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Museeuw in court over drugs charge

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Museeuw denies the charges of possessing banned substances

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Former world cycling champion Johan Museeuw will appear in court on Tuesday on charges of possessing banned substances.

The 39-year-old Belgian, who won the world title in 1996, will appear before a jury in his homeland for possession of Aranesp, EPO and Dexomethasone.

Museeuw, one of the greatest one-day riders in history, denies any wrongdoing.

He is currently in charge of public relations at Quick Step, the team of newly-crowned world champion Tom Boonen.

Museeuw, who won 11 World Cup races, is one of a number of people due in court, including triple world cyclocross champion Mario De Clercq and a veterinarian.

The charges relate to allegations of drug possession during 2003, when Museeuw was hoping to win a second world title.

Museeuw is alleged to have had in his possession 2,000 units of EPO, while De Clercq is alleged to have had 6,000 units of EPO and seven other substances.

"They are being called to appear in front of a grand jury which will rule on whether there is enough evidence to refer them to a criminal court," said a court spokesman.

Museeuw, who retired in 2004, is still officially under a two-year ban imposed by the Belgian cycling federation last October.

The three-times Paris-Roubaix winner was one of a number of riders whose homes were raided in August 2003 as part of a case involving veterinarian Jose Landuyt, who admitted selling performance-enhancing drugs.

Landuyt is accused of providing Museeuw with drugs.

Prosecutors say they have extensive documentation of text messages from mobile phones which Museeuw and Landuyt allegedly used to communicate.

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