'My career was shaped by Operación Puerto': Mancebo criticises double standards in cycling

For a moment, it looked as though Francisco Mancebo’s career would be a short one. After being implicated in Operación Puerto, he struggled to find a new team. Yet that setback is exactly why he is still racing today. Now 50 years old, the Spaniard has no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Mancebo turned professional with Banesto in 1998. In 2004 he finished third in the Vuelta a España, and a year later he won a stage and took fourth place overall in the Tour de France. Everything seemed to be going perfectly... Until his name appeared in one of the biggest doping investigations in the sport’s history. His career was turned upside down.

He was banned from riding the 2006 Tour de France and dismissed by AG2R Prévoyance. Disappointed, he decided to retire, but later reversed that decision after receiving an offer at ProContinental level from Relax-Gam. However, when that team was ultimately barred from starting the Vuelta due to the presence of Mancebo and Óscar Sevilla, things took another turn for the worse.

"Well, obviously, my career was marked by Operación Puerto," Mancebo told Domestique. "They didn’t let us race the Vuelta with Relax, and that’s really where everything really changed, rather than in 2006. If we had been able to continue at that level, I might have retired at 33 or 34. But racing at a less demanding level allows you to enjoy it more and keep going longer.”

Other stars - notably Alejandro Valverde and Ivan Basso - were given a second chance. Does that feel unfair? “Well, it depends on who you ask.  Well, it was so many years ago, 20 years now, madre mia… It was tough at the time, because there was no ban, but behind the scenes, there was pressure from the UCI and from organisers, and we weren’t able to race. That’s the hypocrisy of cycling, and a lot of the same people who were there then are still there now, so little has changed."'

At one point, it seemed he might still return to the WorldTour. Movistar showed interest, and according to Mancebo there was even an agreement - until team boss Eusebio Unzué changed his mind at the last minute. "He used the sponsors as an excuse. I don’t know if that was true or not. But that was the last time I tried to return to the ProTour."

And yet, the setbacks have given the Spaniard a career that now spans four decades. He was on the verge of retiring again, but a new opportunity arose with the Pingtan Cycling Team. "This chance in China came up, and I’m very happy – a new experience, a new team, new motivation. It’s all good for the head. Hopefully I’ll last until I’m 60," he laughs. "There’s no date in mind: I would like to continue for as long as I can."