Colombian climber Miguel Angel López has insisted that he is not guilty of using banned substances and that he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport against his four-year suspension from racing, the case for which he said is based on an erroneous interpretation of “manipulated phone call transcripts.”
According to a UCI statement on Wednesday, López was given a four-year ban, effective from the date of his provisional suspension on July 25 2023, for “use and possession of a prohibited substance (Menotropin)" – a substance normally used in the treatment of fertility disturbances – "concomitantly with the 2022 Giro d’Italia.”
A former Vuelta a España and Tour de France stage winner and podium finisher in both the Giro and Vuelta, López has always insisted he is innocent of any wrongdoing and he reacted forcefully to the news of the four-year ban.
