Alfred gets 8-year ban

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced on Friday that track cyclist Stephen Alfred of Capitola, Calif., has been given an eight-year suspension after testing positive for exogenous testosterone and for 'pregnancy hormone' human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG).

Alfred, 39, returned a positive result for exogenous testosterone or its precursors and for an elevated testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio in an out-of-competition test conducted on May 28, 2006. He also tested positive for hCG on June 10, 2006, at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Brazil. The two positives are considered one doping offense according to the World Anti-Doping Code.

Alfred previously tested positive for the prohibited substance norandrosterone at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which made this his second doping offense. However, the lifetime ban was not applied "given the nature and circumstance of this first doping offense for which Alfred received a reduced suspension of six months," USADA stated.

Alfred’s eight-year ban commenced January 30, 2007, the date he accepted the sanction.