Rider out of Paris-Roubaix, dropped from Euskaltel Euskadi team with immediate effect
Russian rider Alexander Serebryakov has been pulled out of the Euskaltel Euskadi team for Paris-Roubaix and been dropped without pay after testing positive for an as-yet unnamed substance.
The Basque squad today announced that it received a communication from the UCI stating that Serebryakov had failed a test taken while he was training at home on March 18th.
The out of competition control came three days after he finished in the Handzame Classic. Since then he was a non-finisher in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke race, Gent Wevelgem and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. In the past week he placed 22nd in Scheldeprijs and 14th in the GP Pino Cerami.
The Euskaltel Euskadi team said that it has taken swift action on the matter. “True to its commitment towards a clean and credible cycling, and in application of the internal rules of procedure consistent with this spirit, the team has decided to immediately expel the cyclist from the team and suspend him of employment and salary,” it stated.
“The team is astonished that some riders have not yet understood that cycling should be a clean sport without shortcuts, so it condemns emphatically this type of behaviour.”
Serebryakov raced with the Team Type 1 team last season [pictured] and was the winner of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship, as well as ten other races. The sprinter clocked up stage wins in the Tours of Korea, China and Hainan plus the Tour of Taihu Lake.
According to Biciciclismo, he has released a statement in which he accepts full responsibility for the matter. “I, Alexander Serebryakov, wish to clarify the matter of my recent positive doping control. I want to make it clear that the team has nothing to do with this situation, and that it is a personal problem that I will try to clarify in the next few days,” he stated.
“Team Euskaltel Euskadi and its technical, medical and support staff have always emphasized their commitment to zero tolerance with doping, and their work in favour of a clean, transparent and credible cycling. I deeply regret what happened, and I apologize to the team and my teammates for this unfortunate situation.”
Serebryakov is in his second year as a professional.