Although his Team Europcar boss Jean Rene Bernaudeau referred to him earlier as ‘an idiot,’ and someone who had been ‘incredibly careless,’ it appears the circumstances of Sebastien Turgot’s alleged whereabouts violations may be more complex than L’Equipe reported, and consequently his team has now said that it fully supports him.
L’Equipe stated earlier today that the rider, who took his best-ever result when he placed second in Paris-Roubaix last month, faced a ban of up to two years after he committed three whereabouts violations.
Not so, said the team, which also blasted the newspaper for reporting the issue prior to a final conclusion.
“The breaking of the confidentiality of the proceedings…indicated once again that the essential principle of innocence is violated,” said Europcar in a statement released today.
“This procedure shows once again that the rules of the International Cycling Union are very difficult to apply and if they leave these obligations to the riders, the fact remains that the riders have rights that must be respected as the alleged breaches of the whereabouts system have heavy consequences. The penalty is only understood if the rules are scrupulously respected by all the parties.”
Europcar then goes on to state that two of the three ADAMS system whereabouts violations against him are being contested, with one of those ‘relating to a breach of the obligations incumbent on the UCI controllers,’ while the other being affected by ‘internet connection problems with ADAMS software.’
It claims that a missed test reported against his name was not missed at all. “Contrary to what has been stated, Sébastien Turgot underwent a control doping at the date of the alleged breach and this of course proved negative. This control was communicated to the team and is on the administrative and medical record of Mr Sébastien Turgot.”
As regards the second incident, it states that problems with the whereabouts programme affected him and others and led to the failure of the details being recorded.
“The problems of the internet connection with ADAMS software, also known in late 2011 and more specifically at the end of December 2011, can cast doubt on the reality of the failures alleged as connection problems did not only affect Mr Sébastien Turgot,” it stated.
The Europcar communiqué ended by saying that both the rider and the team calmly await the decision which will be made by the disciplinary board of the French Cycling Federation. It also noted that any decision it makes is also open to appeal.
Turgot has been part of the team structure since 2008. In addition to placing second in the 2012 Paris-Roubaix, he also took top ten finishes in Scheledeprijs, as well as on stages of the Tour of the Mediterranean, the Deiedaagse De Panne and the Presidential Tour of Turkey. Last weekend he finished sixth in the Tour de Picardie.