<p>Roberto Heras, 31, Spain's premier cyclist and the winner of a record four Vuelta a España races, tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug EPO during the last Spanish tour, his team Liberty Seguros-Würth said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>"They told me the news at the end of October," Heras told radio station Onda Cero yesterday. "The only thing I can think of is that it is a laboratory error. My lawyers and the team are working on it as we speak."</p>
<p>The lab will do a second analysis on November 21, Heras said. If the B test is positive, the Bejar native will be expelled from his team, face punishment from the Royal Spanish Federation of Cycling (RFEC), and will relinquish his victory title from the last Vuelta a España. Second-placed Denis Menchov would be named the winner if Heras tests positive again.</p>
<p>"He would have to leave the team," said team director Pablo Antón. "It has to be that way. One thing is the human side, but the other is professional. It is very bad news for the world of cycling."</p>
<p>According to Liberty Seguros, Heras tested positive for EPO in September during the next-to-last stage of the 2005 Spanish Vuelta, an individual time-trial from Guadalajara to Alcalá de Henares. The International Cycling Union (UCI) informed the team on October 27. Liberty Seguros temporarily suspended Heras from the team that day.</p>
<p>The UCI's zero-tolerance rules say that riders involved in doping must be suspended from professional racing for two years.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.iht.com/getina/files/288334.html">http://www.iht.com/getina/files/288334.html</a></p>
Thu, 10 Nov 2005 19:21:28 -0600
<p>"They told me the news at the end of October," Heras told radio station Onda Cero yesterday. "The only thing I can think of is that it is a laboratory error. My lawyers and the team are working on it as we speak."</p>
<p>The lab will do a second analysis on November 21, Heras said. If the B test is positive, the Bejar native will be expelled from his team, face punishment from the Royal Spanish Federation of Cycling (RFEC), and will relinquish his victory title from the last Vuelta a España. Second-placed Denis Menchov would be named the winner if Heras tests positive again.</p>
<p>"He would have to leave the team," said team director Pablo Antón. "It has to be that way. One thing is the human side, but the other is professional. It is very bad news for the world of cycling."</p>
<p>According to Liberty Seguros, Heras tested positive for EPO in September during the next-to-last stage of the 2005 Spanish Vuelta, an individual time-trial from Guadalajara to Alcalá de Henares. The International Cycling Union (UCI) informed the team on October 27. Liberty Seguros temporarily suspended Heras from the team that day.</p>
<p>The UCI's zero-tolerance rules say that riders involved in doping must be suspended from professional racing for two years.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.iht.com/getina/files/288334.html">http://www.iht.com/getina/files/288334.html</a></p>
Thu, 10 Nov 2005 19:21:28 -0600
