Curtain comes down on Xacobeo team

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The Fundación Ciclismo Gallego that runs the Xacobeo-Galicia team has announced they won’t be applying for a licence to run a Professional Continental team next season having failed to find a main sponsor. There had been hopes earlier this week that a new backer could still be located. However, none of the companies contacted have followed up on their initial interest.

A statement from the foundation also said that the team would continue to support Ezequiel Mosquera and David García, who have both been advised by the UCI that hydroxyethyl starch was detected in urine samples taken during the Vuelta a España. The foundation stated they have “zero tolerance towards doping”, but added that they would “defend the presumption of innocence of the affected cyclists."

García also released a statement in which he said he had not taken any doping products during the Vuelta, where he played a key role in helping Mosquera to finish in second place overall. García said that he had spoken to the head of the ADAMS whereabouts programme, Olivier Bañuls, who had told him that “a substance called hydroxethyl starch had been found in a control that I underwent on September 16."

García added that Bañuls had “indicated to me that this product is considered a minor substance that does not carry with it the requirement of suspension”.

In his statement García affirmed: “I am not suspended and should be able to keep competing because no substance that demands an immediate suspension was detected in the control.”

The Xacobeo rider added: “Before today I had never heard of the substance mentioned. If it did get into my body I’ve got no idea how this happened. What I want to make very clear is that I did not take anything with the intention of improving my sporting performance.”