Spanish radio reporting positive tests for two Xacobeo riders
Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia) was impressive on the final climb. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The UCI has confirmed that Vuelta a España runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera and David Garcia Da Peña tested positive during the race for Hydroxyethyl starch based on reports from the WADA accredited laboratory in Köln. Both riders have requested the right to request and attend the analyses of their B samples
Speaking on his radio show this morning, distinguished Cadena SER presenter José Ramón De la Morena revealed: “Two more cases of possible positive are going to be made public today. One of them is the cyclist Ezequiel Mosquera from the Xacobeo team and the other is from the same team.”
Reports in Spain suggested that Mosquera has yet to be told about the news. The 34-year-old recently signed a lucrative two-year deal with Dutch squad Vacansoleil.
Contacted by Spanish news agency EFE, Xacobeo team manager Alvaro Pino commented: “I’m dumbstruck. I’ve just been told and I’m surprised because in the team we are sure that this doping case is impossible. I’ve still not spoken with Ezequiel, but I will be trying to do so in the coming hours.”
This report comes on the same day that fans of the Xacobeo team are planning to gather in the Galician city of Vigo to rally behind the squad, which requires significant financial investment in order to continue into next season.
According to a press release from group behind the show of support for Xacobeo: “We are trying to gather as many cycling fans as possible in the Galician capital to show our support and pay homage to this club and to the great results it has achieved up to now, as well as to protest in front of the Xunta (Galician regional government) about the possible disappearance of this team that is emblematic of Galician sport.”
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Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014).
