Armstrong era coach Martí back on radar as Marc Soler’s father handed 18 month ban for prohibited association

Soler Serrano is an amateur triathlete with a regional licence in Catalonia and is alleged to have been working with Pepe Martí, the Valencian coach who became known for his role in the US Postal doping case during the Lance Armstrong era. Martí is currently serving a 15 year ban from working with athletes, due to expire in June 2027.

The decision has not yet been made public, as it remains subject to appeal. The sanction is based on the prohibited association clause in the World Anti Doping Code, also reflected in Spanish legislation, which bars licensed athletes from working with support personnel who are serving doping related bans.

The report says Martí had largely disappeared from view but remained under scrutiny. USADA and Spain’s Guardia Civil are described as having shared information, and in August 2023 Martí and Soler Serrano were stopped in Catalonia. No banned substances were found in the search, but investigators reportedly uncovered indications of an ongoing sporting relationship. 

Martí is said to have claimed he was conducting academic research, though any coaching or structured preparation of licensed athletes would breach the terms of his sanction.

The matter remains primarily in USADA’s hands, as the organisation that initiated the original case against Martí, and further disciplinary steps are not ruled out. The same reporting suggests additional sanctions could follow for other athletes linked to Martí, though no high profile names are thought to be involved at this stage according to AS.

The reason Martí remains a flashpoint is the case that put him on the map in the first place. In its findings, USADA portrayed the US Postal set up as an exceptionally advanced doping system, involving figures such as doctors Luis García del Moral, Pedro Celaya and Michele Ferrari, as well as team boss Johan Bruyneel, all of whom later received serious sanctions, some of them adjusted after appeals.

Martí was presented as a central go between in that structure. Former rider George Hincapie, now owner of ProTeam Modern Adventure, alleged that Martí supplied EPO and testosterone in 1999, and other testimony cited in the record places him in France that same year, delivering EPO to Armstrong at his base on the Côte d’Azur.