23 Sentenced in Cycling Doping Trial
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former cycling trainer Freddy Sergant was sentenced to four years in jail Monday in a trial centered on a doping ring that supplied a cocktail of amphetamines, cocaine and heroin to riders in France and Belgium.
Sergant received the harshest of 23 sentences, with none of the defendants escaping punishment.
The sentencing comes amid a scandal that threw the Tour de France into chaos on the eve of the race. Several top cyclists were withdrawn Friday because of a doping investigation in Spain.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sergant, a Belgian believed to be the key figure, also was fined more than $230,000. His wife, Monique, was given a one-year prison term.
The other sentences ranged from about $1,900 to a 2 1/2-year prison term — with 20 months suspended — for former pro cyclist Laurent Roux. He said he would appeal.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}His brother Fabien was sentenced to two years, with 15 months suspended. The brothers, each having already has been jailed eight months, were ordered to pay more than $230,000 apiece in fines.
"I have the impression that, despite what just happened in the Tour de France, that I'm the [scapegoat] for a totally corrupt system," Laurent Roux said.
About 2,000 doses of what is often called a "magic cocktail" or "Belgian cocktail" were sold in France and Belgium between 2002 and 2005, the prosecutor said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}French Cycling Federation lawyer Paul Mauriac called the verdicts just.
"Let's stop saying that others dope, everyone dopes, so I will dope," Mauriac said.