It is increasingly beginning to look as if Ivan Basso’s career may end up being held hostage by Operation Puerto.

Basso will not be allowed to prove his innocence, the public prosecutor Manuel Moix in the case of Operation Puerto made clear monday. The Spanish courts do not intend to start a criminal case against Basso, because doping is not illegal in Spain.

But in refusing to start proceedings against Basso, the Spanish authorities are also denying access to the details of the case to Basso and the other riders excluded from the Tour. As a suspect in the case, Basso is a potential witness, and his access to the material around the case has thus been denied.

The result of this is that Basso has been incriminated by Operation Puerto and thrown out of the Tour, but is not allowed to find out why and defend himself. And with a case of the magnitude of Operation Puerto, it may take months, if not years, before the case works itself through the courts.

Team CSC has asked Ivan Basso to prove his innocence, but if no case is raised against him, there is a very real possibility that it may take a very long time before that will be possible.

“It is impossible for me to say [how long the case may last]. But Ivan is suspended until we have a resolution. Such are the rules, and we will follow them. That of course also means he won’t be riding the Tour of Denmark, if the situation does not change.”

Asked what happens if Basso fails to prove his innocence, Riis is stern.

“There is no question. All our riders sign contracts that specify that any doping infringement is a breach of contract. And that is of course also true for Basso. It also states that the riders should only use the team’s doctors.”

Queried on Dr. Cecchini who was at one time Basso’s trainer, Riis reacted sharply: “Cecchini did not function as a doctor on the team. He is educated as a doctor, but that is not the same as him functioning as one with us.”

Riis acknowledges that the situation for Basso at the moment, unable to defend himself, is untenable, but notes that there is little he can do at the moment.

“I can’t start a case against Basso, but it is in our interest also to have a resolution soon. But we have to wait for the system to work, we don’t have other possibilities.”

With access to the information from Spain closed to him, Basso will have to hope that the UCI and the Italian cycling federation move quickly, and take a quick decision to either charge him for doping offences, or drop the case.

With the UCI spending time and energy quarrelling with WADA and the French sportsministry, who knows when that will be?