March 17, 2007 (Brussels, Belgium) — Belgium’s Thierry Marichal (Francaise des jeux) has had to pull out of the Paris-Nice race due to fallout from a doping incident in 1998 reports AFP. Marichal, 33, used to ride for the Lotto team with team mate Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, a former Soviet road champ.

Marichal’s name is cited in a positive doping test for Abdoujaparov, who tested positive six times in 1997 (Three Days de Panne, Grand Prix Rennes, Côte Picarde, Four Days of Dunkirk, Dauphiné Libéré and the Tour de France). After gathering dust for years, the file has now ended up in the Belgian legal jurisdiction.

Marichal’s directeur sportif, Marc Madiot, explained that the legal case is preventing Marichal from concentrating on the race. Madiot is also a signatory to a charter that requires pulling any cyclists out of a race if they are facing legal actions for doping infractions.