VILNIUS, 1 July 2003 — Lithuanian cycling star Raimondas Rumsas faces a ban for blood doping after the examination of the B-sample confirmed EPO abuse, the ELTA news agency reported yesterday.
The report said that the second test at a laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, confirmed the original finding that Rumsas had tested positive for EPO at the Giro d’Italia on May 16.
Rumsas is now expected to be ban by the Lithuanian cycling federation, which will meet on the issue today.
He was already suspended by his Italian team Lampre after the first test.
Rumsas, 31, finished third at the Tour de France last year but his team was not invited for the next edition of the famous race which starts on Saturday.
Quick Step Lose Their Pole
In Paris, Polish rider Piotr Wadecki withdrew from this year’s Tour de France yesterday suffering from bronchial pneumonia.
His Quick Step team have replaced him with Davide Bramati of Italy for the race which is celebrating its centenary and gets underway in Paris on Saturday.
