Valverde suspended 2 years.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended for two years Alejandro Valverde after his involvement in Operación Puerto. The suspension of the rider Savings bank takes effect from 1 January 2010 and it retains its ranking the results obtained previously.

We will not see Alejandro Valverde at the start of the next Tour de France or in another race until 1 January 2012. The CAS has finally sided with the UCI and WADA to suspend for two years from 1 January 2010 the leader of the Caisse d'Epargne. "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has partially admitted calls filed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) and the Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde", Announces the CAS in a statement released Monday.
This suspension is the result of a criminal investigation began in 2004. The UCI asked the Spanish federation to open disciplinary proceedings against Valverde following elements collected in the Puerto affair, including the famous blood bag number 18. The containing the names of Valverde's dog, Piti, which contained EPO. If the Spanish federation has never cooperated, the Italian organizations, Coni in mind, had decided to exclude the Spanish all competitions taking place on its soil. The suspension having now beyond the borders of the Boot.

Valverde retains credit:
The UCI has been quick to rejoice over a statement: "The International Cycling Union (UCI) took note with satisfaction the decision taken today by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (...). The UCI and cycling as a whole have certainly suffered from this affair, and the damage caused by the conduct of Mr. Valverde that the UCI has emerged a conviction of guilt, may not be fully offset by regulatory penalty. "
If all his achievements this season are withdrawn, including the Mediterranean Tour, the Tour de Romandie, or his second Paris-Nice, the CAS has decided not to annul the victories won by the Murcian before commencement of the suspension. It retains its ranking in the Tour of Spain and the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 2009. In January 2012, Valverde will take 31 years and 19 months of his suspension does not mark the end of his career. Vinokourov (Astana), Winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April, or Basso (Liquigas), winner of the Giro this Sunday, showed that former exiles could always play the leading roles in their return to the peloton.