Colombian cyclist Miguel Angel Lopez has been provisionally suspended for a “potential anti-doping rule violation”, the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“The Colombian rider has been notified of a potential violation of anti-doping rules for use and possession of a prohibited substance in the weeks preceding the Giro d’Italia 2022” specifies the UCI, which has therefore decided to “provisionally suspend the rider pending the final decision”.
Miguel Angel Lopez, 29, third in the Giro and Vuelta in 2018, was due to take part in the world cycling championships in Glasgow (August 3-13) as part of the Colombian national team, and was lined up for the road and time trial.
The UCI explains that it took this decision after an investigation carried out by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on the doctor Marcos Maynar, thanks in particular to evidence “obtained from the Spanish police authorities (Guardia Civil) and from the Spanish National Anti-Doping Organization (CELAD)”.
In December 2022, Angel Lopez was fired by his Astana Qazaqstan team, who explained that they had “discovered new elements showing the probable link” between doctor Marcos Maynar and the Colombian climber.
Since the start of 2023, Miguel Angel Lopez has been playing for the third division Team Medellin-EPM, with which he won the Tour de San Juan in Argentina and the Tour de Colombia, in which he won nine of the ten stages.