Comardo accepts two-year suspension for doping

Mitch Comardo accepted a supension for an anti-doping rules violation after testing positive for multiple prohibited substances according to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

A urine sample collected out-of-competition from Comardo by USADA on August 24, 2009, contained Tamoxifen and its metabolite 4-hydroxytamoxifen, Anastrozole, Letrozole, and Clomiphene, each of which is in the class of "Hormone Antagonists and Modulators"; human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), which is in the class of "Hormones and Related Substances"; and an "Anabolic Agent".

Each substance is prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic Movement Testing and the rules of the International Cycling Union (UCI), both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

The 22-year-old Comardo admitted the violation and accepted a two-year period of ineligibility promptly after being confronted with the results by USADA in accordance with WADA Code provisions. His admission helped him avoid an increased suspension period for "aggravating circumstances based on the presence of multiple substances in his urine sample".

Tamoxifen and Anastrozole are commonly used as estrogen-reducing breast cancer treatments. Two others cause testosterone to increase after a cycle of anabolics. According to Wikipedia, both Letrozole and Clomiphene are sometimes used by athletes at the end of  steroid cycle to block the effects of estrogen and stimulate normal testosterone production.

Comardo's two-year ban began on September 24, 2009, the date he accepted a provisional suspension. He was disqualified from all competitive results on and since August 24. He was ordered to forfeit any medals, points and prizes.

Comardo has raced for Bike Barn on the road and Gary Fisher 29er in mountain biking.

He competed at the 2009 USA Cycling Under 23 Road National Championships this summer, but abandoned the road race. In mid-July he won the French Broad Cycling Classic road race. He was third at the Dave Boyd Huntsville Classic XIII cross country mountain bike race in September and third at the GS Tenzing Crit in late May. His wins this season include the Walburg Classic (cat. 2) Road race in February, the Tunis-Roubaix XI road race in March and the Houston Metro Crit in May,

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