More merger rumours

Further to the rumoured - and hotly denied - LeopardTrek/Radioshack merger as "revealed" by Geox's manager Joxean Fernandex Matxin late last week, press in Luxembourg are now speculating on a Radioshack/Omega-Pharma-Lotto merger. We'll bring more details on that just as soon as we can find any.

LeopardTrek's Bryan Nygaard

Meanwhile, Italian news sources continue to carry the LeopardTrek/Radioshack story. Claiming that the resultant team would be named RadioshackTrek, Gazetta dello Sport says that Radioshack manager Johan Bruyneel and Leopard's owner Flavio Becca have struck a deal aimed at strengthening the Luxembourg-based team and pushing Andy Schleck towards a Tour de France General Classification victory in 2012

Yet more rumours have hinted at the possibility of Leopard manager Bryan Nygaard going to GreenEDGE if the Radioshack story proves true. However, Cycling News' Australian editor Jane Aubrey has stated on Twitter that she has confirmation from GreenEDGE manager Shayne Bannan that he has not been approached with any such proposal.

Could there be a grain of truth in any of this? We doubt it - but with cycling subject to rapid changes in sponsorship, due in no small part to the still-persistent poor image surrounding doping in the sport, strange things do happen and situations can change very quickly.

Vansevenant mystery deepends

The Wim Vansevenant doping investigation takes a new twist this morning with doubts raised over what was in the package addressed to the ex-professional Belgian cyclist which was confiscated by customs officials two weeks ago. The three-time Lanterne Rouge was questioned by police for four hours on Tuesday and claims that he believed the package - which he has admitted was for him - contained legal amino acids and saying that he has been told the contents haven't been analysed to ascertain what they actually are.

He has also re-emphasised that the substances, whatever they were, were not intended for anyone else other than himself. Meanwhile, the team have taken further steps to disassociate themselves from him - he was due to drive one of their VIP coaches in France during the upcoming Tour but has been relieved of this duty. Now, Omega leader Philippe Gilbert has gone on record stating that Vansevenant has only limited links to the team: "I want to affirm in the strongest possible way that this story has absolutely nothing to do with me or my team," he said. "Trying to link this person with us has come from the imagination of someone whose intentions are misplaced."

Unfortnuately, it's probably too late for that regardless of who the package's contents were meant for and even of whether it contained amino acids or illicit doping products - only those with an interest in professional cycling will read today's developments in their newspapers. The rest of the world has seen the terms "doping" and "Tour de France" in the same headline and that's all it takes for cycling's image to be further blackened.

Vansevenant admits dope parcel was for him

Wim Vansevenant has admitted that a parcel of performance enhancing drugs intercepted by Belgian customs two weeks ago was destined for him.

Meanwhile, team bosses are doing their utmost to sever all links with Vansevenant, emphasising that they were in no way involved with the purchase of the drugs. "I hope, for his sake, that this is a minor controversy," says manager Geert Coeman, "but even if he is completely cleared we won't be using him at the Tour."

Vansevenant earned one of the most coveted positions in professional cycling by finishing last in a record three Tours de France, but had been employed by the Omega-Pharma Lotto team to drive one of their VIP buses during this year's event which begins on Saturday. However, he has denied that the contents of the parcel were to be supplied to or used by the team's Tour riders, claiming that the total amount was small and intended for personal use - depending on the drugs involved, this may be a criminal offence but would not involve UCI or WADA investigation as he is no longer a professional cyclist. Earlier reports do not state the quantity involved, merely that it was likely to be worth thousands of dollars - with the high prices of pharmaceuticals, this does not necessarily rule out personal use. The Belgian says that the drug was the synthetic peptide TB-500 which he claims he has been using to maintain muscle mass since his retirement.

Sadly, even if it can be proved beyond all doubt that the package's contents were indeed intended for Vansevenant and that he was acting entirely independently and even if all the Omega members produce clean samples for the barrage of tests to which they're now going to be subjected, the damage has already been done: a large percentage of the public is already convinced that all cyclists dope and that teams encourage them to do so. Even if this does turn out to be a minor controversy, doping scandals of any size put off sponsors and do enormous damage to the sport - especially in the weeks before the grandest of Grand Tours when the eyes of the world's press are on cycling and avidly awaiting even a suggestion of a doping story. For that reason, Omega are doing the right thing by cutting all links to him and should not reinstate them no matter what the outcome. Any hero status he once had is now lost.

Lanterne Rouge champ suspected of doping

Belgian newspaper SportWereld carries a shock story this morning that Wim Vansevenant, who held the Tour de France Lanterne Rouge title a record three times for being the last rider to complete the race, is under suspicion of doping.

According to the paper, a package containing "thousands of dollars of cutting-edge superdoping was bought in Australia" and subsequently intercepted by Belgian customs agents two weeks ago at Zaventem airport just outside Brussels, but was not made public until yesterday. Vansevenent, aged 39, due to depart for the Tour de France where he was to drive one of the Omega-Pharma Lotto VIP coaches - though he is no longer going, his links to the team will immediately create suspicions that the performance-enhancing drugs contained within the package were destined for them. This, if one discounts the ongoing investigation into Alberto Contador, is the first scandal of this year's Tour which many riders, teams and fans were hoping would remain controversy-free after many years of similar problems. Omega riders - who include Philippe Gilbert, ranked number one in the world by the IG Markets Index - will now face increased tests as UCI anti-doping testers will want to be certain nothing is untoward.

Wim Vansevenant was Lanterne Rouge a record three times prior to his retirement in 2008

However, it is not yet known for certain where or with whom the drugs were intended to end up, or even if Mr. Vansevenant had in fact ordered them - it's not impossible that they were sent to him in a deliberate attempt to stir up problems for the team. Details of the investigation are secret, with Francis Clarysse, named by SportWereld as a "national hormones magistrate," saying that he "can only confirm an investigation [is in progress]." It also states that various sources believe the contents of the package were indeed destined to be used by cyclists which, even should the package prove to have been sent in an attempt to incriminate Mr. Vansevenant and the Omega team, is enough to further damage the sport's reputation.

Omega-Pharma Lotto subsequently denied all links to the parcel and stated that they are "stunned" by the news. "Everybody is very surprised - I'm surprised and have no idea where this came from," said team boss Marc Sergeant. "I saw Vansevenant at the Belgian championships and he acting normally and calmly. I think he himself knew nothing of the matter."