Oscar Sevilla dealt a doping ban
Spaniard Oscar Sevilla, who wore the leader’s jersey at the Vuelta a Colombia and finished in second overall, was provisionally suspended today when a blood test taken during the Colombia event tested positive for Hydroxyethyl starch (HES). He rode the event
for Indeportes-Antioquia, the Colombian team which achieved a one-two finish.
HES is a blood plasma volume expander which is used to erase the evidence of red blood cell boosting, the effect of the common doping drug EPO. The World Anti-Doping Agency sent the results to the Union Cycliste Internationale, who have put Sevilla under
a temporary ban until the B-sample can be analyzed. If the B-sample is tested positive, it is the Spanish Cycling Federation’s responsibility to enforce a two-year ban for the rider.
“The decision to provisionally suspend Mr. Sevilla was made in response to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Bogota, indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of Hydroxyethyl starch in a urine sample collected from him at an in-competition test
at the Vuelta a Colombia on August 15, 2010,” read a statement released by the UCI.
The Spaniard was the best-young-rider at the 2001 Tour de France and finished second in the Vuelta a Espana in the same year, his first season as a pro. Sevilla signed on with the Colombia team Indeportes after American-based Rock Racing team went under
(after the 2009 season). He first brought the team to victory at the Vuelta Mexico in April, but his next best result, the second-place in Colombia, is likely to be overturned. He had been with Rock Racing for two years, joining the team after he was kicked
out of T-Mobile for his implication in the Operacion Puerto doping case, a case in which he was never sanctioned.
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