FOIX, France — Just when the race was getting interesting at the Tour de France, another doping scandal erupted.
The 11th-stage victory Wednesday by Norwegian veteran Kurt-Asle Arvesen took a back seat to the arrest of Spain’s Moises Duenas Nevado after he tested positive for the banned performance enhancer EPO in the second doping bust this Tour.
“I just can’t understand when these guys are going to learn,” International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid said. “If the ‘B’ sample is positive, then all I can say is the guy’s a fool.”
“I’m very, very sorry for the image of cycling,” said Cadel Evans of Australia, lamenting the case that overshadowed his first ride in the yellow jersey on the 104.1-mile stage from Lannemezan to Foix.
Before the stage began, police swept into the hotel in Tarbes where Duenas Nevado’s Barloworld team was staying. They detained him and seized unspecified “banned medicines” from his room, team officials said.
The 27-year-old Spaniard, riding in his third Tour de France, tested positive for EPO after the fourth stage time trial in Cholet on July 8, said Pierre Bordry, head of the French anti-doping agency. Duenas Nevado, who had been 19th overall, was immediately suspended by his team and ousted from the race. Police were holding him overnight for questioning.
Tour de France at a glance
A brief look at Wednesday’s 11th stage:
Stage: A 104.1-mile trek through medium mountains from Lannemezan to Foix in hot temperatures. The trek featured one tough Category 1 climb, the last big ascent in the Pyrenees.
Garmin-Chipotle watch: The team tightly surrounded Christian Vande Velde throughout the stage, keeping him close to the front and out of trouble. Vande Velde finished the stage 19th in the main peloton and is third in overall standings, 38 seconds behind the leader.
Next stage: Today’s 12th stage favors sprinters on a 104.7-mile flat route from Lavelanet to Narbonne.
Denver Post staff and wire reports
