Aqua Blue Sport, the former Irish ProContinental cycling team, has had some of its best results wiped from the record books after Stefan Denifl’s doping ban. The Austrian has been under investigation as part of Operation Aderlass, a blood doping probe based in Austria and German.
It is examining the activities of Dr Mark Schmidt, who is based in Germany and previously worked as a doctor with the Gerolsteiner and Milram pro cycling teams. Investigators have been examining his role in helping athletes from across several sports, including cycling and skiing, to blood dope.
Stefan Denifl was arrested in March and today news emerged he had been convicted of doping, along with former Groupama-FDJ rider Georg Preidler. They have been banned for four years, though Preidler has said he never actually blood doped.
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Instead, he says blood was taken from him with the intention of putting it back into his body at a later date, though that never happened. However, because he had intent and had taken part in an element of the doping process he confessed and has now been banned.
The two riders have also had their results for certain timeframes wiped from the record books. In the case of 31-year-old Denifl, that period stretches from June 1st, 2014, to March 5th, 2019.
That’s a near five-year period and it takes in his full period with Aqua Blue Sport. He rode for the Irish team through 2017 and until it folded in August, 2018. It means his Tour of Austria overall victory in 2017 no longer counts as a result. And his victory on stage 17 of the Vuelta later that year is also gone.
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The
UCI has issued a statement today confirming that it recognises the bans handed
down by the Austrian anti doping authorities.
“The
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) takes note of the decisions rendered by the
legal committee of the Austrian National Anti-Doping Organisation (ÖADR) in the
cases of Mr Georg Preidler and Mr Stefan Denifl which both stem from the
Aderlass investigation,” the UCI statement said.
“The
ÖADR found Mr. Preidler guilty of anti-doping rule violations for use of
prohibited method in 2018 and imposed a 4-year period of ineligibility on the
rider.
“The
results obtained by Mr. Preidler between 1 February 2018 and 5 March 2019, date
on which he has been provisionally suspended, are disqualified.
“The
same sanction (4-year period of ineligibility) was imposed on Mr Denifl for
anti-doping rule violations of use of prohibited method from June 1st, 2014, to
end 2018.
“Likewise,
the results obtained by Mr Denifl between June 1st, 2014, and March 5th, 2019,
date of the beginning of his provisional suspension, are disqualified. Both
sanctions will run from 5 March 2019 until March 2th, 2023.
“Both decisions can be appealed within four weeks before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”
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