Miguel Ángel López doping case final verdict - UCI release statement after Swiss Federal ruling upholds previous decisions
CyclingSunday, 20 September 2026 at 09:44
The final verdict of the Miguel Ángel López case has been confirmed as the Colombian cyclist has learned that his appeal against his doping verdict has been dismissed by a Swiss Federal Tribunal.
The rider was found guilty of using and possessing a prohibited substance concomitantly with the 2022 Giro d’Italia. The he UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal (UCI ADT) issued their verdict in May 2024. The decision was based on the CELAD Evidence, including the interception of a parcel containing Menotropin, that was addressed to López concomitantly with the 2022 Giro.
López appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who upheld the verdict in May 2025.
The rider then challenged the CAS decision before the Federal Tribunal, with the case dismissed in August 2026. The decision of the federal tribunal is final.
Miguel Ángel López, in his final phase as a professional before being sanctioned.
UCI impose sanctions on López
The UCI ADT imposed the following sanctions: A four-year period of ineligibility, from 25 July 2023 to 24 July 2027, effectively banning him from cycling. A disqualification of all results obtained between 3 May 2022 and 25 July 2023 and a fine equal to 70% of Mr López’s gross income from cycling for 2022.
The federal ruling upheld the sanctions imposed on 'Superman' López, who was riding with what is now XDS Astana during the 2022 Giro.
In 2023, he raced on the Colombian and South American circuit with Team Medellin - EPM before the initial UCI ADT verdict. He previously won stages of the Vuelta a Espana and Giro d'Italia.
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UCI release statement after federal ruling
A UCI statement confirmed the news: "The UCI welcomes the judgment of the Federal Tribunal. The judgment confirms that the sanctions provided for under the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, including financial sanctions, pursue a legitimate objective in the interests of cycling and may be proportionate even when the amount involved is significant.
"The UCI reiterates its determination to protect the integrity of cycling and to ensure fair competition.
It added: "The decision rendered by the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal on 29 May 2024, the award rendered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 7 May 2025 and the judgment rendered by the Federal Tribunal on 19 August 2026 will be published on the UCI website shortly."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Who's Mou???PogiSloFans20-09-2026
- Does this guy whine about everything ? He must be running out of tissues!frieders320-09-2026
- This is an informative article, but some of the sentences are very hard to read in English. The following is an example: "Although only one month remains to the season, some meaningful moves are still yet to be made in the market. Some are a matter of time to be made public, but new potential transfers have been rumoured over the past week. Daniel Benson, Ciro Scognamiglio, Wielerflits, Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Nieuwsblad often contribute towards a hub of market activity that creates a clear picture. The previous has reported on three potential signings for the American Modern Adventure Pro Cycling team: Australian national champion Pattrick Eddy; Josh Burnett and Owen Cole." Just get a native speaker or, if that is too expensive, an AI to translate/correct them for you.SuperConfexYokoOno20-09-2026
- I should have guess Mr shoot his mouth off and no research would comment without knowing. Yes on any given year there are 75-100 countries that participate in the world championships. Which is why I said 80. So they’re really good when comparing to all 80. Not as impressive on this list. If you don’t understand how percentages work, and don’t want to do the research, LMK. I’ll explain it for you.mij19-09-2026
- Why should you check about who someone actually is before making comments based on their looks alone? Really??? That’s your excuse? So do you also look at pictures of Black people and make assumptions on looks alone? Who are you to say it is easy money to have one’s picture taken? How many photo shoots have you done? Note to you I’ve been in them. Not for me. But it is grueling for everyone. And of course you have nothing to say about the many other positive attributes of her. You judge on looks alone and use your morals to castigate her. You’re pathetic.mij19-09-2026
- Couldn’t agree more. Demi frequently uses her platform to promote good, thinking back to all the moments she’s raised mental health awareness, eating disorders, inspiring the younger generations to ‘dream’, and now (as she has done many times before) advocating for women’s sport. I’m relieved to see a few members on this forum agree with her, but am slightly concerned by the few users who clearly don’t; some users who I didn’t expect to have such narrow-minded opinions.anonymouscyclist19-09-2026
- Oh dear... we all knew what would happen when Mou got news of it... 3 days later
Rafionain-Glas19-09-2026 - 0:02.5 is 2.5 seconds, not 0.02Rafionain-Glas19-09-2026
- 80 huh? I don’t know how many are in the all- time list and I don’t even know what this list actually represents because it doesn’t correspond to well-labelled ones that include a description of what is or is not included (which would be a more interesting discussion than this one) but I can tell you on the modern list of SENIOR (ie no U23 or other categories) road racing champs there are already 38 different current countries (I specify specifically because if you start considering East/West Germany, Soviet Union, Che/Slo, Balkanisation, etc. things get messy).Mistermaumau19-09-2026
- Sydney Sweeney’s viral nude sports advert is good for womens sport overall. The “Just Sports” campaign, which features Sweeney nude while covering herself with various pieces of sporting equipment could also be good for cycling if Sweeney was naked on a road racing bike. There are quite a few women cyclists thar are just beautiful. Demi said: “For a long time, women have fought to be seen for what they can do, not for how they look.” ... Women should be saying: "We will fight for what we can do, and for how we look." There is nothing nicer than a high class professional female athlete with a beautiful body and a beautiful face. Just take a look at womens beach volleyball... or 100-meter and 200-meter runners... or womens long-jump... or womens gymnastics. I never watch men in these sports. Ad acta.PogiSloFans19-09-2026
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