In the wake of the news that multiple world champion Jeannie Longo is facing disciplinary action over three violations of cycling’s whereabouts system, former US pro Joe Papp has acknowledged that he may be required to give evidence in the case.
Papp, who was banned from racing after failing tests in 2006 and later admitted selling doping products, has been cooperating with the US Anti Doping Agency for several years on the latter. Several US riders who were sanctioned for the purchase and use of doping products are understood to have bought those items from Papp.
He suggested last month on his twitter account that Longo was also a customer, although he was a little more guarded when asked for a comment this evening.
“At this time I have not been called to testify in the case of Jeannie Longo, though it would not surprise me if based on my activities as an intermediary between various professional and amateur athletes and the Chinese sellers of the Eposino-brand of EPO and Jintropin HGH, I was asked to recount my dealings with a certain client in France who purchased EPO,” he told VeloNation.
Under UCI and national federation rules, designated riders have to provide complete details of their locations in order to make random controls possible. According to l’Equipe, Longo twice failed to do so, receiving warnings by registered mail from the French anti doping agency AFLD.
The third occasion took place in the US, where she was training prior to taking yet another French time trial title. On this occasion USADA testers showed up at the hotel where she had indicated she would be, but there was no sign of her at that location.
As a result, she received a third warning and the current disciplinary action was commenced. The dossier for the case has been passed on by the AFLD to the French cycling federation, and she will now be required to appear before a hearing.
Longo faces a ban of up to two years, and appears likely to miss this month’s world championships.
She is one of the best known female competitors in cycling, netting those eleven national TT titles, three editions of the women’s Tour de France, gold and silver medals in Olympic Road race, plus silver and bronze in Olympic time trial.
She also picked up nine road world championship titles (five in the road race, four in the TT), four track world championship titles (pursuit and points races), as well as three silvers and three bronze medals.
Last January she was awarded the prestigious Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur, the highest civilian award in France.