The Portuguese National Anti-Doping Council (CNAD) has decided to have samples collected at the last Tour of Portugal re-tested for EPO-CERA in Lausanne, Switzerland. According to Sapo, 18 blood samples taken at the national tour last August have been sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory, who is one of the few that has the expertise to detect the latest version of blood-booster EPO.
"The samples were already tested for homologous blood transfusion, growth hormone and synthetic haemoglobin," said national Doping Analysis Laboratory (LAD) director Luís Horta, who thought the re-testing would contribute greatly to prevent doping in the future. "Even if the results come back negative, the athletes will know that there is always the possibility to proceed to new tests."
