Colom suspended for EPO positive

There was no dummy spitting by Antonio Colom (Katusha) who won the final stage in Nice. (Image credit: Florian & Susanne Schaaf)

Team Katusha's Antonio Colom has been provisionally suspended by the UCI following a positive test for recombinant EPO. The sport's governing body announced Tuesday that Colom returned the positive test following an out-of-competition control on April 2, 209. He was targeted for additional controls using information from his blood profile and his race schedule, the UCI said.

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Team director Serge Parsani was surprised at the news. "This is the first I heard of this. If it is on the UCI's website at least they could inform the team," he told Cyclingnews.

Colom is the second rider from the team to test positive. Austrian Christian Pfannberger was declared positive on May 6 this year. The UCI later confirmed that he was found positive for EPO.

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Colom is allowed to request the counter-analysis of his B-sample, and his suspension will remain provisional until the Spanish Cycling Federation decides whether he has violated the anti-doping rules.

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Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.