13/11/2023

Something smells rotten in Spanish cycling: chronicle of a 23-page document

It is not easy to reconstruct the doping case that has shaken Spanish cycling in recent days. Several Spanish media received a 23-page document with messages linking the Caja Rural - Seguros RGA team to Operation Ilex and Dr. Marcos Maynar.

Some of these media received the document before the Vuelta a España. Others, such as ALL the teams of the race at the Vuelta itself, the UCI and other organizations, received it during the race. There was no leak. Neither UCI, the Vuelta, nor the teams considered that document important enough to take any kind of action. Nor did the Spanish media that received it consider that document with conversations between Caja Rural riders and Marcos Maynar to be publishable.

Excerpts from the leaked document that would link the Caja Rural manager with Marcos Maynar: "Nobody knows who I work with. Well only Juanma"

With the cycling season over, the information came to light, albeit from the point of view of Caja Rural, which had denounced the interested leaker of the document, denying any involvement with Maynar and Operation Ilex.

However, little by little we have been knowing some of the messages of the document, which leave in question the defense of the manager of Caja Rural, Juanma Hernandez. Spain is a country with total impunity when it comes to leaking summaries and this is one more case. It is unethical that part of the summary of Operation Ilex has been leaked. It is not ethical that (supposedly) a rival of Caja Rural cowardly sends an anonymous document to the press, teams and Vuelta.

Juan Manuel Hernández, manager of Caja Rural: "We have been involved in a doping scheme with which we have nothing to do"

But that is not the news. The news is that there are some messages that make it very clear that the manager of Caja Rural recommended several cyclists to go through the consultation of a Marcos Maynar who in 2021 was already a guy who had been sanctioned for doping practices. That is the news. That is what is really serious, what really hurts the world of cycling;

We do not know what will happen. We don't know if Caja Rural will be investigated (we know that so far they are not being investigated). We don't know if the UCI will take any kind of action regarding the Spanish team. We doubt that they will ride the Vuelta a España 2024, although we don't know that either.

The only thing we know, thanks to publications in the Spanish media, is that there are conversations that make it clear that several Caja Rural cyclists, recommended by their manager and behind the back of the team doctor, have been treated by Marcos Maynar.