Flamanville organiser strongly refutes suggestion local milk was at fault for Toon Aerts and Shari Bossuyts positive doping tests

Before last weekend's Flamanville round of the UCI World Cup, the management team of suspended Toon Aerts and Shari Bossuyts, claimed that local milk in the Normandy region was at fault for the riders testing positive. Now, the race's organiser has hit back.

"They already brought that idea up in the past," Stéphane Leclère told Ouest-France, insisting that the claims are nothing more than a publicity stunt. "And as president of the race organisation, it's not up to me to take up a position on it, but the [anti-doping] analysis showed up certain things."

As Leclere notes, if this local milk was indeed at fault, surely more local riders would similarly be testing positive. "I'm no specialist in the matter, but as a Norman myself, it's the first time I've ever heard of this product," he explains.

"To the best of my knowledge, no rider from this region has ever tested positive or been accused of doping because of Normandy's dairy products," the Frenchman concludes. "God knows we consume enough of them!"

For Aerts meanwhile, the Belgian is nearing a return to competitive racing. With his suspension coming to an end in February, the 30-year-old has found himself a new team and will be looking to put this whole debacle behind him.