UCI: Self-incriminate, or risk expulsion

VeloNews | McQuaid: Operación Puerto riders will be ejected from the Tour

UCI president Pat McQuaid wants teams to provide written statments from each of their riders certifying that the rider is not involved in Operación Puerto.

That should go over well.

McQuaid says that, if a rider lied, “they would immediately leave the team and pay a large fine and those riders who refuse to give a statement would be replaced.” Take a breath, Pat.

This is not, on the face of it, a bad idea, and might have worked if the request had been made 3 weeks ago. Now, with almost all the Tour rosters announced, I can't see a team saying, “Oh, gosh, 5 of our guys have knockwurst poisoning, so here are 5 completely clean replacements.”

On the other hand, every team is also taking a chance that, should the case move out of the press and into the courts between now and the end of the Tour, they could lose any involved riders.