While the fate of Ezequiel Mosquera still hangs in the balance while he waits for a ruling on his positive test for Hydroxyethyl starch at last year's Vuelta a Espana, his Vacansoleil team is ready to move forward with him.
Speaking with BNDeStem.nl, Vacansoleil manager, Daan Luijkx, does not feel there's anything keep him from putting the runner-up finisher at the 2010 Vuelta into races.
[He tested positive for] a masking agent, but not doping. Unlike Alberto Contador, Mosquera is not suspended."
Of course, Contador hasn't been suspended yet, but it looks improbably that he'll escape sanctioning, unlike the case of Mosquera. While Mosquera does appear to have a better chance at escaping the claws of sanction, the possibility still looms and remains very well, but Vacansoleil appears to be growing more confident in their Spanish signing.
In fact, as the weeks and months since the announcement of his positive test on September 30th wear on, the confidence of the Vacansoleil team seems to wax as that fateful day moves further and further into the past.
"The case is still pending with the medical commission of the UCI, but the chances are that there will be no punishment. Until it is proven that he did something wrong, we will have faith in him."
It's an interesting turn of opinion from Vacansoleil, as they distanced themselves from Mosquera as much as possible without firing him following his positive test from the Vuelta. Once they received ProTeam status, the tone changed, Mosquera was then included in the official roster, and now it looks like Mosquera will begin racing soon - interestingly, this latest comment comes only days after Vacansoleil-DCM was assured of a spot in the Tour de France.