Controversial Lithuanian rider Raimondas Rumsas tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) during the Tour of Italy which finished on June 1, his Lampre team confirmed on Wednesday.
Rumsas, who finished third in last year’s Tour de France, was at the centre of a doping controversy last year when his wife was jailed in France after being caught with large quantities of growth hormones and the endurance-boosting EPO in her car.
The rider, who has still not had his second sample analysed, tested negative for drugs during last year’s Tour de France.
Lampre, after considering the matter carefully, decided to keep Rumsas on for the 2003 season despite the controversy.
Now their stance has changed drastically.
Lampre manager Guiseppe Saronni told Italy’s ANSA news agency: ”We feel betrayed in the trust we had in him. He is suspended for now, but if the second sample confirms the findings, he will no longer be riding for us.
”We feel very bitter, not only me, but think about the feelings of the other officials, masseurs, doctors and all those who tried to put last year’s controversy behind them.”
Rumsas, who finished sixth in the Tour of Italy, tested positive in the May 16, sixth stage between Maddaloni and Avezzano, the day before the race’s first mountain finish.
According to a source close to the test, the 31-year-old Rumsas, who lives in Italy, tested positive for erythropoietin, or EPO. Should the second sample confirm the positive test, Rumsas, who has been given the highest award possible for a sportsman in his native country, his Tour of Italy result would be nullified and he would be suspended.
Rumsas has been a professional since 1996 but had to wait till 2000 to ride in the major races.
The Italian team will not be riding in the July 5 to July 27 Tour de France. – Sapa-AFP