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Samuel Sanchez provisionally suspended after failing anti-doping control

BMC Racing rider and former Olympic road champion had been due to start Vuelta on Saturday

Samuel Sanchez, who had been due to start the Vuelta on Saturday as part of BMC Racing's team for the Spanish Grand Tour, has been provisionally suspended after failing an anti-doping control.

The team said that it had provisionally suspended the 39-year-old, winner of the Olympic road race in 2008 and of stages at the Tour de France and Vuelta.

"In accordance with BMC Racing Team’s zero tolerance policy and UCI regulation, Sanchez has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect," it said.

"Until the results of the B sample are provided, no further action will be taken."

The UCI WorldTiur team added: "All riders and staff are held to the highest ethical standard and BMC Racing Team is extremely disappointed to share this news on the eve of the Vuelta a España. Loïc Vliegen will replace Sanchez at the Vuelta a España."

In a statement, the UCI said that he had been"notified of an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) of GHRP-2* in a sample collected in the scope of out-of-competition control on 9 August 2017.

"The doping control was planned and carried out by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF), the independent body mandated by the UCI, in charge of defining and implementing the anti-doping strategy in cycling.

"The rider has the right to request and attend the analysis of the B sample.

"In accordance with UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the rider has been provisionally suspended until the adjudication of the affair.

"At this stage of the procedure, the UCI will not comment any further on any of these matters," the UCI added.

According to the UCI, "GH-Releasing Peptides (GHRPs) are classified as 'Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics' as per the World Anti-Doping Prohibited List 2017."

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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14 comments

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Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
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Unless you've got access to 100% legit stuff I'd not even bother trying peptides. It's hard to get any real evidence about this sort of thing as official PED research is thin when it comes to human subjects and most of what is out there is anecodotal bro-science from people who are also on a cocktail of god-knows-what anyway. No point taking the word of some guy that's already blasting tren or whatever. 

 

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1961BikiE | 6 years ago
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To comment on Yorkshire Wallets post; you could well be right about the efficacy of this product type. However imagine you're an unscrupulous "sports doctor" and you approach an unscrupulous athlete with some new expensive wonder PED? I don't suppose these dealers offer guaranteed results, just the probability of improvement. Shady dealings after all.

This in no way is meant to imply I'm saying Sanchez has doped.  1

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turboprannet replied to 1961BikiE | 6 years ago
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1961BikiE wrote:

To comment on Yorkshire Wallets post; you could well be right about the efficacy of this product type..

if you get a 5% boost on your club runs nobody will (a) notice (b) care. 

If a pro gets a 1-5% boost then it is the difference between podiums and DNFs. 

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Another David | 6 years ago
2 likes

He's from an era and a country where doing is the norm. I believe he got busted at age 19 too. Put those facts together and the picture starts to paint itself.

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dottigirl replied to Another David | 6 years ago
1 like

Another David wrote:

He's from an era and a country where doing is the norm. I believe he got busted at age 19 too. Put those facts together and the picture starts to paint itself.

Yeah. It doesn't matter if he was clean for the rest of his career, if he's bookended it with doping, there will always be suspicion. 

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turboprannet replied to Another David | 6 years ago
1 like

Another David wrote:

He's from an era and a country where doing is the norm. I believe he got busted at age 19 too. Put those facts together and the picture starts to paint itself.

only foreigners dope, obvs. 

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don simon fbpe replied to Another David | 6 years ago
0 likes

Another David wrote:

He's from an era and a country where doing is the norm. I believe he got busted at age 19 too. Put those facts together and the picture starts to paint itself.

Facts?

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turboprannet | 6 years ago
2 likes

dirty sanchez

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davel | 6 years ago
6 likes

Or you go through your career doing all manner of doping, start to wind down the MASSIVE DRUGS along with your career, and are unfortunate to get caught for the the PED equivalent of a cheeky spliff.

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alansmurphy | 6 years ago
1 like

Or you're having your mid life crisis and trying to hang on to a career you love. I mean there's rules and he's perhaps come up just shy whilst (here's a phrase) looking for a marginal gain to be a domestique. It's not quite hanging blood in wardrobes and bribing the UCI is it...

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handlebarcam | 6 years ago
5 likes

Doping in your twenties is wrong, but you can see why a young fool might think it worth taking shortcuts to success. But, if this is confirmed, doping at 39 is pathetic. Just retire man! Even if he has somehow blown all his money, surely Spanish TV would've given the ex-Olympic champion a cushy commentator or reporter job.

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Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
0 likes

Unless you're after very marginal gains I don't think peptides are worth bothering with. Injecting yourself, sometimes multiple times a day is a pain. I went the peptide route when I had annoying golfer's elbow problems but I don't think it paid off in anyway.

 

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Sevenfold | 6 years ago
1 like

Supposedly GHRP-2: "reduce fat mass and to increase lean body mass, skeletal muscle mass and aerobic performance"

 

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MandaiMetric replied to Sevenfold | 6 years ago
0 likes

Sevenfold wrote:

Supposedly GHRP-2: "reduce fat mass and to increase lean body mass, skeletal muscle mass and aerobic performance"

Where can I get some?

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