The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made it clear that it would not hesitate carrying out further checks on samples given during doping tests in Beijing.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said: “Our message is very clear. The IOC will not miss any opportunity to further analyse samples retroactively. We hope that this will work as a strong deterrent and make athletes think twice before cheating.”

From Espnstar.com:

In a statement, the Olympic governing body said: “The IOC intends to further analyse the samples collected this summer during the Olympic Games in Beijing. Substances that will be analysed across all sports include EPO Cera.

“All samples are currently being repatriated to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne where Olympic samples are usually stored after the Games. The details of the procedure, such as the number of samples to be further analysed and the timeline, are currently being discussed with WADA.”

EPO Cera is an enhanced version of the blood-boosting hormone EPO and is now detectable due to advances in technology.

Two competitors from this year’s Tour de France, double stage winner Stefan Schumacher and Italian Leonardo Piepoli, have been caught since the advanced tests were introduced.

Despite early reports claiming every test result would be reassessed, the IOC have stopped short of making that pledge, however they have every sample in storage which means an entire review is possible.

Of the 4,770 tests carried out by WADA and Beijing Games officials during the Olympics, 3,801 were urine tests and 969 were blood tests.

Andy Parkinson, UK Sport’s head of operations, has appreciated the IOC announcement.

Tags: doping tests, EPO, EPO-CERA, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Leonardo Piepoli, Stefan Schumacher, Tour de France

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The Silence Lotto team has decided to sack Bernhard Kohl after his sample tested positive to CERA, the new generation of the banned blood booster EPO, at the Tour de France.

The National anti-doping agency (AFLD) of France confirmed the positive sample finding.

From Espnstar.com:

Kohl finished third and also won the Polka Dot jersey as the best climber on this year’s Tour.

The Austrian, who rode for Gerolsteiner this season, had signed a contract with Silence Lotto which was due to run until 2011.

But a statement from his new team read: “Around 1900 (on Monday) the press told us that Bernhard Kohl has been controlled positively for the use of CERA.

“We have immediately checked this information with the Gerolsteiner’s manager, who has confirmed it.

“If this information is confirmed by the official authorities, the team management will start the legal steps in view of breaking immediately our future collaboration with Kohl.”

Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli, plus Germany’s Stefan Schumacher, have already tested positive for CERA.

It was revealed by the anti-doping authorities that a sample of Kohl contained CERA before and during the Tour after re-tests at a laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry.

Tags: Bernhard Kohl, CERA, EPO, Leonardo Piepoli, Riccardo Ricco, Silence Lotto, Stefan Schumacher, Tour de France

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Representatives of Stefan Schumacher have condemned the doping procedures that led to a positive test for Schumacher.

Schumacher tested positive for the new generation of the banned blood booster EPO both before and during the Tour.

From Espnstar.com:

The German cycling federation (BDR) revealed earlier this week they had begun an investigation into the tests after receiving confirmation of the results from Germany’s national anti-doping agency (NADA).

The body had asked Schumacher to provide a written response or request a B-sample test within five working days.

Schumacher tested positive for CERA following tests taken on July 3, before the start of the Tour, and on July 15, a rest day.

But Schumacher’s lawyer feels the re-tests have left room for doubt.

A statement from Dr Michael Lehner read: “Stefan Schumacher’s blood levels at the entry check for the Tour de France on July 3 and at the check on the rest day July 15 were not only each without complaint, but rather in an absolutely inconspicuous area.

“The A samples analysed immediately after both doping checks were negative, without a doping finding.

“Under which circumstances and which blood tests have allegedly tested positive for CERA three months later in a laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry, is, according to the information available up until now, completely unclear.”

The positive test was confirmed by re-tested samples at the French laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry.

Tags: CERA, EPO, Stefan Schumacher

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Bernhard Kohl is expected to be sacked by the Silence Lotto team after he tested positive for CERA, the new generation of the banned blood booster EPO, at the Tour de France.

A sample of Kohl was found to contain CERA before and during the Tour after re-tests at a laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry.

From Espnstar.com:

Kohl finished third and also won the Polka Dot jersey as the best climber on this year’s Tour.

The Austrian, who rode for Gerolsteiner this season, had signed a contract with Silence Lotto which was due to run until 2011.

But a statement from his new team read: “Around 1900 (on Monday) the press told us that Bernhard Kohl has been controlled positively for the use of CERA.

“We have immediately checked this information with the Gerolsteiner’s manager, who has confirmed it.

“If this information is confirmed by the official authorities, the team management will start the legal steps in view of breaking immediately our future collaboration with Kohl.”

Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli, plus Germany’s Stefan Schumacher, have already tested positive for CERA.

The positive sample finding was confirmed by France’s national anti-doping agency (AFLD).

Tags: Bernhard Kohl, CERA, EPO, Leonardo Piepoli, Riccardo Ricco, Silence Lotto, Stefan Schumacher, Tour de France

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently confirmed that it will be carrying out further checks on samples given during doping tests in Beijing.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said: “Our message is very clear. The IOC will not miss any opportunity to further analyse samples retroactively. We hope that this will work as a strong deterrent and make athletes think twice before cheating.”

From Espnstar.com:

In a statement, the Olympic governing body said: “The IOC intends to further analyse the samples collected this summer during the Olympic Games in Beijing. Substances that will be analysed across all sports include EPO Cera.

“All samples are currently being repatriated to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne where Olympic samples are usually stored after the Games. The details of the procedure, such as the number of samples to be further analysed and the timeline, are currently being discussed with WADA.”

EPO Cera is an enhanced version of the blood-boosting hormone EPO and is now detectable due to advances in technology.

Two competitors from this year’s Tour de France, double stage winner Stefan Schumacher and Italian Leonardo Piepoli, have been caught since the advanced tests were introduced.

Despite early reports claiming every test result would be reassessed, the IOC have stopped short of making that pledge, however they have every sample in storage which means an entire review is possible.

Of the 4,770 tests carried out by WADA and Beijing Games officials during the Olympics, 3,801 were urine tests and 969 were blood tests.

Andy Parkinson, UK Sport’s head of operations, has welcomed the IOC step.

Tags: CERA, doping tests, EPO, IOC, Leonardo Piepoli, Stefan Schumacher, Tour de France

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Emanuel Sella is the latest cyclist to be found guilty of using CERA, the third generation EPO drug, it was reported.

The Societa CSF Gruppo Navigare rider has been banned for one year by the Italian Olympic Committee‘s (CONI) anti-doping office after being caught in an out-of-competition test taken on July 23.

A one-year ban was handed down, instead of two, after the rider admitted his guilt and -operated with the court during his trial in August, ANSA news agency reported.

Sella was the surprise package of the 2008 Giro d’Italia, winning three climbing stages and the time trial at Plan de Corones.

However, he is the latest rider to fail a test for CERA, which has also snared Tour de France third Bernard Kohl and Riccardo Ricco, Leonardo Piepoli and Stefan Schumacher.

In September, Tour de France officials announced they would be retesting samples for CERA, with the International Olympic Committee following suit in October.

CERA is new variation of exogenous erythropoietin, or EPO. EPO is anemia-fighting agent and works by promoting production of red blood cells. CERA has been approved for therapeutic use in 2007 and its illegal use as a performance-enhancing drug was first documented during the 2008 Tour de France in the incidents involving Kohl, Ricco, and Piepoli.

Testing for CERA via urine samples reportedly lack validity because the compound does not pass through the kidneys.

In September, however, French doping officials came up with a blood-based doping control, which is found to be more accurate in testing for this EPO variant. French sports officials later announced that they will implement retroactive testing for 2008 Tour de France participants. Subsequently, the International Olympic Committee declared they will also be retesting samples taken from the participants of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tags: Bernard Kohl, CERA, Emanuel Sella, EPO, Leonardo Piepoli, Ricardo Ricco, Stefan Schumacher, Tour de France

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This 2008 Tour de France’s riders might have crossed the finished lines several weeks ago, but it looks like the rigors of the race is not yet over. The rigors of Tour de France drug screening, that is.

Retroactive testing for the new generation blood booster CERA, or Continuous Erythopoiesis Receptor Activator, is now being carried out by French laboratories. So far, two riders were caught using the banned compound since the retroactive testing was implemented. It was announced on Monday that Italy’s Leonardo Piepoli and Germany’s Stefan Schumacher both tested positive for CERA.  And race officials are expecting more positive tests in the coming weeks.

“The tests are still underway, they are not all done yet,” French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) head Pierre Bordry told Reuters on Wednesday.

“I imagine there could be one or two more cases,” race director Christian Prudhomme added, in a week when two Tour riders were exposed as drugs cheats.

Italian rider Riccardo Ricco was suspected of taking CERA when the race was still underway in July and was subsequently sent home. Spanish riders Manuel Beltran and Moises Dueňas, tested positive for EPO, and were also sent packing.

Why the late screening?

“People in the street ask me: ‘How did that come out so late?”‘ Prudhomme said. “In July, the process wasn’t legitimate at the time … These tests are of a new type.”

There are two labs which are currently testing the samples from all of the riders who competed in this year’s race.

The Chatenay-Malabry laboratory, which has developed a more effective blood test to find this EPO variant, and a WADA-approved Lausanne facility are testing blood samples. CERA is difficult to detect through urine samples.

“We are testing samples from July 3, 4 and 15,” Bordry said, adding there was no room for error.

“They are all tested by the Chatenay-Malabry lab, which is the official AFLD lab, but also in Lausanne, as a guarantee.”

Tags: CERA, doping, EPO, French Anti-Doping Agency, Leonardo Piepoli, Manuel Beltran, Moises Duenas, Riccardo Ricco, Stefan Schumacher, Tour de France

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The International Olympic Committee plans to take the same track Tour de France has taken. IOC says blood samples taken at the Beijing Olympics are to be reanalyzed for the EPO (erythropoietin) variant CERA, or Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator.

Oh, we can almost hear Beijing Olympic dopers singing, “Que sera, sera (whatever will be, will be),” as their fates now rest on the hands of the anti-doping officials. From ABS-CBN:

The IOC’s announcement comes 48 hours after reanalyzed samples from the Tour de France using the latest technology unearthed two drug cheats – Germany’s Stefan Schumacher, a double stage winner on this year’s race, and Italian Leonardo Piepoli.

IOC spokesman Emmanuelle Moreau told AFP: “This is part of our normal procedure. We keep the samples for eight years and whenever a new test arrives we carry out new tests.”

The CERA form of EPO was detected for the first time at this year’s Tour in the sample of Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco with a full test developed to combat it by the French laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry.

The laboratory is currently retroactively checking 15 samples from this year’s Tour with two of those producing Schumacher and Piepoli’s positive tests.

It was that double success that “prompted the IOC to retest samples from Beijing,” explained Moreau.

The IOC is now in the process of moving all the Beijing samples to its headquarters in Lausanne before finalizing the conditions and timing of the new tests.

“A joint IOC/WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) commission is going to decide the procedure,” Moreau said.

At the recently concluded Summer Olympics in Beijing, over 1,000 blood samples were taken from participants as part of over 5,000 anti-doping screenings. Testing for CERA is found more effective using blood samples than urine samples.

Over 1,000 blood samples were taken at the Games as part of over 5,000 anti-doping controls. IOC officials bannered the 2008 Beijing Games as one of the ‘cleanest’ in the history of modern Olympics.

Although more than a dozen athletes were tested positive for illegal substances in the months leading up to the Beijing Olympics, only six athletes tested positive for banned compounds when the Beijing Olympics went underway. Spanish cyclist Maria Isobel Moreno was the first athlete to be ejected from the Games when she tested positive for EPO. The other athletes tested positive either for anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.

Tags: anabolic steroids, CERA, EPO, International Olympic Committee, Lenardo Piepoli, Maria Isobel Moreno, retroactive testing of blood samples, Riccardo Ricco, Stefan Schumacher, steroids, Tour de France, WADA

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