Moreni not happy with sentence

Cristian Moreni (Cofidis), who was handed a two-year suspension following his positive test for testosterone, declared to French paper Journal du Dimanche that he had a hard time accepting the ban. "It is like giving the same sentence to someone who stole an apple and to someone who robbed a bank," the Italian declared in light of the fact that riders caught for blood doping got the same suspension.

"I did not want to dope," the former Cofidis rider declared and emphasized that to him, not riding at l'eau claire ('clean water' or drug-free) is taking illegal substances such as EPO, growth hormones or testosterone. "I have bought a plant-based paste over the internet to stimulate the natural production of testosterone. I wasn't aware that I could have a problem with the doping control. For me, it was like taking amino acids or protein. I know many riders who take it."

The Italian, who acknowledged that he made a costly mistake, added that he had other products with him that the police seized. Tribulus terrestris (a plant to enhance sports performances as well as the love life), Andro Max (a testosterone booster) and a corticoid-based paste, which Moreni had "not opened and for which I had a prescription."