Abandon of Cárdenas and Borghini unrelated to news
By Brecht Decaluwé in Lannemezan, France
On Wednesday morning Spanish climber Moises Dueñas received the news that he had tested positive on EPO during a doping test on the A-sample he had delivered after the stage four time trial in Cholet. The Barloworld rider was the second rider to fail an anti-doping control after Spaniard Manuel Beltran of Liquigas. Both riders have withdrawn from the Tour de France, and have requested a counter-analysis of the B-sample. Until the result can be confirmed, both are officially considered 'non-negative' and have been suspended from their teams.
Police searched both riders' hotel rooms, and in the case of Dueñas, found forbidden substances in his hotel room in Tarbes. The French law states that the possession of doping products is forbidden, and his trouble is now compounded by possible criminal proceedings.
Just before the start of the eleventh stage in Lannemezan, the Barloworld team made an official statement regarding the news of Dueñas' non-negative result. The team said it will continue with the seven riders it has left, while waiting for the results of the B-sample from their Spanish rider.
"The team is very shocked by the situation, but it's not involved in the affair with Moises Dueñas. This morning we received a message from the Tour about a positive test from Moises Dueñas after the time trial in Cholet. At the same time the police arrived and investigated Dueñas' room.
"Afterwards they took him to the police office where he will be joined later by the team manager and the team doctor. Obviously the rider is out of the Tour de France and we'll have to wait for the results of the second test before we can undertake any further steps. When asked whether Dueñas had given a reaction, the team representative said, "The police didn't allow anybody near him, it was impossible to talk with the rider. We are all shocked by the situation. We just lost Mauricio Soler and now this incident. The team will go on with their seven riders but clearly it's not a lucky Tour for team Barloworld."
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After the finish in Foix the representative added to Cyclingnews that the police had found damaging material in Dueñas' room. "The police has found forbidden products substances in the room. The doctor of the team is not involved as the substances weren't given by the doctor.
And if the Barloworld team felt they were having an unlucky day things got even worse during the race. Dueñas' room-mate Félix Cárdenas and Paolo Longo Borghini withdrew from the race during the stage after being involved in a crash after 57 kilometres. "Longo Borghini broke his collarbone and was brought over to the hospital while Cárdenas had a big hematoma on his left knee, forcing the latter to abandon as well. And no, there's no link between the Dueñas doping problems and the drop-out from Cárdenas," he said.
