Spanish court overturns Vuelta runner-up Mosquera's doping ban

Ezequiel Mosquera, runner-up in the 2010 Vuelta but stripped of that result after testing positive for a banned substance, has had his two-year doping ban overturned by a Spanish court, but says he feels let down by cycling.

Now aged 39, Mosquera rode the race in the colours of the now-defunct Xacobeo-Galicia team and finished second to Vincenzo Nibali, 41 seconds behind the Italian and winning the penultimate stage on the summit of Bola del Mundo.

Shortly after the race ended, it was revealed that Mosquera and his team mate David García Dapena had tested positive for hydroxyethyl starch,  which can be used as a masking agent for EPO.

In 2011, by which time he had joined Vacansoleil-DCM, Mosquera was stripped of his second place overall, as well as his stage win and banned for years, and he was sacked by his team.

The Galician rider told Spanish newspaper La Marca that he learnt of the high court’s decision to overturn his ban three months ago, while the 2014 Vuelta was taking place, but chose not to go public.

He said he was “very relieved” to learn of the verdict, but added that he feels let down by a sport he devoted his life to, one he says is now dominated by money.

Mosquera, who rode the Vuelta on four occasions and never finished outside the top five, agreed that nothing could take away the feeling of winning that stage on the Bola del Mundo, the biggest victory of his career.

Despite his ban being annulled, he accepts that his cycling career is over, and is now focusing on projects including a sporting events company and a cycling clothing brand.