Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, accused of masterminding a doping ring in cycling, told a Madrid court on Wednesday he had nothing to do with traces of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) found in seized blood bags.
In a second day of testimony, Fuentes, who denies involvement in doping, acknowledged that abnormally high levels of EPO had been detected in eight of the 92 plasma bags found during police raids in 2006.
He and four other defendants, including his sister Yolanda, are appearing before a judge almost seven years after anabolic steroids, transfusion equipment and blood bags were seized as part of a investigation code-named “Operation Puerto”.
“No product was ever added to the blood except legally established preservatives,” Fuentes said.
“Such a small quantity (of EPO) can have no other explanation than that it was the remnants of a previous treatment.”
Prohibited by anti-doping authorities since the early 1990s, artificially injected EPO can help athletic performance by increasing the concentration of red cells and improving the amount of oxygen blood can carry to the body’s muscles.
The closely-watched trial began on Monday and when Fuentes took the stand on Tuesday he told the judge he had clients in sports other than cycling, including soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing.