Roberto Heras is seeking compensation for the economic losses he suffered after his positive doping test at the 2005 Vuelta a Espana. Having been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Spanish judicial system, the Spaniard asks for 1 million Euro in compensation from the Spanish cycling federation and the Spanish Sports Council.

Almost 10 years ago, Roberto Heras and Denis Menchov stood on the podium in Madrid at the end of the 2005 Vuelta a Espana after a close battle that had seen the Spaniard take his fourth overall victory in the Spanish grand tour. While years have gone by and both riders have now retired, the final winner of the race has, however, still not been found.

Heras  tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO on the penultimate stage of the race and the Spanish cycling federation responded by banning him for two years and annulling his win. Instead, Menchov was declared winner of the race and now holds the place of 2005 victor on the official winners list.

Heras retired after serving the ban, pointing to a lack of quality offers from elite racing teams but he continued to fight his disqualification. In June 2011, a lower court overturned the ban due to irregularities in the investigation and last year Spain’s highest court rejected an appeal brought by the Spanish cycling federation and government lawyers against the decision that cleared Heras from the ban.

While Heras has not officially been reinstated as the winner of the race, he is now seeking to get compensation for economic damages. According to Onda Cera, he has asked for 1 million Euro from the Spanish Cycling Federation and the Spanish Sports Council.

Vuelta director Javier Guillen said in November that Vuelta organizers Unipublic respect the decision by the courts and regard Heras as the official winner of the 2005 edition of the race.