French court won't judge Boonen case
Tom Boonen is running out of time to appeal his Tour de France ban (AFP/Getty Images)
Tom Boonen's bid to overturn a ban on him competing in next month's Tour de France has hit another barrier with the decision by a court in Nanterre, France not to hear his case.
The ex-world road race champion from Belgium was barred from the Tour by its organisers Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) following his positive test for cocaine in April, even though the drug is not a banned substance in cycling.
The cyclist's legal team decided their case stood a better chance in a civil court rather than before the French sports tribunal, in the limited time available before the race starts at Monaco on July 4.
But a court in Nanterre ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case as the agreement between ASO and competing teams was that any disputes should go before the French Olympic Committee's arbitration panel.
A statement from the Quick.Step team said they would now take the case before this body.
Boonen, who missed last year's Tour for similar reasons, still faces possible criminal charges in Belgium arising from the drug test on April 25 2009.
Boonen first tested positive for cocaine in May last year, although he escaped any criminal charges on the condition he would stay away from any future drugs scandal inside a three-year period.
© AFP & BikeRadar 2009
User Comments
There are 6 comments on this post
Showing 1 - 6 of 6 comments
-
bomberesque
Posted Tue 30 Jun, 1:47 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
*sniff*
-
giant mancp
Posted Tue 30 Jun, 2:01 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
At last! Some common sense.
-
Cllr Hodgen
Posted Tue 30 Jun, 3:22 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
All i can say is... come on CAV!!!
Isn't it a crying shame! Armstrong said something along the lines of "it's a blow for quickstep...a blow for boonen....and a blow for cycling"... lets hope Tom doesn't get a nose bleed from all the pressure! :-)
-
RENARELLO
Posted Tue 30 Jun, 4:56 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Let me get this straight. We have evidence on Boonen but are still backing him while Valverde's team dropped him in lieu of bad publicity?
Hmmm
-
nedhoey
Posted Tue 30 Jun, 8:17 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
giant mancp
Does being mean feel good?
Sense has nothing to do with it. Quickstep was foolish not to go straight to the proper
agreed upon venue for arbitration of disputes. They wasted time.
RENARELLO
No you don't have it straight.
The case against Boonen is weak and "the drug is not a banned substance in cycling." Valverde is banned from racing in Italy. The Tour passes through Italy.
Do you see the problem? Valverde is suspected of involvement with cheating.
Boonen is not.
-
RENARELLO
Posted Wed 1 Jul, 1:30 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
nedhoey,
As it is and as you say, suspected. My main quarrel is that Boonen is caught
red handed and Quick Step continues to stand by him whether it it is a banned substance or not. Caisse D' Epargne just gets a whiff of bad publicity and abandons their star rider to fend for himself. I don't like Boonen but I also don't think the ASO has a leg to stand on. Let him race and then they can bring crimanal charges against him later.
- 1
Post this story to: