Sports lawyer Michael Lehner has insisted former Tour de France winner Jan
Ullrich's chances of escaping from the 'Operacion Puerto' doping scandal without
a suspension, could rise due to the lack of a test proving his guilt.

"Due to the fact that there is neither a positive A nor B sample, the case
against him will be complicated" said Lehner, who has already represented
cyclist Danilo Hondo and 1500m runner Dieter Baumann in their fights against
doping allegations.

32 year-old Ullrich was sacked from his T-Mobile team for failing to prove his
innocence after being named as one of 58 cyclists implicated in a blood doping
ring orchestrated by disgraced Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

As he is now resident in Switzerland, Ullrich will stand trial before the Swiss
Cycling Federation, though the federation boss Roland Schläfli confirmed that as
yet, they had received no documentation from the International Cycling Union.

He told German press agency dpa: "When we have the papers from the international
union, the process is very quick. We will need around a week to decide whether
to pass the case to the disciplinary commission, who can then open a case.

"If it came to that, a judgement could be passed after one further week. As far
as I know, it would be the first time a case would be brought forward without a
positive test result" he added.

UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani insisted the documents would arrive soon, saying
"It can only be a matter of days until the files reach the Swiss Federation. The
Italians already have theirs."

Should the UCI - or indeed the rider - regard the decision of the national
federation as unjust, then further action could be taken, explained Carpani.

"If we're not happy with the decision of the country's federation, then we can
call in the international Court for Arbitration in Sport."

Should Ullrich be found guilty, a mandatory two year ban is likely. Crucially
though, a further two year-ban from riding with any Pro-Tour teams could also be
applied, ruling the rider out of cycling's three big stage races - the Tour de
France, Vuelta a Espana and Giro d'Italia - until 2010.


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