Miguel Angel Lopez handed four-year ban by UCI for past doping transgressions
Cycling
Miguel Angel Lopez has not managed to escape without punishment from his recent tribunal for alleged doping violations. Despite previous reports suggesting no evidence had been found against 'Superman', the UCI has ruled there was enough to give the Colombian a four-year ban from cycling.
"The Tribunal found Miguel Ángel López guilty of an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) for use and possession of a prohibited substance (Menotropin)*, concomitantly with the 2022 Giro d’Italia, and has imposed a four-year suspension on the rider," reads an official statement by cycling's governing body. "In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the period of suspension started on 25 July 2023 and will remain in force until 24 July 2027."
The now-30-year-old Lopez was riding for the Astana Qazaqstan Team at the time of the transgression at the 2022 Giro d'Italia but given this latest blow, it's not out of the question that we have the last of the former four-time Grand Tour stage winner in professional cycling.
"As a reminder, the disciplinary proceeding was initiated following an investigation conducted by the International Testing Agency (ITA) based on evidence obtained from the Spanish Guardia Civil and the Spanish Anti-Doping Organisation (CELAD) in the so-called Operation “Ilex” concerning Dr Marcos Maynar. The UCI welcomes this valuable collaboration," the UCI statement continues. "Furthermore, in line with the Procedural Rules of the Tribunal, the decision will be published on the UCI website. The decision may be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within one month. The UCI will not comment further on the matter."
"The UCI delegated the operational activities of its anti-doping programme to the International Testing Agency (ITA) in January 2021. Since then, cycling’s clean sport efforts have been led by the ITA Cycling Unit, which is dedicated specifically to all disciplines of cycling," concludes the statement. "The UCI and the ITA are bound by a service agreement which guarantees that the ITA operates in an independent manner."
I'm going to miss MAL's roid rage incidents. They seemed to be the perfect thing to liven up a long, uneventful stage.
Doping. I used to think people who did it were trying to get up to the level of the champions by doing it. Then along came Lance Armstrong and his lieutenants who doped themselves into champions. It was done in the past "Jacques Anquetil, a French cyclist who won the Tour de France five times in the 1950s and 1960s, openly admitted to doping. “Everyone in cycling dopes himself,” he said in Scott’s 1971 article. “Those who claim they don’t are liars.” In Anquetil’s era, the agents of choice were stimulants such as amphetamines". Maybe with today's science the results are better due to reducing friction, the importance of aerodynamics and healthy doping by eating and drinking better. If those don't work, one could be desperate and do unhealthy doping which could be defined as detrimental to one's health.
Dopers use this “everyone did it” as a way of justifying their moral ineptitude to themselves to keep their shame under the carpet. Fact is, firstly they may know a few dopers but they don’t know about any others and there are always some out there who didn’t dope who were cheated out of jobs, prizes, glory and recognition. I have no love for The Enhanced Games but if you could guarantee that it attracts all dopers and there’d be someone willing to continue organising traditional races for non-dopers, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. The problem now that riders got used to serious money is, would any of them really still participate if that incentive was taken away? Perhaps if we return to a semi-amateur status, no teams, no salary, each rider making his living from sponsors (a pool of vetted companies without obvious immoral attitudes) to whom they are financially accountable for loss of reputation in case of bad publicity things could still work?
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- Are you drunk? Every one agrees Mads has never been more slim (look at his climbin)g and this maybe takes the top of his sprintUpHill16-04-2025
- Eli was attacked by a guy wearing a Belgian scarf, was that the intoxication effect?Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Exactly, and with Mads in the running, a quartet would have been formed, TP and MVDP would have had to exhaust themselves more to shake off both Mads and Jasper although MVDP could have played his lead-out role for Jasper again (remember, it was he who broke Jasper, not Tadej and I don’t think Tadej would have risked countless attacks noticing an unbudging MVDP (who’d constantly pull Jasper with him without Jasper having to go into the red)). Any of the possible scenarios would NOT have favoured Tadej and in a 4-way sprint at the end his most likely place would then have been 4th. In the end he can count himself quite fortunate with his 2nd. Don’t think there’s a market for games for budding cycling team managers managers, so let’s just stop the ifs and buts, if MVDP hadn’t been ill at Flanders, if Jonas hadn’t crashed before the last Tour, if Primoz hadn’t underestimated Tadej on the Planche des Belles Filles, if, if if works both ways.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- For a moment there my brain registered Patrick L.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Tadej, STUPOR MUNDI.
maria2024202416-04-2025 - Why the random and unnecessary disrespect to Cadel? At least he didn't cheat like Contador.Pogboom16-04-2025
- If we're playing the "what if" game - I'd go further back to Mads getting a puncture and possibly being a favourite to win the race. He would have likely beat Tadej and MVDP in a sprint at the Velodrome. He appeared to be one of the stronger riders who faced some bad luck. But, that's just cycling. Wout could have very well won Paris-Roubaix in 2023 if he hadn't punctured in the last 10km. I wish Tadej hadn't crashed or would've caught up so all these stories of how Tadej should have won wouldn't exist, I think MVDP was the stronger rider in this particular race.JBlake16-04-2025
- There might be some truth to Visma's psychology being hurt by last year's crashes. But, definitely - Itzulia was a boycott because of the Organizer's and comments made by them this year again proves it is necessary. The crash profoundly changed the course of the season for several of the top riders, yet they got blamed for not being careful, going too fast, or. not knowing the roads enough.JBlake16-04-2025
- Someone else may be able to give better local context, but I don't think these type of incidents only happen to MVDP - although, it does seem to happen more often to him. Eli Iserbyt had beer thrown at him earlier this year, or Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard had chips thrown in their face during last year's Tour de France. The common theme is alcohol between most incidents, combined with being outdoors for a prolonged period of time. MVDP is also not very well-liked by many Belgian fans for his success, particularly against a rider like Wout. It's likely a combination of today's society, alcohol, some dislike towards the rider, and just being stupid. Hopefully real consequences might dissuade others from doing similar things.JBlake16-04-2025
- Yeah, but MVDP actually isn't. If Pog goes up the road, it is his responsibility to run it down, and everyone knows he has the most to lose. It's just rare that anyone calls him on it.acem8216-04-2025