Why is a doctor from Cáceres behind the suspension of Supermán López?

• The eternal fight against a phantom threat "That there are no positives does not mean that there is no doping"

The influence of

, one of the most sinister doping figures in Spain, continues to cast a dark shadow over cycling.

And his power of infection reminds of the times when impunity reigned.

The last to verify it was the Colombian

, shaken by a controversial episode that leaves no one in a good place.

From Thursday afternoon, when the Astana cyclist was registered by the Civil Guard at Barajas airport, until yesterday noon, when his team decided to suspend him "until all the circumstances are clarified", this case brings to mind the darkest

of Dr. Maynar.

A ceremony of confusion that increases doubts about a sport permanently under the magnifying glass.

The tangled succession of events should not cover up the essentials.

And most importantly, right now, Lopez, one of the most pedigree climbers in the peloton, is facing the most critical moment of his career, while Maynar remains free on charges.

Since last May 11, when he was arrested, the doctor has had to appear in court number 4 of Cáceres.

The judge accused him of crimes of drug trafficking and money laundering in the framework of Operation Ilex.

López's name also appears in this case.

However, the Civil Guard denied at noon yesterday, in a surprising rectification transmitted to EFE, that the coffee grower had been investigated in said operation.

"We flatly deny any relationship and/or participation in any criminal act related to the distribution of unauthorized medicines or any other product," the Astana runner's lawyers stressed yesterday.

"Never in his life has he suffered any arrest," added the lawyers.

However, the truth is that on Thursday afternoon, according to photographs published by the

portal , several officials from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) approached López in Barajas.

If it was a mere routine control, why did the same ones who support the investigation in a court in Cáceres take charge of the registry?

"It caught us by surprise"

Also, the alleged guilt of his broker was admitted almost immediately by Astana.

"He has caught us by surprise," conceded the team led by

, who suspended Lopez "from any activity."

The future of his new signing, who arrived in December from the Movistar Team, is now up in the air.

It is not simply about giving up the Vuelta a Castilla y León or the unknowns surrounding the Vuelta a España, which starts on August 19.

From now on, López's good name will be contaminated by Maynar's terrible reputation.

And it is that almost 20 years have passed since Maynar began his stormy journey through the sinkholes of cycling.

In the 2004 season he offered his services to Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme, the team led by

, one of the great players in Operation Puerto.

At that time, also in the shadows, he worked for Fassa Bortolo for five years, the Italian squad that would see eight of its cyclists suspended in perpetuity.

Those were times when blood transfusions and the abuse of anabolic steroids were the order of the day.

Happy days for guys like

or

.

Perhaps clouded by the fame of his colleagues, Maynar wanted to go one step further.

And not precisely on the most dazzling stages, but on the back roads of the peloton.

"I have never been convicted"

From the University of Extremadura, where he still works as a teacher in the Department of Physiology, Portugal was emerging as a land of promise for Maynar.

For this reason, in 2008 he joined the project of the Unión Ciclista de Maia (LA-MSS), a formation that had just opted for other veterans, such as

and

, of dubious reputation.

Everything exploded in the air on May 11, when

He fell dead from the bike.

The autopsy revealed a previous cardiac arrest, so the Portuguese police did not have a minute to lose.

In his records they found EPO and growth hormone, among other prohibited substances.

Despite the 16 doping-related crimes charged by the Prosecutor's Office, Maynar would be acquitted.

A constant throughout his extensive career.

Maynar, in an image from 2010.EFE

"I have never been convicted. It is always said that they accuse me, but never that they have acquitted me. Thank God I do not have a criminal record," Maynar explained on May 12, as he left the Palace of Justice in Cáceres.

It had been a frantic hour, though he didn't seem upset.

Neither because of the meticulous search of his laboratory, nor because of the night of arrest in the Civil Guard barracks, nor because of the interrogation by the judge, who accused him of a crime against public health and illegal drug trafficking.

Those who know him were not at all surprised by his frankness.

The one he used in one of his last messages on Twitter.

"Dear friends. I inform you that from today, March 1, I open an

related to health, sports performance and sports medicine supplementation.

By the way, for those of you who don't know me, I have knowledge on the subject."

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