PARIS, Aug 12, 2008 (AFP) – Spanish rider Iban Mayo was banned for two years after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal by the sport’s world governing body the UCI, the Lausanne-based CAS said on Tuesday.

The statement said: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeal filed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in a case involving the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) and the Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo.

“Accordingly, the CAS disqualified Iban Mayo from the Tour de France 2007 and imposed a two-year ban as from 31 July 2007.”

In a complex matter, Mayo initially tested positive for blood-booster EPO on July 24 during last year’s Grand Boucle. The A-sample had been analyzed by the Anti-doping laboratory of Chatenay-Malabry (LNDD) in France.

The B-sample was then tested in Ghent, Belgium, as the LNDD had its annual closure, which referred it to a laboratory in Sydney which claimed it was “inconclusive.”

In December, the LNDD confirmed the initial positive test but the RFEC had previously concluded the B-sample was not positive and had dropped proceedings. That brought about UCI’s appeal to CAS which was lodged the same month.

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