Heras' 'B' sample positive
ByReuters
Published 25/11/2005 at 15:33 GMT
Four times Tour of Spain winner Roberto Heras had a doping offence for the banned blood-boosting substance erythropoietin (EPO) confirmed when it was announced on Friday that his 'B' test had given a positive result.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Heras faces a premature end to his career due to the stringent doping regulations of the ProTour.
"Surprisingly the test was positive," Heras's legal representative Jose Maria Buxeda told reporters outside the Madrid laboratory carrying out the test.
The confirmation on Froday of the offence means that the 31-year-old Spaniard will be stripped of his record-breaking fourth crown in the Vuelta, with victory handed instead to Russian rider Denis Menchov.
He will also be obliged to rescind his contract with the Liberty Seguros team, be banned from competition from two years and not be allowed to sign for one of the elite ProTour teams for four years.
Heras, who has mounted an impassioned defence of his innocence, has said he is prepared to take the case to court in order to clear his name, arguing that the testing process for EPO is flawed.
The former team mate of seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is scheduled to give a news conference at 1600 GMT in Madrid.
Heras originally tested positive for EPO during the penultimate stage on his way to victory in this year's Tour of Spain, a 39-km individual time trial between Guadalajara and Alcala de Henares.
The 'B' test was carried out on Nov. 21, but the complex nature of the analysis delayed the announcement of the result until Friday.
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