Three and a half months after it was announced that Alexandr Kolobnev had tested positive at the Tour de France, the Russian rider appeared today before a disciplinary hearing in Moscow. Representatives for the Katusha competitor have said that an official decision will be communicated in fourteen days time, but reports from Russia have suggested that he has been given a minimum sanction for the offence.
According to Sport-express.ru, the Anti-Doping Commission of the Cycling Federation of Russia (FBR) accepted his arguments against deliberate ingestion of the drug hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic banned under WADA rules. The site states that he was found guilty of the UCI’s anti-doping rules, but merely handed a warning and a fine of 1,500 Swiss francs.
It states that the FBR will communicate its decision within two weeks and that the UCI has one month to appeal the decision if it decides that there is grounds for it. WADA can also lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
VeloNation contacted the UCI’s press officer Enrico Carpani for comment, but was told that the governing body had not been notified of the decision and that it couldn’t respond at this point in time.
Kolobnev is a double silver medallist in the world road race championship, finishing as runner-up in 2007 and 2009. He is also the Olympic bronze medallist, being elevated from fourth place when runner-up Davide Rebellin tested positive for CERA.
Hydrochlorothiazide is listed on WADA’s prohibited list under category S5, pertaining to diuretics and other masking agents. It is prohibited at all times, both during competition and in training.
However as it is a specified substance, it does not lead to an automatic suspension until such time as the B sample is analysed and the result confirmed, or the rider waives its analysis. While Kolobnev could not officially be disqualified from the Tour de France, the UCI invited his team to withdraw him on the basis of the negative publicity his prolonged participation would have brought to the event. He subsequently decided to quit the event, and has not competed since.
The B sample confirmed the A sample result. UCI rules stated that the Russian federation should have held its hearing in August. A decision has now been reached but if reports of a warning and a light fine are indeed correct, it seems very possible that the UCI or WADA will indeed appeal.
Kolobnev was the only rider to test positive during this year’s Tour. He was 69th overall at the time the news of the test emerged. Prior to the race he placed second in the GP Miguel Indurain and fifth in the Amstel Gold Race.