The Only Doping Case This Year (So Far)

Again, like the last rest day, I'm going to post an old article that I haven't had the time to discuss. I have a whole mess of articles waiting to be posted, but I wanted to talk about this one today.

I must give the UCI a lot of credit. They are really trying to make cycling a completely clean sport, which can not be said about some other sports (at least in the US). With all of the doping cases that have been haunting the Tour de France in recent years, so far this year we have only seen one. After Stage 5, Alexandr Kolobnev tested positive for diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. Now as the article states, this drug could have came into the body in other ways (ie through food), and the rider has a chance to defend himself, however in the other article on the same subject, Kolobnev took it upon himself to suspend himself. So does this make him guilty?

Also the two articles below that I posted seem to contradict each other. Even the second article gives different information in each paragrah it seems. At first it says Kolobnev pulled himself out of the Tour. Then it says the UCI had his team remove him ("indirectly", of course). So, as previously stated, he must know he's guilty. Let me know your thoughts.

Kolobnev Tour de France's first doping case(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kolobnev-tour-de-frances-first-doping-case)

L'Equipe has reported that Katusha's Alexandr Kolobnev has tested positive for a diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in the first week of the Tour de France, and has been removed from the race on the first rest day. The positive sample was taken the day of stage 5 on July 6, 2011.

The Russian champion's A sample reportedly showed evidence of the substance, which can be used as a masking agent and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list. It is the first doping case of the 2011 Tour.

The French newspaper received confirmation of the results of the test performed by the laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry before the rider himself was notified.

The UCI later confirmed the news, but said it will not provisionally suspend the rider because HCT is not a "specified substance". This means the rider can continue to compete, but the UCI press release stated it is "confident that his team will take the necessary steps to enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity and to ensure that their rider has the opportunity to properly prepare his defense in particular within the legal timeline, which allows four days for him to have his B sample analyzed".

In the UCI's anti-doping rules, if a rider can explain how a "specified substance" may have entered his system, he can receive anywhere from a warning and a time penalty of one percent on the stage for which he tested positive to a two-year ban from the sport.

HCT is the same substance for which Belgian track star Iljo Keisse tested positive in 2008. He blamed the result on a contaminated supplement, and was able to convince the Belgian cycling federation not to suspend him. However, the UCI appealed the decision and Keisse was given a two-year suspension by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Kolobnev suspends himself after doping positive(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kolobnev-suspends-himself-after-doping-positive)

Russian champion Alexandr Kolobnev has quit the Tour de France after testing positive for a banned diuretic following stage 5. His Katusha team announced that he had taken the action and said that team rules state that if his B-sample is also positive he will be fired and have to pay five times his salary as a fine.

French police arrived at the team's hotel during the first rest day of the Tour after the doping positive was announced.

"The President of the sport group Andrei Tchmil went voluntarily to the police, together with Kolobnev and his roommate [Egor] Silin, in order to translate and reinforce the fact that he and the team are not involved to the contested facts," said the team's press release.

The positive test for hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) was announced on Monday, and although the International Cycling Union (UCI) confirmed the news, it said it would not issue a provisional suspension because the drug is a "specified substance" under its anti-doping rules, meaning that even though it is banned in and out of competition, there is a chance HCT could have been ingested through no fault of the rider.

The UCI did, however, indirectly call for the team to pull Kolobnev from the race in order to "enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity".

Despite having an opportunity to defend himself with a B-sample analysis in the coming days, the Katusha team pulled Kolobnev from the race and gave him his walking papers.

The doping case is the third for Katusha in its history after Antonio Colom Mas (EPO) and Christian Pfannberger (also EPO) in 2009.

The 30-year-old Kolobnev twice placed second in the world championships, and was awarded the bronze medal from the Beijing Olympic Games road race in 2008 after placing fourth behind disqualified Italian runner-up Davide Rebellin.

At the time of his ejection from the Tour de France, he was sitting in 69th place, 22:15 behind race leader Thomas Voeckler.