Colombian cyclist Oscar Tovar has been given a two-year ban after testing positive for testosterone during his victory in the Gran Fondo New York, the US Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday.
Tovar won the 100-mile (160km) race, which featured 5,000 cyclists from 70 nations, in just under four hours and 15 minutes on May 17.
But he was stripped of the crown after a urine sample provided to USADA came back with levels of testosterone above the permitted limit.
Tovar’s ban was backdated to start May 17 and any results since then were also forfeited.
Tovar, 32, was able to keep his victory in the Gran Fondo NY Colombia, staged in Bogota on April 26.
The Gran Fondo, Italian for “Great Ride,” begins under the George Washington Bridge in New York and winds through urban and rural areas, including Bear Mountain, before finishing in the New Jersey suburbs. – Agence France-Presse
