Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Cycling's biggest doping probe is dividing the sport as teams hire riders linked to the investigation by Spanish police.

Some race organizers say riders like Ivan Basso and Tyler Hamilton should stay away until their cases are resolved. Basso now rides for Discovery Channel, part-owned by seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Olympic gold medalist Hamilton has signed with Tinkoff Credit Systems.

``Cycling is at a junction: we can either go the way of entertainment-style wrestling in the U.S. or the way of a credible sport,'' says Victor Cordero, general director of the Tour of Spain. ``We can't have anything hanging over the sport.''

As the season gets under way, concerns about declining TV ratings and lost sponsorships are pitting race organizers against cyclists who haven't been charged with any offence. Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France champion, retired yesterday because of ``wrong allegations'' stemming from the Spanish probe.

Spanish police, who discovered 200 bags of frozen blood in their raid on a Madrid apartment last May, provided international cycling authorities with the names of 58 riders implicated in the probe. Forty-three of the riders will compete this season, the Spanish sports daily As reported Feb. 7.

Two team sponsors, Liberty Mutual Group and Phonak Holding AG, have pulled out of the sport because of doping. Spain's Balearic Islands, another sponsor, and German broadcaster ZDF say they're reconsidering their involvement in the sport.

The average number of Germans watching last year's Tour de France fell almost 40 percent to 1.81 million, according to figures from ARD, which shares coverage with ZDF.

No Charges

Judge Antonio Serrano is interviewing cyclists to determine whether two doctors should face charges of endangering the riders' health. Because doping isn't a crime in Spain, none of the riders will be charged, says Elisa Beni, a spokeswoman for Madrid's provincial court.

Basso, who won last year's Giro d'Italia, or Tour of Italy, on Dec. 2 said he was linked to the Spanish investigation because his name was mentioned on a taped phone call and a fax. Basso, 29, denies any wrongdoing. The Italian cycling federation said Oct. 12 it wouldn't discipline Basso.

Johan Bruyneel, manager of the Discovery team, says race organizers have been influenced by unsubstantiated news reports.

``If the Italian federation clears Ivan, what reason do I have to doubt that decision?'' Bruyneel says. ``Nobody should be the judge apart from who is able to make the decision.''

Hamilton, 35, served a two-year ban after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing blood transfusion during the 2004 Vuelta a Espana, or Tour of Spain. USA Cycling said Sept. 14 it had asked the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to investigate Hamilton's involvement in the Spanish case.

`Second Chance'

On his Web site, Hamilton says he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs or blood transfusions.

Stefano Feltrin, general manager of Tinkoff Credit Systems, says decisions about a rider's career should be made on facts, not rumors.

``It is right to give people a second chance,'' he says. ``If Tyler is implicated in an offence we will evaluate the situation.''

Other teams have steered away from riders embroiled in the scandal.

Ullrich is one of at least 10 riders who haven't found teams because of the investigation, says Daniel Malbranque, general secretary of Cyclistes Professionnels Associes, the Aigle, Switzerland-based union for the 1,050 professional riders.

Ullrich Left Out

T-Mobile fired Ullrich, 33, after he failed to prove he wasn't linked to the Spanish case, the Bonn-based team said July 21. Ullrich, who denies blood-doping, said he had received a couple of offers from cycling teams.

``I'm in very good shape and could start cycling races immediately, but with all these allegations, it'd be very difficult,'' he said at a news conference yesterday in Hamburg.

Doping has been part of cycling for at least four decades.

At the 1967 Tour de France, British rider Tom Simpson died of heart failure and heat exhaustion on Mont Ventoux after taking amphetamines. In 1998, the Festina team was expelled from the race after drugs were found in a team car.

Blood doping is common because riders may be fired if they don't perform well, says Jesus Manzano, a former rider who confessed to the practice in 2004. Dopers use transfusions to lift their red blood cell count and increase stamina, he says.

``It won't stop until all cyclists say, `Stop,''' Manzano says. ``No rider wins by eating plates of spaghetti.''

Floyd Landis failed a test for testosterone on the way to winning last year's Tour. His case is being examined by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which has summoned him to a May 14 hearing. Landis, 31, says the testosterone test is unreliable and his urine sample was mishandled by the laboratory that examined it. He denies taking drugs.

``Cycling is a mess and we need to clean it up or it won't have a future,'' says Brian Cookson, president of British Cycling. ``We don't want a repeat of last year's disaster with another doping scandal. We can't go on like this.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at at aduff4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 26, 2007 19:21 EST