Miguel Ángel López fired from Astana Qazaqstan Team due to doping connections

Miguel Ángel López has been expelled from Astana Qazaqstan Team with immediate effect. Colombian cycling is undergoing dark days as months after Nairo Quintana's positive tramadol test, another of it's stars is involved in a doping scandal.

The Kazakh team have issued a statement this Monday stating that they would be ending the partnership with the climbing specialist with immediate effect. "Astana Qazaqstan Team discovered new elements showing M. A. Lopez' probable connection with Dr M. Maynar. Accordingly, the team had no other solution than to end the contract between team and rider, based on breaches of said contract and internal team rules, with immediate effect," the statement read.

López had already been interrogated in August upon his return to Europe over the very same case. Whilst at the time he claimed to be innocent in a drug trafficking ring - which has in the meantime been exposed - he has denied any involvement. “There is no active investigation at this time. My lawyers will take the necessary legal action if necessary," he said, going on to race between others, the Vuelta a Espana where he finished fourth overall.

In late November Spanish authorities dismantled a doping ring in Spain headed by Dr Marcos Maynar, a university professor and doctor at the University of Cáceres. Two people were arrested at the time and as many as six people were under investigation, including former KELME manager Vicente Belda. López would be one of these people, as the connections were found in July.

Evidence would suggest otherwise however, as his own team took the decision to remove López from it's list, just weeks before the season start. Although he has not been suspended or sanctioned by the UCI, López finds himself in a situation alike Quintana earlier this year where he stands without a contract following doping-connected issues.