Leleivyte and Schleck doping cases mean lost Olympic places

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Lithuania, Luxembourg penalized in Olympics over positives

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Frank Schleck (RadioShack - Nissan)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

The men’s and women's road races at London 2012 Olympic Games each started with one rider fewer than originally planned due to International Olympic Committee rules barring countries from replacing riders who returned positive doping tests.

In the men's race, Luxembourg lost one spot due to Fränk Schleck's positive during the Tour de France. Schleck returned a sample positive for Xipamide, a diuretic, on July 14th. The B-sample confirmed the result a week later.

Lithuania's Rasa Leleivyte tested positive for EPO on June 12. The result was not announced until July 18, after Lithuania had named its team for the Games, naming her as its sole representative. Leleivyte’s positive test meant that her country had no starter in the women's road race.

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The two countries will also lose their spot for the individual time trial.
 

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Laura Weislo
Laura Weislo
Managing Editor

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.