Olano is now talking with the Basque team Euskadi. The manager of ONCE said: "We are talking further with Olano. Abraham is able to choose another team if he wants and we will respect that choice."
She has previously tried 3 times recently to overturn her own record. She gave up at 13, 10 and 25 kms.
The former world champion Laurent Brochard and fellow French riders Christophe Moreau and Didier Rous, who were part of the Festina team that was excluded from the Tour de France, were all suspended until April 30 1999 by the French Cycling Federation.
The suspensions are in line with those given by the Swiss Cycling Federation to Alex Zülle, Armin Meier and Laurent Dufaux, who were also members of the Festina team.
The three new suspensions were based on the confessions of the riders who admitted taking banned drugs. Their manager Bruno Roussel had outlined the scheme to the police after he was taking into custody on July 18.
For the moment, only Richard Virenque and Pascal Hervé, who have said that they did not take banned substances, remain without suspension. Neil Stephens has retired and the Australian Cycling Federation would not take any action against him anyway.
Virenque, unable to find a team for 1999, has also said he will retire, but many are seeing this as a ploy to get a new contract.
Festina will continue in professional racing with a reformed team of youngsters. They announced that they will put over $US1 million into a campaign to stop doping in cycling.
Hervé, for his part, announced to the press last November that he would remain solid to the three suspended riders and abstain from racing until the end of their suspension. He said: "I will stop racing and I will begin again when their suspension is over." Hervé has had this condition inserted into a new arrangement with Festina.
The banned Swiss riders who can resume racing also on May 1 were originally suspended for 8 months by their National federation. This was reduced to 7 months on October 4 by the UCI.
ONCE - No doping found
The results of the analysis done on samples taken from ONCE riders during the Tour de France have found that no evidence of EPO or PFC being used. Nicolas Terrados, the ONCE team doctor, will come before the investigating judge, Patrick Keil in Lille on Thursday. Keil has said that he will be guided by the results of the analysis. Terrados was taken into custody during July as part of the roundup of suspects in the Festina scandal.
1. (1) Richard Groenendaal (Ned) 1,781 2. (3) Mario De Clercq (Bel) 1,439 3. (2) Adri van der Poel (Ned) 1,379 4. (5) Sven Nijs (Bel) 1,283 5. (4) Daniele Pontoni (Ita) 1,265 6. (6) Marc Janssens (Bel) 921 7. (7) Erwin Vervecken (Bel) 754 8. (8) Beat Wabel (Swi) 739 9. (10) Radomir Simunek (Cze) 611 10. (13) Bart Wellens (Bel) 533 11. (9) Dieter Runkel (Swi) 524 12. (11) Jiri Pospisil (Cze) 504 13. (12) Peter Van Santvliet 502 14. (16) Peter Willemsens (Bel) 422 15. (14) Peter Dlask (Cze) 417 16. (15) Danny De Bie (Bel) 372
Her manager Anthony Zammit said to Roger Vaughan, AAP's cycling journalist, that: "They (CA) have blundered by trying to pursue this line of action through the CAS at this time. IAM's (Tyler-Sharman's management) lawyers have written to all concerned parties, pointing out we need to delay these (CAS) proceedings. We have grave doubts about the timing of it all."
He continued: "The (review) was due to receive oral evidence from Lucy, but I hardly think that's appropriate now. At this stage, it (the submission) is not available - I'm still seeking advice from senior counsel about it."
The news from friends in Perth, LTS's home town, is that she is preparing to make some explosive allegations against Charlie Walsh and other team officials. We will see.