The result of the hearing against Ivan Basso that took place today concluded without any resolution to the case. The hearings commitee has decided that the decision of whether or not a doping case against Ivan Basso is to be delayed while additional documentation in the case is examing. There was no statement on when a decision would be made, but it is expected that it may be up to a week.

“I am fine. It was a hearing very similar to the last one. I was questioned regarding some specific issues, and I gave an answer to each of the questions,” Ivan Basso commented to Danish TV2. “I am in good spirits, and I hope that this will be resolved within a few days.”

Despite persistent rumors that Ivan Basso is to be fired from Team CSC, Basso remains remarkably upbeat about his future on the team. “I am a rider on a Danish team, and I will remain on a Danish team. I have a contract with the team and Bjarne Riis, and our agreement is that we will make a decision regarding my future after CONI has made its decision.”

Although a decision doesn’t seem to be getting any closer, Basso is reported to be upbeat, and he expects to be riding for many years to come. When asked about his future, he commented: “Of course I will return. I am 28, so I expect that I will continue cycling for 10 more years. I see this hearing as a step towards a resolution.”

Team CSC press officer, Brian Nygaard was present at the hearing in Rome. Despite the unsatisfactory result, he is understanding of the delay. “We have to wait and see. We have understanding for this taking longer time than expected - one has to be thorough.”

In other words, the show goes on…

According to reports in Italian media, Elisa Basso, sister of Ivan, is one of the protagonists being investigated as part of Operation Athena. According to the Italian authorities, she figures in a telephone transcript which the police have acquired, where she asks for illegal products.

In a press conference in Milan, the Italian attorney - Maria Rota - confirmed that the police has seized doping products for a total value of 300.000 Euro in the razzia; most of these were seized in a fitness center in Bergamo that functioned as a distribution center for the sale of doping. The other main distribution center targetted in Operation Athena operated out of Milan. The doping products seem primarily to have been destined for fitness enthusiasts and athletes.

However, Maria Rota made it clear during the press conference that Ivan Basso is not a part of the investigation of Operation Athena. The only cyclist currently known to be suspected in the case is the Liquigas cyclist Luca Paolini.

Technical director in the Italian Cycling Federation (and former pro-rider) Silvio Martinelli, has had access to the case files surrounding the case against Ivan Basso. He allegedly comments on the case as follows (AFP): “There is no real evidence against Basso. I have seen the documentation from Spain, and the only link to Basso is that his name is mentioned in a phone conversation.”

The latter statement seems curious, considering that there is also the matter of a fax supposedly sent by Fuentes containing Basso’s name.

Rumors that CONI will dismiss the case after next Friday’s hearing remain strong however; Danish daily Ekstra Bladet interviewed several figures of authority during the World Championship, and all indicated that the case will most likely get dropped once proceedings reconvene on friday. The rumors were strong enough that it forced UCI chairman Pat McQuaid to react. According to an article on AP, he requested the Italian sports authorities not to make a full decision about Basso yet. He also reiterated the threat that if the Italian federation decides not to pursue the case, the UCI will most likely take the case on to CAS.

By now, Basso has now been suspended for 3 months based on evidence which is unlikely to result in a conviction, with no end in sight to the proceedings. It seems that being unable to punish Basso, Ullrich and the others that have been accused in Operation Puerto directly, the UCI is instead hell-bent on forcing these riders to serve out a sentence by dragging out proceedings instead thereby forcing their teams to suspend them.

Team CSC refuses to comment on the rumors about the case, awaiting the actual proceedings on friday.

Even if Basso gets cleared friday and the UCI gives up the case, there is still a question of what Basso’s future on Team CSC will be. Bjarne Riis has stated that he strongly prefers that Basso provide a DNA test, in order to remove any trace of doubt about his guilt. He says, however, that the decision is up to Basso.

Interestingly, UCI president Pat McQuaid is highly critical of Martinelli’s statements, claiming that the latter should not comment on the case until it has been completed. It is, however, apparently OK for McQuaid himself to comment on such cases, even though they have not yet finished…

According to French daily Le Monde, Ivan Basso’s house was searched as part of a doping razzia that took place on September 20. The searches were instigated by state prosecutor Maria Rota of Bergamo.

“We have phone tappings from [Basso's phone] which are very compromising for the cyclist and his relatives”, explained a police officer, who added that these new facts would be transmitted to the Guardia Civil working on Operation Puerto and CONI. This thus calls into question initial reports that CONI would archive the case.

According to the Italian anti-doping squad, the initial target of the doping operation they carried out was not Basso, but they had been led to include Basso in the search gradually while pursuing a vast doping trafficking network in the sporting world. Basso is suspected to be a customer of Fuentes.

In total, the Police searched 36 location during “Operation Athena”. 100,000 flasks containing unknown products were seized for analysis. Many cyclists - both amateur and professionals were involved in the operaton, including Team Liquigas rider Luca Paolini.

Rumors in Italy are now very strong that Ivan Basso will likely be acquitted by CONI due to lack of evidence. As if to underline this, Basso even got to train for a while with the Italian road racing squad when they made their training base near his home.

The evidence against Basso has been surprisingly thin, and the verdict as such is not surprising. Unfortunately, Basso still hasn’t provided any evidence which can clear him absolutely from suspicion. Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis acknowledges this when he comments: “I would wish that Basso takes a DNA test. It is his decision, of course, and I can force it, but it is something I would like to see.”

Riis comments that he understands no more of the case than anyone else. “I have asked for information, especially from the UCI, but I still don’t know a lot. It is very confused.”

Riis denies persistent rumors that relationship between himself and Basso have soured, but notes that the relationship has naturally become more business like during the case. He notes that Basso still has to prove his innocence to the satisfaction of the team if he is to continue on Team CSC.

According to Italian site BiciRace, it seems likely that the case against Ivan Basso will be archived. According to the anti-doping lawyer of CONI, the case does not contain enough evidence to make it worthwhile to raise a case against Basso. Basso is scheduled to meet with CONI on September 29, in order to determine whether a case will be raised.

Despite the likely acquittal, Ivan Basso still faces two more hurdles to overcome. The UCI has threatened to take the case to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) if CONI should decide not to pursue the case. Although this is unlikely to result in any different results, it is likely to delay Basso’s return to Cycling even further. In addition, Basso will have to convince his team manager, Bjarne Riis, of his innocence of the doping charges. Although there is no proof of doping, Basso still faces the quite significant struggle of proving that he has not had anything to do with Eufemanio Fuentes - a struggle that seems likely to be quite difficult, given Basso’s name on a fax signed by Fuentes.

Team CSC’s anti-doping guru Rasmus Damsgaard has now unveiled some of the plans for what he describes as a breakthrough in anti-doping efforts in Cycling. Both he and Team CSC owner Bjarne Riis are very positive about their coming cooperation. The new anti-doping plan will be submitted to Bjarne Riis by the end of this week, and it is expected that the plans will be made public soon after.

“Out work will be transparent, in the sense that if there is any positive tests that appears, it will immediately be sent to all of the relevant authorities, ” Rasmus Damsgaard explains. “In addition, we have taken the unprecedented step of inviting both the UCI and Anti-Doping Denmark to participate in the project.”

The UCI has already received a proposal from Damsgaard, detailing the aspects of the plan that he hopes they will join in. According to the plan, Team CSC’s 30 riders can look forward somewhere between 500 to 1000 blood and urine tests during 2007. “The plan won’t cost the UCI anything. I will be doing all of the work, and making sure that all of the riders are tested often, and at surprising times; the bill will be paid by Team CSC’s sponsors. The main part of the anti-doping authorities responsibility will be to send my test results on in the system in the case that we should encounter any positive tests,” explains Damsgaard.

A crucial part of the plan is that a a majority of the tests will occur in the spring, while the riders are preparing for the new season. “We expect to carry out 95% of our tests in January-March, because we know that this is when riders primarily carry out doping, if they are doing it. 4% of the tests will be done in the autumn, while the last 1% will be done in connection with races. The latter has low priority since the UCI is already carrying out tests during those.”

Danish anti-doping guru, Rasmus Damsgård, has agreed to help Bjarne Riis and Team CSC to reveal possible doping on the Danish team. Much-needed help, according to Damsgård.

In an article in BT, friday, DamsgÃ¥rd criticizes the medical advisors around Riis. “The people in the sport easily get hung up on certain procedures decided by sports politicians. They look at hematocrit values and the number of red blood cells, and forget everything else.”

Despite criticizing the current medical procedures, DamsgÃ¥rd provides some clue to the defence used by Basso in the current case. “Joost de Maesner lacks understanding of the details, but he is correct when he says that Basso’s control values were by the book. For that reason, Bjarne has good reason to feel himself taken aback by the case, since he trusts his doctors.”

“It is the police and journalists who find the scandals. The doping controls have long since given up,” DamsgÃ¥rd says, underscoring his belief that formal anti-doping work is incapable of handling the doping problems in cycling. It is his hope that the unique opportunity of working directly with the doping control problems on a team will result in new methods for preventing doping in the sport.

Riis has stated his willingness to remove responsibility for anti-doping procedures entirely from the jurisdiction of his belgian doctors, and turn it over to Damsgård should the latter wish it.

“The team doctors should not be considered scapegoats,” Riis stresses. “People should not take this to mean that they have been derelict in their duty. But DamsgÃ¥rd has specialist knowledge which neither of our current medical staff has, and it is of course for the same reason that we have chosen to start cooperating with him.”

Basso’s second hearing has been delayed from its original date of September 12 until September 29.

Ivan Basso is very dissappointed about the prospect of waiting a further 15 days for the case to be decided. “I respect the decision, although I can not wait until this case is closed positively,” he is quoted as saying. “I repeat what I have said before. I am not involved in the case. I stand by that. I am humble, but I would like that people listen to me for once.”

The decision to delay the case probably means that Basso will not have the opportunity to race any more this season. No reason for the delay has been made public.