Italian rider said Furosemide positive caused by herbal tea
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Cristian Murro (Lampre) struggles on the cobbles.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Christian Murro (Lampre) at the start from the Piazza Castello.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Christian Murro has been cleared of doping by a court in Pordenone, Italy. The former Lampre rider returned a positive test for the diuretic Furosemide during an out-of-competition control carried out by the UCI on January 15, 2008. After being handed a two-year suspension, he retired from cycling.
“It wasn’t personal revenge on my part,” Murro told Ciclismoweb.net after the verdict on Thursday, although he expressed his frustration at the drawn-out nature of the process. “The test took place out of competition in January 2008 and I was only given the reasons for my suspension five months later.”
As well as facilitating weight loss, Furosemide can also be used as a masking agent for artificial testosterone but Murro maintained that the substance entered his system as a result of drinking a herbal tea.
“I’ve been completely cleared of the charge of having used doping products,” Murro said. “But now who can give me back that reduced relationship with competitive cycling and all that I have lost in this period?”
Murro turned professional in 2005 and enjoyed his best season in the colours of Tenax in 2007, winning the Tre Valli Varesine and finishing 4th at the Italian championships. He signed for Lampre in 2008, the season of his positive test. On retiring, he moved into team management. In 2011 he will be sporting director at the Casati-Named amateur team.
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
