Russian sprinter finally banned after admitting EPO use
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Stage 1 victor Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha)(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha)(Image credit: Barry Ryan)
Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) winner of Paris-Bruxelles(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Russian sprinter Denis Galimzyanov has received a two-year ban after testing positive for EPO and admitting to doping. The former Katusha rider tested positive in an out-of-competition control on March 22.
Galimzyanov's ban was dated from April 13, 2012 when he was provisionally suspended by the UCI.
The 25-year-old winner of the 2011 Paris - Bruxelles and the Tour of Beijing points classification admitted to doping shortly after his positive test was announced, taking care to absolve his team of any responsibility.
“I would like to draw A PARTICULAR ATTENTION for that fact that Katusha Team has nothing to do with what happened,” he wrote in April. “No team member knew and could know about what I did. It was my personal decision and my responsibility.”
Katusha was recently denied its WorldTour license despite being the number two-ranked team in the 2012 UCI WorldTour standings.
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