Cycling: French cyclist Richard Virenque told a court he had never knowingly used banned substances as the Festina doping trial got under way in Lille yesterday.
"I'm against doping," said Virenque, the former Festina team leader. "I trusted the team's doctor who performed injections on me. I always thought he was giving me vitamins and fortifying products," he said.
Asked if had ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, Virenque replied: "I had injections and I asked doctor Eric Rijkaert if I could have health troubles later in my life. He answered he knew what life was about."
Virenque, five times the top climber in the Tour de France, is facing charges of helping and inciting the administration of banned substances to other riders. He faces up to two years in jail and up to a 100,000 francs (£18,000) fine if found guilty.
Virenque and nine other defendants are involved in the trial which follows the Festina team doping scandal that rocked the 1998 Tour de France, which kicked off in Ireland.
Virenque is the only cyclist on trial and he has always denied taking banned substances.
The Festina case became the biggest doping scandal in cycling's history. The entire team were kicked out of the Tour two years ago after 40 bottles of doping products, mainly the stamina-boosting hormone erythropoietin (EPO), were found in a team car.
Those on trial include the car's driver, Willy Voet, former Festina manager Bruno Roussel and team doctor Rijkaert.
About 30 witnesses and experts will be heard in the course of the trial, under presiding judge Daniel Delegove. It is expected to delve into not only the case itself, but also examine the wider issues of doping and its effects on cycling in general.
Olympic Wrestling: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ordered wrestler Alexander Leipold to return his gold medal after the German tested positive for banned anabolic steroids.
The IOC said yesterday that Leipold had been retrospectively disqualified from the Sydney Games after norandrosterone and norethiocholanolone were found in two samples of his urine.
Rugby League: The Lincoln World Cup was yesterday hit by a drugs case five days before the tournament's opening match.
Former Sydney City forward Darren Maroon, captain of the Lebanon team who play Wales in Group Two, has tested positive for a banned substance, thought to be ephedrine, and could be thrown out of the competition before a ball is kicked.
Paralympics: Powerlifting officials, reeling after six doping cases at the Sydney Paralympics, vowed yesterday to bring in more out-of-competition dope testing to clean up the sport. "More than 30 countries do out-of-competition doping controls," International Paralympic Committee powerlifting boss Pol Wautermartens said, "however, this number will need to be increased in the future."
