Fourteen years ago, the cycling world was about to be rocked by an operação puerto. In the final week of the Giro d'Italia, Spain's Guardia Civil arrested Manolo Saiz, then Liberty Seguros team manager, along with Eufemiano Fuentes and three others. Saiz, who was cleared but blacklisted from the pro cycling team, claimed in an interview with Alerta (opens in new tab) that his team was the cleanest.

The Spaniard said very little in the interview, saying he no longer needed to say everything. Sais said, "I'll leave it for my grandchildren."

But he admitted that the incident took away what might have been the best 14 years of his life, until Saiz's star rider, Roberto Heras, tested positive for EPO after winning the 2005 Vuelta a España, and Saiz was the smartest pro cycling He was hailed as a manager.

His team (ONCE from 1989 to 2003, then Liberty Seguros) racked up nearly 500 wins and won the Vuelta a España five times (Heras' disqualification after successful claims that his doping control sample was mishandled (It was rescinded).

Operación Puerto was sparked by the confession of Jesus Manzano of Kelme, which led authorities to Fuentes' Madrid clinic, where they began surveillance. Saiz reportedly arrived at the clinic with a bag containing 60,000 euros in cash, allegedly to pay for the athletes' doping treatment. However, at the time, doping was not illegal in Spain, and Saiz escaped prosecution.

However, the incident effectively ended Saiz's involvement in cycling. Liberty Seguros withdrew its sponsorship, Saiz stepped down as director when Alexander Vinokurov won Astana, and former Tour de Ith organizer Marc Biver took over as team director.

Locked out of the sport, Saiz said the incident "left me alone" and left him with many regrets. He said, "I was a brave man, but it made me a coward.

Saiz said he regrets putting so much effort into representing his team on the UCI ProTour Council. He said, "Since 1998, I had to travel a lot to represent the team around the world, and I wasn't able to give 100 percent for my family and my team. I regret that," Saiz said.

However, when asked if his players used blood transfusions or other biological methods, Saiz remained defiant.

"I have always said so and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. My team was the cleanest in cycling. That's what I'm committed to."

"I'm not going to let the people of the world know that I'm not going to let them know that.