PARIS, 1 December 2004 — Swiss cycling team Phonak have fired Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton who is being investigated for alleged blood doping.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) told AFP that Phonak chief Andy Rihs informed them of the decision when he unsuccessfully appealed last week for his team to be included in the 2005 Pro Tour championship.
Phonak had scheduled a press conference later.
Hamilton is being investigated for failing a test for an illicit blood transfusion during the Tour of Spain in October.
The American had already tested positive for a blood transfusion in Athens in August after winning the Olympic time-trial gold medal.
However, he was able to keep his gold medal because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the result of a follow-up sample was “non-conclusive” because the sample had been destroyed by being deep-frozen.
Blood doping is a means of enhancing an athlete’s endurance by increasing the amount of oxygen-carrying red cells in the blood stream, using his own blood or a donor of the same group.
Hamilton has always denied the allegation.
And Phonak had challenged the tests, setting up its own international scientific panel to examine the validity of the testing method.
The blood doping test has been approved by international sports governing bodies including the International Olympic Commission (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Two other Phonak riders failed doping tests this year — former world champion Oscar Camenzind and Tour of Spain runner-up Santiago Perez.
Hamilton won the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland in his buildup to this year’s Tour de France but was forced to quit the French classic.
However, a month later he triumphed in Athens.
