Dmitriy Fofonov will not have much to laugh in the near future (Image credit: AFP)
Kazakh rider Dmitriy Fofonov was fired from his team and detained by French police for questioning after it was announced that he tested positive for a banned stimulant, heptaminol. The French Anti-doping Agency president Pierre Bordry said that the now former Crédit Agricole rider had tested positive for "very heavy dose" of the drug.
According to The Associated Press Fofonov was arrested at his team's hotel and taken in for questioning. His team manager Roger Legeay said that the rider told him that he bought the product on the Internet. "He says that it was for cramps, but that he forgot to tell the team doctor," Legeay said.
The news of the positive time came while the team was celebrating the finale of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees. "I am deeply crushed. I've been riding with him for four years," said team-mate Jimmy Engoulvent. "We are professionals. Whether it's a stimulant or EPO, it's the same thing."
