Russian Cyclist Cleared of Tour de France Doping

© Photo : HeidasAlexander Kolobnev
Alexander Kolobnev - Sputnik International
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A Russian cyclist who failed a drugs test at the 2011 Tour de France did not intentionally take a banned substance, and will not be suspended from competition, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has said.

A Russian cyclist who failed a drugs test at the 2011 Tour de France did not intentionally take a banned substance, and will not be suspended from competition, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has said.

Kolobnev was the only cyclist to fail a test at last year’s Tour, when the hydrochlorothiazide, classified as a diuretic or masking agent, was found in a sample he gave before stage five.

The court rejected an appeal by the UCI, cycling’s international governing body, that Kolobnev’s initial sanction of a reprimand from the Russian Cycling Federation was too lenient.

The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist had taken medicine for a long-term vascular condition, not knowing that it contained the banned substance, the court ruled.

The court said in a statement that it was satisfied that the medicine “had been actually indicated to supplement the treatment of the vascular disease affecting the athlete, and not (as food supplements normally are) to help an athlete recover from physical effort or better prepare for a sporting performance.”

Kolobnev will have to pay the costs of the anti-doping procedure, totaling $3,750, plus a $2,000 fine.

Kolobnev raced for Russia’s Katusha team, but left the Tour de France after the violation was made public, and has been without a team since.

 

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