Lars Boom could be kept out of the Tour de France on the eve of the Grand Départ after returning cortisol levels below the normal level. Under the agreement with the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling) the Dutchman would not be allowed to start, although the test is not necessarily an indication that a rider has violated anti-doping rules.
According to L'Equipe, the Astana team will not be allowed to replace Boom because the test results came after the managers meeting, so defending champion Vincenzo Nibali could be left to race with only seven teammates.
Astana declined to comment to Cyclingngews at this time, but general manager Alexandre Vinokourov told the French paper that if the UCI will not allow him to field a substitute, "tough luck, MPCC".
ADVERTISEMENT
They later announced to the journalists outside the team hotel that they would bring Alessandro Vanotti to the start on Saturday, but the UCI confirmed that it would not bend on its ruling. "As per UCI Regulations, teams can't change their starting list after the Directeur Sportif meeting has taken place. The UCI is committed to apply its regulations consistently and will therefore not authorise any team to change its starting list now," its statement read.
Late on Friday evening Astana eventually made a statement: "In response to the official correspondence from the MPCC from 29 June 2015, Astana Pro Team asked the UCI to authorise the activation of named reserve rider Alessandro Vanotti to the Tour de France squad in order to start on 4 July. Official registration of riders for the 2015 Tour de France closed at 10:30 on 3 July at the Sport Directors Meeting, before the CADF notification."
However their statement came out after the confirmation that selections could no longer be changed. Astana refused to make any further comment when this was made clear to them.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1G08NmG
No comments:
Post a Comment