Anti-doping chiefs have vowed to challenge a Spanish court’s order that blood bags gathered in the Eufemiano Fuentes case will be destroyed. It comes after Eufemiano Fuentes, a doctor specialising in sports medicine, on Tuesday received a suspended one-year jail term for providing blood-doping services to cyclists.

However, the Madrid judge has rejected requests from anti-doping authorities to be allowed to analyse the blood bags and has ordered they be destroyed. Spain’s anti-doping agency (AEA) director Ana Munoz: “We will now use all resources at our disposal to take this further.” Britain’s tennis star Andy Murray said on Twitter: “operacion puerto case is beyond a joke . . . biggest cover up in sports history? “