Second Team Katusha rider to test positive this year.
There was no dummy spitting by Antonio Colom (Katusha) who won the final stage in Nice. (Image credit: Florian & Susanne Schaaf)
Team Katusha's Antonio Colom has been provisionally suspended by the UCI following a positive test for recombinant EPO. The sport's governing body announced Tuesday that Colom returned the positive test following an out-of-competition control on April 2, 209. He was targeted for additional controls using information from his blood profile and his race schedule, the UCI said.
Team director Serge Parsani was surprised at the news. "This is the first I heard of this. If it is on the UCI's website at least they could inform the team," he told Cyclingnews.
Colom is the second rider from the team to test positive. Austrian Christian Pfannberger was declared positive on May 6 this year. The UCI later confirmed that he was found positive for EPO.
Colom is allowed to request the counter-analysis of his B-sample, and his suspension will remain provisional until the Spanish Cycling Federation decides whether he has violated the anti-doping rules.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
