Former top cyclist Miguel Ángel López has his appeal against 4-year doping ban dismissed

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Wednesday it has dismissed an appeal by Colombian cyclist Miguel Ángel López against a four-year ban for doping.

López was found guilty by the anti-doping tribunal of the International Cycling Union (UCI) of “use and possession of a prohibited substance (Menotropin)” at the 2022 Giro d’Italia. Menotropin is a female fertility drug that can stimulate production of testosterone in men.

López appealed the ban in May 2024. CAS said its panel “is comfortably satisfied that UCI has discharged its burden of proof and unanimously ruled that Mr. López possessed a prohibited substance … and used a prohibited substance.”

It said the appeal is dismissed and the verdict by the cycling body is fully upheld.

López finished third in both the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta in 2018. He was also fourth in the 2022 Vuelta, and won the toughest mountain stage at the 2020 Tour de France.

His ban expires in July 2027, when he will be 33.

The UCI said López was caught in the Operation Ilex investigation led by Spanish authorities concerning a doctor who worked in the sport, Marcos Maynar.

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