Five and a half months after being informed that the substance HES (Hydroxyethyl starch) was detected in a urine sample he gave en route to second overall in the Vuelta a España, Ezequiel Mosquera has called on the UCI to close the case against him.
The 35 year old Vacansoleil rider has released a ten point list of details which he feels outlines the reasons why he should not face sanction.
In that list, he argues that Hydroxyethyl starch isn’t a doping substance in itself. “That explains why I am not banned and why I am not suspended,” he wrote. “Scientific studies show that Hydroxyethyl starch doesn’t enable the improvement of sporting performance. Hydroxyethyl starch isn’t forbidden in case of intramuscular or oral intake; it is only not authorized by intravenous intake.
“Unlike what is generally assumed, Hydroxyethyl starch doesn’t hide doping substances. This was proved through other cases, where laboratories could detect Hydroxyethyl starch together with EPO.”
His then-Xacobeo Galicia team-mate David Garcia was nabbed for Hydroxyethyl starch, and then subsequently tested positive for EPO. However Mosquera claimed that analyses by the WADA accredited laboratory in Köln showed that there was no EPO in his system. “They looked for it and they concluded it was not in my body,” he said.
He hasn’t however explained why the substance was in his system. It is a blood plasma volume expander which can be used to disguise the increase in hematocrit that occurs with the use of EPO and other related substances.
Mosquera hasn’t yet competed this year as the Vacansoleil team and he have agreed not to race until the situation has been clarified. He argues that it is time that things were finalised and that he can return to competition. “I presented my report and explanation to the UCI last 10th December. Since this day I am waiting for an answer,” he wrote.
“I fully understand that it is not easy to take a decision and therefore with this press release I surely don’t want to criticize the involved authorities.”
He won the Bola del Mundo stage in last year’s Vuelta, ending the Grand Tour 41 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo). 2010 was his most successful season, with other results such as second in the Vuelta a Burgos, third in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and fourth in the Vuelta a Asturias.