ROME, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Spanish bicyclist Alejandro Valverde faces possible criminal charges in Italy for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs, police said Thursday.
The 28-year-old cyclist, who has won the ProTour twice, denies any illegal doping, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The potential criminal case involves blood seized during Operacion Puerto, an investigation involving Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. The blood was identified as Valverde's by DNA matching with blood taken from the cyclist during the Italian stage of the Tour de France, the Italian Olympic Committee said.
The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, after the Spanish cycling federation cleared Valverde last year following Operacion Puerto.
