Former US Postal Service, Festina and Rock Racing rider David Clinger has been handed a lifetime ban from cycling by the US Anti Doping Agency, incurring the ban after testing positive for the second time in his career.
The 33 year old provided an out of competition sample on June 29th 2011 which was later determined positive for Clenbuterol. The sample was taken towards the end of an earlier two year ban, handed down to him after he tested positive for testosterone and modafinil in June 2009.
Faced with the charges, USADA states that Clinger accepted responsibility for using the substance in order to boost his performance. The substance is banned under WADA, UCI and USADA rules, and was in the headlines last September when it was announced that then-Tour de France champion Alberto Contador had tested positive for it.
The Spaniard is fighting those charges, claiming that he ingested it in food.
Clinger began racing in 1997 with the Comptel Data System team, then moved to Mercury the following season.
His victories include stages of the Tour de Toona, the Cascade Classic, the Tour de Beauce, the Tour de Georgia and the First Union Invitational. He was part of the US Postal Service squad which won the team time trial in the Volta a Catalunya in 2002.
In addition to those results, Clinger earned attention when he received a full facial tattoo in 2005. He was fired from the Webcor team as a result.