Over a year after he was first named by the UCI as having a suspect biological passport profile, Ruben Lobato has been handed a two year ban by the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC).
The UCI released a brief statement on the matter this morning, confirming that a sanction had finally been applied.
“The International Cycling Union (UCI) announces that following its request for proceedings against the Spanish rider Ruben Lobato Elvira for a breach of the Anti-Doping Rules on the basis of his biological passport, the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) has decided to sanction the rider by a two-year suspension.”
It is unclear as to whether the sanction begins from this date, or from the date of the initial biological passport announcement on June 17, 2009.
Lobato was one of five riders named last year for what it termed was an "apparent violation of the Anti-Doping Rules on the basis of the information provided by the blood profile in their biological passports".
This meant that haematological values showed strong signs of doping. Fluctuations in hematocrit and reticulocytes are two such parameters, and can be indicative of EPO use and blood transfusions. The biological passport compares a series of values taken over a period of time, tracking any suspicious changes.
The other riders fingered by the UCI in June 2009 were former world champion Igor Astarloa, Lampre's Pietro Caucchioli, Ricardo Serrano (Fuji Servetto) and Francesco De Bonis (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli).
In May De Bonis became the first bio passport case rider to be banned, while Serrano and Caucchioli were both handed a ban last month. Each of the riders were given a two year sanction. As for Astarloa, he retired in January 2010, having been unable to secure a contract.
Lobato turned pro with the Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo team in 2002, and went on to ride with the Domina Vacanze-Elitron (2003) and Saunier Duval (2004-2008) squads. His best result was victory in the mountains classification of the 2005 Tour de Romandie.
He also finished fifth on a stage and sixteenth overall in the 2004 Giro d’Italia, and was sixth on the Alpe d’Huez stage of the 2006 Tour de France.