Colombian Lopez gets four-year doping ban

Colombian rider Miguel Angel Lopez has been given a four-year suspension after an anti-doping rule violation, cycling's governing body the UCI said on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old was found guilty of violating the rules for the use and possession of a prohibited substance in the weeks prior to the Giro d'Italia in 2022.

Lopez was provisionally suspended in July 2023 and the ban will remain in force until July 24, 2027. He can appeal the decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport within one month.

Lopez has previously won stages on the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana and is a past winner of the Tour de Suisse and the Volta a Catalunya.