Dutch ProTeam insists that in-limbo Spanish rider will only ride if fully cleared in 2010 doping case
Vacansoleil-DCM has released its long-list of thirteen riders, which will eventually be trimmed down to nine to ride the Vuelta a España. Although he has yet to turn a single wheel for the team this season, the list includes controversial Spanish rider Ezequiel Mosquera, who finished second in last year’s race while riding for Xacobeo-Galicia.
Mosquera tested positive for Hydroxyethyl starch during that Vuelta but, because the drug is on the International Cycling Union (UCI) banned list and not that of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), he has not been officially sanctioned. The rider has been on the inactive list by mutual consent since joining Vacansoleil-DCM, with the team not willing to have him race until his name has been completely cleared.
“Ezequiel Mosquera also sits in the pre-selection for the Vuelta where he was second last year,” says the team’s press release. “The Spaniard will, as known, only start if his case is closed and he is acquitted by the authorities concerned.”
Although Mosquera returned his positive test back in September, the case has only recently gone before the disciplinary committee of the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC). Should a decision not be made in Mosquera’s favour before the Vuleta starts on August 20th, he will have spent virtually the entire season without racing.
Vacansoleil-DCM last rode the Vuelta in 2009, when the race began in Assen, the capital of the Drenthe region of the Netherlands. The team had hoped to build on this in 2010 but missed out on all three Grand Tours, as well as a number of other big races.
Besides the possible inclusion of Mosquera, the list also includes Dutch champion Pim Ligthart, double Ronde van Vlaanderen winner Stijn Devolder, who wore the leader’s jersey in the 2007 Vuelta, and Joost van Leijen, who is currently battling for the lead in the Tour de Wallonie.
Vacansoleil-DCM Vuelta a España pre-selection:
Pim Ligthart, Martijn Keizer, Joost van Leijen, Wout Poels, Ruslan Pidgornyy, Santo Anza, Stijn Devolder, Gorik Gardeyn, Maxim Belkov, Matteo Carrara, Sergey Lagutin, Michal Golas and Ezequiel Mosquera