Spanish climbing specialist Iban Mayo became the latest rider to
fail a drugs test after it was revealed he had tested positive for
EPO during the Tour de France, it was announced by his Saunier
Duval team on Monday.
The 29-year-old, who finished 16th in the Tour behind compatriot
Alberto Contador, has been suspended by his team.
"The Saunier Duval team were notified by the International
Cycling Union (UCI) that Iban Mayo had tested positive for EPO
following a test on July 24 which was a rest day on the Tour de
France," read a statement on the team's website.
The statement added that they had decided to suspend him
immediately and would sack him if his B sample confirmed the
positive test.
If it is confirmed, Mayo would be the third rider to have tested
positive on the Tour.
Pre-race favorite Alexandre Vinokourov was thrown out of the
race last Tuesday for homologous blood doping while veteran
Cristian Moreni was ejected the day after for failing a test.
Then race leader Michael Rasmussen - whose participation had
been queried in any case because of missing four dope tests in the
past 18 months - was thrown out by his Rabobank team later on
Wednesday for lying about his whereabouts in June - he said he had
been in Mexico when in fact he had been sighted in Italy.
It is not the first time Mayo - whose career almost ended
prematurely when a car accident confined him to a wheel chair for a
month at the age of 22 - has been implicated in a doping story as
last month he was suspected of having failed a test in the Giro
d'Italia. However, he was cleared by the UCI.
Mayo was reported to have tested positive for testosterone, the
banned male hormone which snared Floyd Landis on his way to victory
in last year's Tour de France.
But the UCI said in a statement that Mayo, who was tested
following his victory on the 19th stage to Terme di Comano, had not
breached doping rules.
In his prime as part of the Basque Euskaltel team, the
29-year-old Mayo was one of the few riders capable of challenging
the dominance of Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich on the Tour de
France mountain stages.
He won the stage to Alpe d'Huez in 2003, and won the Dauphine
Libere stage race, an important build-up to the Tour, in 2004 and
showed signs of a return to form this season when he won a stage on
the Giro.
Also on Monday, disgraced Vinokourov was sacked by the Astana
team following his positive test.
"Astana Cycling Team received confirmation that Alexander
Vinokourov's B sample was non negative," the Swiss team backed by
Kazakh companies said in a statement.
"Consequently, the Kazakh rider has been sacked by Astana
cycling team with immediate effect."
(China Daily via AFP and Agencies August 1, 2007)