Another TdF Rider Caught Doping

Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 1:31:14 pm PDT

Congratulations to Australia’s Cadel Evans for holding on to the leader’s yellow jersey, but I have to admit that my enjoyment of the Tour de France has been pretty much destroyed by the continuing drug scandals: Second rider tests positive at Tour.

Barloworld’s Moises Duenas has been pulled from the Tour de France after a urine sample provided after stage 4 showed signs of the blood booster erythropoietin.

Police later found banned substances in Duenas’ hotel room, according to a statement on the Barloworld Web site.

The Spaniard was in 19th place in the overall standings, 6:43 behind overall leader Cadel Evans, following Monday’s stage to Hautacam. The team was informed of the positive test by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) on Wednesday morning and Duenas was immediately suspended from the team.

Duenas is the second rider to have failed a drug test for rEPO at the Tour after a sample provided by Liquigas’s Manuel Beltran showed evidence of the same drug.