French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) director Pierre Bordry has revealed that urine samples taken during the 2008 Tour de France will be retested in search of CERA.
Bordry told the Reuters news agency that the tests for CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator) will be carried out in September.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, the tests concern 15 riders who finished in the top 20 overall.
“Before this year’s Tour start in Monaco, we warned some 15 riders that in conformity with the world anti-doping code we would analyse retrospectively samples taken on the 2008 Tour,” Bordry told Reuters without naming the riders.
“Our decision is based on a number of indications we obtained from various sources,” Bordry added, confirming that that AFLD had no access to UCI biological passport information from 2008.
So far no positive drugs test has been announced during this year’s Tour de France. CERA was first detected on the 2008 Tour in samples belonging to Italy’s Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli. Germany’s Stefan Schumacher and Austrian Bernhard Kohl, also resulted positive after retesting.
Italy’s Davide Rebellin also failed a test for CERA at the Beijing Olympics and Italian climber Emanuele Sella was caught for using the blood-boosting drug last summer after being targeted by the UCI.
Italian police in Padua investigating doping are believed to be retesting up to 80 samples from the 2008 Giro d’Italia before a test for CERA was revealed by the French.
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