Hondo positive for Carphedon

Danilo Hondo, who is currently suspended by his team Gerolsteiner for testing positive twice during the Vuelta a Murcia, has asked for the analysis of his B sample yesterday. The Madrid laboratory, where the first two tests were conducted, has not announced when the analysis will be complete yet, but sources close to Cyclingnews suggest this could be as soon as this week. Hondo will travel to Madrid in the company of Gerolsteiner team doctor Ernst Jakob.

Meanwhile, his team management has made public that the stimulant for which Hondo tested positive is Carphedon, a substance that is not included in any drug available on the market according to team doctor Jakob, who has been investigating the matter. "The substance is not very well known," he said. "It was first developed in the former Soviet Union and is now available for purchase in its pure form on specific Internet websites." Carphedon is a phenyl derivative of nootropil and effective in increasing physical endurance and cold resistance, also used for amnesia treatment.

In agreement with the UCI, team Gerolsteiner has asked a Cologne-based laboratory to analyse Hondo's privately used food complements, as well as drugs prescribed by team doctor Alexander Iablounovski in Spain. Doping substances were not found in any of the products. "These possibilities for an explanation can therefore be ruled out," Jakob said.

The incriminated rider still maintains his innocence. "I have not been doping," Hondo told German news agency dpa. "I know that this may sound ridiculous, but I don't know how the stuff got into my body. I'm going through a nightmare right now."

Hondo may face a two-year ban on his profession, and an exclusion of any ProTour team if the B test result is positive, too. "That would surely be the end of my career," he said.