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Tyler: Second test positive
23/09/2004 17:36 - (SA)
Zurich - America's Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton has tested positive for blood doping in a second sample from the Tour of Spain, his Phonak team said on Thursday.
However, the B sample for similar doping test by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier in Athens "will turn out negative", the Swiss-based team said in a statement as it questioned the reliability of the tests.
Phonak said it was setting up a board of scientists to check the testing methods because of the apparently conflicting results shown by the IOC's procedure, and the one used by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in Spain.
The 33-year-old faces a possible two year ban after testing positive in the first sample for an allegedly illicit blood transfusion following his win on the Tour of Spain's eighth stage time trial on September.
He pulled out of the Tour six days later apparently due to stomach problems.
But Phonak challenged the testing method, saying it was based on "probability and interpretation measurements" and "uncertainties will remain".
"Because neither UCI nor IOC have so far disclosed data and because legal procedures may last for a long time without a clear outcome, the team management has decided to establish a scientific board in order to achieve clarity as to the medical method and reliability of these new blood testing tools," it added.
Hamilton will remain suspended from the team while the probe is carried out, Phonak said.
"The team's goal is - and this is in the exact interest of Tyler Hamilton - that we have clarity at the end," a statement issued by the Swiss team said.
The US rider reiterated on Thursday that he was innocent of blood doping on the Olympics, and had issued a broader denial earlier this week.
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