Prosecutors asked a French court to acquit British cyclist David Millar in a doping trial involving several current and former Cofidis riders.
Millar and the other riders have already "paid a lot," prosecutor Jacques Hossaert told the court on Thursday.
He requested suspended sentences of three to six months for the other six cyclists on trial. He did not ask for any fines.
The prosecutor was tougher on Cofidis physiotherapist Boguslaw Madejak, whom he called the pivot of the doping network.
Hossaert requested a one-year sentence, including four to six months in prison.
He especially criticized Madejak for persuading two fellow Poles to start doping.
The riders, Marek Rutkiewicz and Daniel Majewski, did not come to France for the trial, citing financial difficulties.
The trial was scheduled to wrap up yesterday with closing arguments by the defense.
Hossaert said the evidence against Millar was weak and praised him for "giving interesting leads for the fight against doping."
In testimony earlier this week, Millar said intense pressure to perform led him to try the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO.
He said the decision to start doping was difficult.
The Scottish rider was banned for two years and stripped of his 2003 world time-trial title after admitting to a French judge that he used EPO.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two