Race leader Marlon Perez sports bandages from a crash suffered in stage 1. (Image credit: Luis Barbosa)
Marlon Perez said that he was “surprised” at his positive doping controls from the Vuelta a Costa Rica, denying that he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs. The UCI announced last week that he had tested positive at the race last December.
He returned analytical findings of metabolite GW1516 sulfone – Metabolic Modulator and sibutramine in urine samples collected from him during tests at the Vuelta a Costa Rica on 19 and 26 December, 2012, after winning the stages on those days.
