FILE - France's Franck Bonnamour celebrates his best combative rider award on the podium after the twenty-first and last stage of the Tour de France in Paris, July 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

French cyclist Bonnamour banned 4 years for suspected blood doping

AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) — French cyclist Franck Bonnamour was banned on Thursday for four years, based on analysis of his blood values without a positive doping test.

The International Cycling Union said the 30-year-old rider’s ban, imposed by an independent tribunal, expires in February 2028. He announced his retirement last year during the investigation.

Bonnamour’s career highlight came at the 2021 Tour de France, winning the prize as the overall most combative rider.

The UCI said his athlete biological passport, which can be used to detect signs of doping over time, showed abnormal readings in 2022. Bonnamour also completed the Tour that year.

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