Cycling - UCI Suspends Tour of Turkey champion
Malta Independent
Thursday, 19 July 2012, 00:00
Last update: about 15 years ago
The International Cycling Union says it has provisionally suspended two cyclists after they tested positive for the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO. Neither case involves the Tour de France. The UCI says Ivailo Gabrovski of Bulgaria had traces of EPO in a urine sample taken during the Tour of Turkey, an eight-day event which he won in April. Gabrovski will remain barred from competing until the Bulgarian cycling federation holds a disciplinary hearing. The 34-year-old rider will be stripped of the victory if doping is proven. The governing body says Rasa Leleivyte of Lithuania tested positive in an out-of-competition urine sample she gave last month. The Lithuanian cycling federation will investigate her case. Both riders can request and attend testing of their backup samples.