Former Vuelta winner banned for two years

AFP, December, 2006

GENEVA (AFP) — Former Tour of Spain winner Aitor Gonzalez was suspended for two years on doping-related offences after world sport's top court upheld an appeal by the International Cycling Union (UCI). Spaniard Gonzalez, the 2002 winner, tested positive for methyltestosterone during the Vuelta last year and during an earlier out-of-competition test in August 2005.

The Spanish cycling federation decided only to fine him in May after he presented a research report saying that a food supplement he had been taking had been contaminated. However, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) said in a statement that Gonzalez could not have ignored the risks of taking the supplement following repeated warnings given by sports authorities about such products. "The CAS arbitrators have...