Husband of French champion cyclist Jeannie Longo arrested

Feb 8, 2012, 15:05 GMT

Paris - Patrice Ciprelli, husband and trainer of champion French cyclist Jeannie Longo was reportedly arrested Wednesday over allegations he purchased the banned performance enhancer EPO, French media reports said Wednesday.

L'Equipe sports daily reported that a dozen officers from the police agency responsible for anti-doping investigations OCLAESP arrested Ciprelli and a friend, Michel Lucatelli, at an apartment belonging to Ciprelli and Longo in Alpe d'Huez ski resort.

The paper said the agency also raided a chalet belonging to Ciprelli and Longo at Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux, near Grenoble.

The arrests were carried out as part of a investigation into a report by L'Equipe sports daily in September 2011.

L'Equipe claimed Ciprelli had bought Chinese EPO online in 2007, through the intermediary of a retired American cyclist Joe Papp.

The newspaper reported on its website Wednesday that OCLAESP had found evidence of further EPO-related transactions by Ciprelli in 2010 and in 2011.

Longo, 53, is considered one of the greatest women cyclists of all time. She won a slew of world titles during the 1980s and 90s, including the Olympic road race gold in 1996.

She was the unbeaten French road race women's champion from 1979 to 1989. She also competed in the 2008 Olympics.