Winter Olympics

Olympic cycling champ Sanchez accepts doping sanction

Published May. 14, 2019 5:43 a.m. ET

AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) — Former Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez has accepted a two-year doping ban from cycling.

The International Cycling Union says it reached a deal with the Spanish rider, who presented evidence that his failed drug test in 2017 was the result of taking a contaminated supplement.

The UCI "accepted the likelihood" this was the source of his positive test for the banned substance GHRP-2, which can stimulate the body to produce growth hormone.

The 41-year-old Sanchez has been on provisional suspension since 2017, so his two-year ban will end on Aug. 16.

As well as winning the Olympic road race gold medal in 2008, Sanchez won the King of the Mountains title for best climber at the 2011 Tour de France.

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