El Pais Stokes Doping Scandal

My next-desk neighbor and cycling enthusiast Michael Calore alerted me to some seriously illegal bodyhacking news. Just when Tyler Hamilton was nearly finished with a two-year suspension after the 2004 Olympics doping scandal, a Spanish newspaper has published a damning article that calls Hamilton's innocence -- which he has insistently declared -- into serious question. According to VeloNews, El Pais published what are allegedly schedules and outlines of Hamilton's (and many other cyclists') doping and preparation programs:

In Monday's edition of El Pais, the paper cited secret police and court documents alleging that Hamilton not only engaged in banned blood transfusion practices, but also used EPO, anabolic steroids, human growth hormones and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) during his collaboration with (Eufemiano) Fuentes.

Fuentes was among five people detained on May 23 as part of Spain's largest anti-doping investigation dubbed "Operacion Puerto."

No charges have been filed and court documents remain closed, but El Pais reporters say they have obtained access to much of the most damaging evidence, which the paper published in lengthy detail in Sunday's and Monday's editions.

Here's Cyclingnews' version of the juicy and sad story.

Thanks Mike!