LEZAC, France – Russia’s Alexandr Kolobnev is the first cyclist at this year’s Tour de France to fail a doping test, the International Cycling Union said Monday.
Kolobnev was in 69th place heading into today’s 10th stage, but his Katusha team issued a statement saying he is out of the Tour after deciding to “suspend himself according to UCI rules.”
Katusha sports director Dimitry Konyshev said earlier “it’s impossible for him to continue the race with this problem.”
The UCI said a urine sample collected Wednesday from Kolobnev tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic that can also be used as a masking agent hiding the presence of other drugs.
The samples were analyzed at the Chatenay-Malabry laboratory, which is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
It came on the Tour’s fifth stage — a flat sprint from Carhaix to Cap Frehel.
Tour organizers and French Anti-Doping Agency President Bruno Genevois were not available for comment.
Katusha sports director Bart Leysen said Kolobnev met team management then left the hotel with police officers to be questioned at the police station, adding that they “just want to check some things with him, papers, and normally they will bring him back later.”
Asked if Kolobnev will be ousted from the team, Leysen said: “Our riders all sign an internal document saying that in case of a positive test they are fired.”
Kolobnev has four days to request an analysis of his “B” sample.
“If the ‘B’ sample also tests positive, he will be fired and will have to pay five times his salary as a fine,” the Katusha statement read.
The UCI can’t provisionally ban Kolobnev because Hydrochlorothiazide is classified as a specified substance, which WADA defines as one that is “more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation.” Its punishment for such a positive test ranges from a warning to a two-year ban.
Kolobnev, 30, finished 65th in last year’s Tour.
Kazakh star Alexandre Vinokourov had surgery for his broken thighbone Sunday night in Paris.
French police are investigating the crash in which a Tour de France car sideswiped a group of riders, sending two of them flying off the road.
Police began interviewing witnesses and the driver whose car swerved into Spanish rider Juan Antonio Flecha and Dutch racer Johnny Hoogerland during Sunday’s ninth stage, Jean-Pascal Violet, the public prosecutor for the town of Aurillac, said Monday.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.