Iban Mayo Cleared Of Doping Testosterone At Giro d’Italia
By AFP
This report filed June 14, 2007
Spanish climber Iban Mayo, one of three riders whose urine samples were reported to have shown traces of drugs during the recent Giro d’Italia, was cleared of doping by the UCI on Thursday.
But cycling’s world governing body confirmed that Italian pair Alessandro Petacchi and Leonardo Piepoli were still under investigation.
Italy’s sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported Thursday that the three cyclists returned “non-negative” results at the first grand tour of the season, which ran from May 12-June 3.
The paper said sprinter Petacchi and climber Piepoli tested positive for Salbutamol, a substance primarily used to treat asthma. Salbutamol is a banned substance, but riders with asthma may use it up to certain levels if they possess a medical certificate.
Mayo was reported to have tested positive for testosterone, but the UCI said that Mayo, who was tested following his victory on the 19th stage to Terme di Comano, had not breached doping rules.
“The UCI has noted press reports about three purportedly abnormal analysis results linked to the last Giro d’Italia,” the UCI said in a statement. “While regretting the premature publication of this news item, the UCI wishes to clarify the following points.
“No breach of the UCI antidoping rules was committed by the Spanish rider Iban Mayo of the Saunier Duval team,” the statement continued. “A further examination conducted by IRMS has enabled any possibility of testosterone administration to be ruled out.
“This further analysis was requested by the UCI following the notification by the Rome laboratory of a T/E value in excess of the norm laid down in the rules; that finding made further examinations necessary.
“The history of this particular case shows the vital need to await the closure of the relevant investigations before reaching conclusions. In the other cases, the analyses requested by the UCI are still in progress.”
Milram’s Petacchi won five stages in this year’s Giro, while Saunier Duval’s Piepoli won one.
According to the Gazzetta report, neither team was informed of the positive tests by the UCI.
Saunier team manager Mauro Gianetti was left confused about the fate of his two cyclists.
“I called the UCI and they said to me ‘If you haven’t heard any news, it’s because there isn’t any.’ This is absurd,” he said.
Piepoli reacted to the news prior to the start of the Dauphine Libere’s fourth stage in France, saying: “It’s true that I take Salbutamol to treat my allergy. Mauro (Gianetti) asked me how much I had taken. But I don’t know how many puffs I took. I take it each time I need it. It depends on the seasons.”
In his prime as part of the Basque Euskaltel team, the 29-year-old Mayo was one of the few riders capable of challenging the dominance of Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich on the Tour de France mountain stages.
He won the stage to Alpe d’Huez in 2003, and won the Dauphine in 2004. The governing body of cycling released the following statement Thursday:
The UCI has noted press reports about three purportedly abnormal analysis results linked to the last Giro d’Italia. While regretting the premature publication of this news item, the UCI wishes to clarify the following points.
No breach of the UCI antidoping rules was committed by the Spanish rider Iban Mayo of the Saunier Duval team. A further examination conducted by IRMS has enabled any possibility of testosterone administration to be ruled out. This further analysis was requested by the UCI following the notification by the Rome laboratory of a T/E value in excess of the norm laid down in the rules; that finding made further examinations necessary. The history of this particular case shows the vital need to await the closure of the relevant investigations before reaching conclusions.
In the other cases, the analyses requested by the UCI are still in progress.
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