 [original: Rapport om doping I Danks cykelsport 1998-2015] / Anti Doping Danmark. - 2015
The investigation group responsible for this report was administratively appointed by Anti Doping Denmark (ADD) and the NOC and Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF).
The Rasmussen investigation had disclosed specific information about alleged anti-doping rule violations committed by other Danish riders and leading support personnel requiring further investigation. The administrations of ADD and DIF mandated the investigation group to proceed its investigation with the aim of possibly collecting the necessary proof for the alleged violations in order to facilitate subsequent prosecution of anti-doping rule violations.
In total, 50 persons with a relation to Danish cycling from 1998 and onward have been interviewed. Among these are previous and current riders, sports directors, team directors, team owners and others. The persons have been selected based on an assessment of their relevance for the investigation and a reasonable balance between persons with former and current functions has been sought. In total, 100 hours of interviews have been conducted.
The conclusion of this investigation is that Bjarne Riis, Johnny Weltz, and Alex Pedersen and a number of Danish former riders have violated applicable anti-doping rules. ADD (who has had the prosecuting competence since 1 January 2015) would have been able to bring doping cases forward against these persons before DIF's Doping Tribunal on the basis of the findings of the investigation. However, since all of the alleged anti-doping rule violations have been committed outside the statute of limitations it is not possible for ADD to bring any of these cases forward. It should be emphasized that it is not within the mandate of the investigation to determine how the Doping Tribunal would have assessed the proof that would have been brought forward in each case and hence whether sanctions would have been imposed.
Notwithstanding the fact that no doping cases can be brought forward, the investigation group have received significant information through the interviews about patterns of a systematic doping culture in cycling. Consequently, it was decided administratively that the investigation group should continue its work with the purpose to produce and publish a report about doping in Danish cycling from the beginning of professional cycling in Denmark in 1998 until the present in 2015.
As for the team generally known as Team CSC (Currently Team Saxo Tinkoff), it is the opinion of the investigation group that the information received during this investigation about the team's former owner and leading sports director Bjarne Riis would have constituted grounds to bring forward a doping case before the Danish Doping Tribunal against Bjarne Riis for violation of anti-doping regulations in force at the time of each of the alleged violations - in particular the applicable rule about assisting anti-doping rule violations. (The current rule is the 2015 WADA Code's article 2.9 about Complicity). However, due to the statute of limitations no case will be brought forward against Bjarne Riis.
This assessment is, among other things, based on the fact that Bjarne Riis has admitted that he, as team owner and leading sports director during the period when Tyler Hamilton was employed by Team CSC, had knowledge about the fact that Tyler Hamilton was using doctor Eufemiano Fuentes for blood doping and did not take action to stop it. Additionally, Riis has admitted that in his own career as a rider, he has used blood doping and hereby has personal knowledge about blood doping practices.
Furthermore, the assessment is based on the following matters which the investigation group finds established by the information received through the interviews:
• Bjarne Riis has requested Bo Hamburger to provide EPO to Jörg Jaksche.
• A comprehensive use of cortisone without medical justification took place on Team CSC.
• In his capacity as team owner and leading sports director, Bjarne Riis had knowledge that other riders on the team besides Tyler Hamilton were using doping.
The investigation group finds that a leader is obliged to act on knowledge about anti-doping rule violations committed by employees on the team. Bjarne Riis has not fulfilled this obligation. On the contrary, he has silently accepted the use of doping and such silent acceptance from a team leader constitutes in the opinion of the investigation group a case of complicity, re. art. 2.9 in the current World Anti-Doping Code, which includes the covering up of doping offences, encouraging, aiding etc. of any type of intentional complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation.
In the opinion of the investigation group Johnny Weltz and Alex Pedersen who also silently accepted the use of doping among riders have also violated applicable anti-doping rules about complicity.
However, as team owner and leading sport director Riis had a greater responsibility than the others as he had authority to make take decisions about suspending riders who doped and report the violations to the responsible anti-doping authorities.
In the absence of statute of limitations, the investigation group also finds that there would be grounds to bring doping cases forward against a number of Danish riders who have admitted either their own doping violations or where the interviews have given the investigation group knowledge about their alleged offences.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
It is the assessment of the investigation group that without the statute of limitations, ADD would have been able to bring a case forward against Bjarne Riis forward for violation of the Danish Antidoping Regulations § 6.8 about complicity in force at the time (re. the current art. 2.9 of the 2015 WADA Code). According to the current art. 2.9, assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, conspiring, covering up or any other type of intentional complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation is prohibited.
This assessment is, among other things, based on the following:
• Bjarne Riis has admitted that he as team owner and leading sports director, while Tyler Hamilton was riding on Team CSC, had knowledge about the fact that Tyler Hamilton was working with Fuentes about blood doping, and in addition, Riis has admitted that in his career as an active rider, he has tried blood doping and thus he has personal knowledge of the mechanics of blood doping
These matters are admitted by Bjarne Riis.
• Bjarne Riis has requested Bo Hamburger to provide EPO to Jörg Jaksche
This assessment is built on the fact that Bo Hamburger's statement about this is confirmed by
Jörg Jaksche who has first-hand knowledge about the request.
• A comprehensive misuse of cortisone without medical justification took place on Team CSC.
A number of named and unnamed riders and sports directors have informed the investigation group about a widespread misuse of cortisone against the rules in cycling generally and concretely on Team CSC. Michael Rasmussen, Tyler Hamilton, Jörg Jaksche, and Alex Pedersen have all informed the investigation group that riders were provided with cortisone by the team without medical justification.
• In his capacity as team owner and leading sports director, Bjarne Riis had knowledge that other riders on the team in addition to Tyler Hamilton used doping.
This assessment is based on the fact that three other riders in addition to Hamilton - Bo Hamburger, Michael Rasmussen and Jörg Jaksche - have stated that Riis knew about their use of doping.
In addition, the statements of the three riders to the investigation group is supported by the statements of other interviewees:
Hamburger's statement is the strongest as he is backed by Alex Pedersen who has first-hand knowledge about a conversation between himself, Hamburger, and Riis which demonstrates Riis's knowledge of Hamburger's use of EPO before the result of Hamburger's doping test was available.
Johnny Weltz, who was involved in Michael Rasmussen's case about a high hematocrit level due to use of EPO and who had actual conversations about Riis about the high level, supports Michael Rasmussen's statement about Riis's knowledge of Rasmussen's use of EPO. Weltz have stated to the investigation group that he is convinced that Riis knew that Rasmussen took EPO, although this is a general observation and not a reflection of an actual conversation or episode.
Finally, Tyler Hamilton confirms having talks with Jörg Jaksche in 2007 where Jaksche and Hamilton exchanged experiences from their time with Riis and agreed that Riis behaved hypocritically by publicly denouncing them after their doping sentences. Nevertheless, Hamilton's knowledge of Riis's knowledge of Jaksche's use of doping is second hand knowledge as it comes from Jaksche himself.
The investigation group finds that actual knowledge about rules being broken gives a leader a duty to take action which Bjarne Riis has not lived up to. On the contrary, as a minimum he has silently accepted the use of doping and such silent acceptance from a team leader is in the opinion of the investigation group a case of prohibited complicity which is in breach of the Danish Anti-doping Regulations § 6.8 about complicity in force at the time (re. art. 2.9 in the current WADA Code). The same goes in the opinion of the investigation group for Johnny Weltz and Alex Pedersen, but as team owner and leading sports director Riis had a greater responsibility than the others as he as the top manager had authority to make the decisive decisions about suspending doping users and reporting them to the anti-doping authorities. Accordingly, the investigation group finds that there is a great need for strengthening the leadership of the cycling teams and the group has proposed a number of recommendations in this respect.
In conclusion, the investigation group finds that the statute of limitation in the World Anti Doping Code - and in the Danish Anti-doping Regulations - which was 8 years until 31st January 2014 and 10 years from 1st January 2015 prevent ADD from bringing forward a doping case against Bjarne Riis for an anti-doping rule violation. The same apply to Johnny Weltz and Alex Pedersen.
