PAU, France — The RadioShack Nissan Trek team pulled Frank Schleck, one of the biggest names in pro cycling, out the Tour de France on Tuesday after he failed a doping test, threatening to overshadow Bradley Wiggins’ bid to win the three-week race in Paris this weekend.
PAU, France — The RadioShack Nissan Trek team pulled Frank Schleck, one of the biggest names in pro cycling, out the Tour de France on Tuesday after he failed a doping test, threatening to overshadow Bradley Wiggins’ bid to win the three-week race in Paris this weekend.
The 32-year-old rider from Luxembourg, who was third in last year’s Tour, left a police station in Pau where he had discussed the case with authorities after cycling’s governing body announced the positive test.
The International Cycling Union, or UCI, said Schleck had tested positive for banned diuretic Xipamide in an anti-doping test conducted by a French anti-doping lab on a sample taken from him on July 14.
It marked the second doping scandal to hit this Tour, and was another reminder of the doping cloud that has damaged the image of cycling and its biggest event for years.
Schleck, the RadioShack leader, had been in 12th place overall — 9 minutes, 45 seconds behind leader Wiggins — going into the second and latter rest day on Tuesday.
The revelation was likely to add stress on the crash-and sickness-depleted pack, just as they were gearing up for two grueling days in the Pyrenees starting today.