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Colom suspended after positive EPO test

PARIS, June 9, 2009 (AFP) – Spanish cyclist Antonio Colom has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned substance EPO, the International Cycling Union (UCI) revealed on Tuesday.

Colom had been scheduled to race for the Katusha team in the Tour de France, which begins on July 4.

The 31-year-old finished fifth in Paris-Nice in March after winning the race’s final stage.

Colom has been provisionally suspended ahead of a hearing with the Spanish cycling federation.

The positive test, carried out by a laboratory in Madrid, took place out of competition on April 2.

UCI revealed that Colom had been tested due to information gleaned from his biological passport.

“This abnormal result is the direct result of a targeted test based on information taken from his blood profile and knowledge of his competition schedule,” UCI said in a statement.

Colom is the second Katusha rider to test positive for EPO in less than a month-and-a-half, following Austria’s Christian Pfannberger.