Tour of Spain champion Alejandro Valverde (Team Caisse d'Epargne) denied on Sunday Spanish media reports that he had accused a former teammate of owning the blood bag that led to him being linked with a blood doping scandal.

"Mr. Alejandro Valverde has never accused any rider (of being the owner of) the plasma sample number 18 seized in the Operation Puerto," Valverde's legal team commented in a statement.

"Mr. Alejandro Valverde's lawyers limited themselves exclusively to defend the rider's interests and they never made such accusations against the cyclist mentioned in the newspapers."

Last year, Valverde was banned from riding on Italian soil by the Italian Olympic Committee for his alleged implication in the Operation Puerto blood doping scandal.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the ban last week and the International Cycling Union said they would do their best to extend the ban to the rest of the world.